According to this theory, an individual’s ego undergoes development as it adjusts successfully to various crises that are specifically social in nature. These include developing a sense of identity in society, developing trust, and helping the next generation develop their future. Completing each stage successfully makes one personally healthy and also enables one to acquire basic values (Payne 2017).
To become an adult, I have undergone various transformational changes that make me who I am today. I am able to interact well with others in society and respect and accept other people the way they are. At my younger age, around zero to two years old, this was the critical stage, and all I had was to be taken care of by my parents. It was the stage when my parents would make sure I got whatever I needed. The reason behind this was to build trust and enable me to interact with and trust other people later in life. Mistreating an infant at this early stage makes it develop fear and feel that everyone else is harmful.
At the age of two to four years, it is a stage of physical development and becoming more mobile. It is also referred to as the stage of twos. At this age, I started walking, supporting myself on tables and chairs. I also discovered that I had skills and abilities. This included putting shoes on my own, even though at times I didn’t do it well, and playing around with toys, among other things. I was allowed to do various stuff on my own, such as eating and putting on clothes, and it was important since it taught me how to be independent and try doing what I can, even when someone is present to take care of it. I was also allowed to move from place to place around the house, even with the damages I caused like breaking of glasses. I realized it was a good stage in life when I also got a chance to explore an environment that is tolerant of failure. I realize also that at that age, I was not easily punished when I made a mistake in the process of doing anything. This helped me develop self-control without losing my self-esteem.
I started interacting with other children around the age of four to six, making friends, and playing games with them. Playing was what I did most at this stage, and it enabled me to develop my interpersonal skills. It was a stage when we could organize with other children and come up with an activity that would make us happy. It was a daring stage, and I also found myself carrying things from the house without my parents’ knowledge just to try something different with my friends. It was all about being initiative, and most of the time, my parents would try to stop too many initiatives. It was also when I developed a curiosity, and I would start asking my parents a lot of questions about everything I needed to know about. All I could remember was that my parents tolerated all my questions and would answer them accordingly. If, at all, they had treated my questioning as being a nuisance to them, then it would have developed the guilt inside me. This was important since it enabled me to be confident when interacting with other kids.
Between the ages of six and twelve, I learned how to read and write, do simple things well, and do other stuff on my own. I also learned various skills that we were taught at school by our teachers. It was the stage when I felt that I needed a win approval, and I started demonstrating my competencies in-class work and other school activities. The encouragement I received from my teachers, even with a little improvement, made me feel industrious and confident in my ability to achieve my goals.
Between the ages of twelve and nineteen, the adolescent stage, I started searching for a sense of self and personal identity by exploring my personal beliefs, values, and goals. I became more independent and started working on my future when it comes to career, family, and relationship housing, among other things. It is the stage where I am experiencing the need to perform my role in society. At this age, I am also trying to nurture my talent in singing as well as creating my passion for designing, which I feel I have passion for. I also experienced the need to have a good relationship with the people around me. It is a stage of self-realization, and failure to go through this stage well is likely to cause confusion and make people feel uncomfortable for the rest of their lives.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Theory
This theory seem to apply since we realize that if one fails to complete one stage successfully then it will affect the rest of his/her existence (Wilson, 2014). For instance, when your parents fail to listen to the kid’s questions and answer in a polite way it will make the kid feel stupid and afraid to raise a concern even in his/her later stage in life.
Erikson’s theory fails to apply, For instance When we look at the first stage, “Trust and mistrust” we are not sure if a child has already developed trust with other people simply because he/ she was treated well at the early stages. In general being successful in one stage is not a guarantee that the required virtues are already gained and will be applied automatically.
References
Payne, V. G., & Isaacs, L. D. (2017). Human motor development: A lifespan approach. Routledge.
Wilson, J. P. (2014). International human resource development: Learning, education and training for individuals and organisations. Development and Learning in Organizations, 28(2).
