2: General Development in Children

Grand Developmental Theory

When I first started working with children, I was barely an adult myself, and I recall thinking at one point while taking a bird's-eye view of a classroom filled with three and 4-year-olds: “This is like working in an insane asylum.” (Which is neither politically correct nor a true description of young children).  But I thought, If I didn’t know better, I’d think these were all a bunch of crazy short people.  But I did know better (or at least I was beginning to know better), I was learning that there were grand theorists who made it their life’s work to understand the pre-logical, ego-centric, autonomy-seeking, little beings that would become my own life’s work.  Let’s review those theorists so no one else has to be as baffled as I was!

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalytic theory and an early advocate for the role of play in healthy childhood development, stated in A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis that play serves a therapeutic purpose. It helps children manage negative emotions without alienating them from adults (Elkind, D., 2008). The psychoanalytic theory illuminates why children may pretend to be monsters, act out spanking a doll, or create drawings that could have deeper subconscious significance.

Sigmund Freud, Circa 1930

Children's drawings are a medium for accessing emotions they don’t have words for. Drawing is not merely a creative act but a tool that facilitates a child's understanding of their own psychological processes, allowing for new symbolizations and transformations of unconscious structures (Wittmann, 2010). 

Imagine a 4-year-old child named Maya who consistently draws a large figure towering over a smaller one, with the smaller figure always positioned in the corner of the page. Over several weeks, the details change; sometimes the smaller figure gains a toy or is placed closer to the larger figure, but the theme of separation remains.

From a surface view, this might look like just a creative drawing, but it is more than that; it is a way for Maya to explore and work through feelings that may not be easy to articulate in words. Perhaps she is adjusting to a new sibling or expressing feelings of power and vulnerability in her environment.

In this case, the drawing serves as a tool for Maya to process her inner emotions. 

Another area of creativity in early childhood is socio-dramatic play.  Children are driven to don that cape, put on those oversized high-heeled shoes, or run through the yard with a makeshift sword.  This form of play allows children to manage internal tensions and developmental pressures. While playing, children express and work through unconscious conflicts. (Gilmore, K. 2011). 

Another prominent theorist in the psychosocial field is Erik Erikson, who outlined the stages people experience as they develop unique identities. According to Erikson, preschool-aged children (3-7 years) go through a stage called Initiative vs. Guilt, which is the third of eight stages. During this stage, children feel a strong urge to make choices about their environment. They seek opportunities to explore materials and their own ideas without too much adult interference. They begin asserting control and power over their environment through directing play and other social interactions. When an ECE classroom is thoughtfully designed with child initiation in mind, opportunities for growth become abundant, and children thrive. Conversely, when they face obstacles to their creative ideas, such as punishment or rigid rules, they experience guilt. Erikson acknowledged that unresolved stages could affect later development, potentially leading to feelings of worthlessness in initiating, due to constant roadblocks like limited child choices or a persistent teacher's agenda that stifles freedom of thought. Children who are encouraged to express their ideas and pursue their drive for exploration and discovery exhibit noticeable psychological growth and embody the virtue of purpose. 

As children enter middle childhood (ages 8–11), they transition into Erikson’s fourth stage: Industry vs. Inferiority. Children are innately motivated to create and contribute at this stage—they want to see their ideas take shape and feel a sense of accomplishment in the process. Teachers who nurture creativity offer rich opportunities for children to produce meaningful work. Classrooms should provide space for student voice, not only in what children choose to make, but also in how they plan, experiment, revise, and share their creations. A teacher attuned to this developmental need might ask children to talk about their artistic choices, collaborate on projects, or reflect on their process with pride. Without those opportunities to practice in the industry, children are at risk for developing feelings of inferiority. When children feel that their creative efforts are recognized and valued, they develop a sense of industry and begin to embody the virtue of skill—a growing belief in their own abilities as makers, thinkers, and artists.

Behaviorist Theory

From a behavioral perspective, children's creative actions can be explained through reinforcement and modeling. Behaviorists have found that environmental variables and reinforcement contingencies shape novel behaviors. (Krapfl, J. E. 2016).

B.F. Skinner, the founder of Operant Conditioning, wrote about this concept in 1938. He highlights that behaviors are acquired through interactions with the environment, mainly via reinforcement and punishment. (Skinner, B.F. 1938). So, with this theory in mind, we can expect that children will respond positively to reinforcement in the form of teachers praising their creative efforts with statements like “Good job!” or “What a beautiful painting!” However, this would be incorrect.  According to scholar Alfie Kohn, we teach children to become dependent on praise and focus them on external motivating factors, which is detrimental to creativity. Children learn to look outward for rewards for their work and lose the natural intrinsic motivation that drives creativity. Alfie Kohn is a prominent critic of operant conditioning, especially as it's applied in educational settings. He argues that rewards and punishments undermine intrinsic motivation.

In his book, Punished by Rewards (1993), Kohn critiques the use of incentives such as stickers, praise, and grades, all classic tools of operant conditioning. He claims they harm children's natural curiosity and intrinsic motivation to learn or create. Kohn asserts that when children work for a reward, their focus shifts from "What can I discover or express?" to "What do they want me to do?" This shift stifles risk-taking, experimentation, and deep engagement, all essential ingredients of creativity. True learning and creativity emerge from environments where children feel safe, respected, and free to explore without the pressure of external evaluations.

Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory extends the principles of behaviorism by incorporating cognitive processes. According to this theory, children learn new behaviors by observing and imitating others, especially when they see those behaviors being rewarded. This observational learning doesn't require direct reinforcement; instead, vicarious reinforcement (observing others being rewarded) can be sufficient. (Bandura, 1977). 

Again, concerns have been raised about behaviorism. Critics argue that observing others receive rewards does not have the impact Bandura suggested. Instead, children may view the reward recipient as competition or feel they cannot match the behavior of the rewarded teacher, leading to disengagement. This study examined the effects of vicarious reinforcement on children's performance. Children who observed peers receiving reinforcement initially improved their performance. However, over time, their performance declined, accompanied by expressions of frustration, such as "There's no use in trying." The authors suggest that observing others being rewarded can sometimes lead to feelings of inadequacy, especially if children perceive the rewarded behavior as unattainable. (Ollendick & Shapiro, 1984)

Constructivist Theory

Brain Development and the Foundations of Creativity

At birth, the human brain contains approximately 100 billion neurons, the raw material for everything we think, feel, and do. But neurons alone are not enough. During the first years of life, children's brains form trillions of synaptic connections through interactions with people, objects, and experiences. This early wiring process is experience-dependent, meaning the brain physically develops in response to the child’s environment and relationships (Center on the Developing Child, 2007).

Creative thinking, including problem solving, imagination, and cognitive flexibility, is shaped by the quality of those early experiences. When young children are given time, space, and encouragement to explore and express themselves, they build neural pathways that support learning, emotional regulation, and creative thinking throughout life. How, then, can early childhood teachers create classroom environments that support healthy brain development and creativity? Research consistently points to responsive relationships and meaningful experiences. Children learn best when they feel emotionally secure, are encouraged to explore, and have opportunities to engage with interesting materials and caring adults.

One of the most important ways teachers support brain development is through everyday interactions. Developmental scientists describe these as serve-and-return exchanges. A child points to something, asks a question, or tries a new idea, and an adult responds with attention, conversation, or encouragement. These back-and-forth interactions strengthen the neural pathways involved in language, attention, memory, and flexible thinking, all of which contribute to creativity. This understanding has practical implications for the classroom. Open-ended materials encourage children to experiment, solve problems, and represent their ideas in many different ways. A cardboard box might become a spaceship, a grocery store, or a cave. Clay, blocks, water, light, loose parts, and storytelling materials invite children to test ideas and make discoveries. Teachers support this process by observing carefully, asking thoughtful questions, and offering just enough assistance to help children move beyond what they could accomplish independently. Vygotsky described this as learning within the zone of proximal development.

The emotional climate of the classroom also matters. Children are more willing to take creative risks when they know their ideas will be respected, even if they are unfinished or unexpected. When teachers value the process of exploration instead of rushing children toward a correct answer, children develop confidence, persistence, and a willingness to keep working through challenges. These experiences strengthen habits of thinking that support creativity over time.

As teachers, one of the most valuable questions we can ask ourselves is not simply what we want children to learn today, but what kinds of thinking our classroom experiences encourage every day.

Reflecting Thoughts

Taken together, the major theories of development offer a shared understanding of childhood as an active, meaning-making process shaped through mind, body, relationships, and environment. Psychoanalytic perspectives highlight the emotional depth of early expression, where symbolic play and drawing provide pathways for children to work through inner experience. Erikson’s psychosocial stages extend this view into identity formation, showing how initiative, confidence, and industry emerge when children are supported in their efforts to act on the world.

Behaviorist and social learning theories draw attention to the role of environment, reinforcement, and observation in shaping behavior, while also raising important questions about how external rewards influence curiosity and intrinsic motivation. Humanistic theory reframes the child as a whole person with dignity, agency, and an inherent drive toward growth and self-expression. Constructivist perspectives from Piaget and Vygotsky further deepen this understanding by showing how children actively build knowledge through sensory exploration, symbolic play, language, and imagination.

Modern insights from brain development research add a biological dimension to these theories. Neural growth during early childhood is shaped through experience, relationships, and repeated opportunities for exploration. Each interaction, each material encounter, and each moment of guided play contributes to the architecture of thinking itself. Creativity, in this view, is not an isolated skill but a developmental outcome of rich cognitive, emotional, social, and sensory engagement.

Across these perspectives, a coherent picture emerges. Children develop as thinkers, creators, and meaning-makers through continuous interaction between internal processes and external experience. Their play, drawings, and imaginative acts reflect this integration in visible form. When educators understand development through this layered lens, they are better positioned to design environments that support curiosity, resilience, and flexible thinking across the lifespan.