Understanding Child Brain Plasticity
There always seems to be this ever-prevailing divide between generations. This is both due to environmental differences and also natural human development. When at a younger age people are more susceptible to influence. This is essential for the developing all one’s vital skills. This also seems to generate a divide between generations. This is why, outside experience, younger people are more susceptible to trends and new ideas, via the brain’s natural desire to accumulate new knowledge. The more applicable these trends become to someone’s everyday life. I often see people indiscriminately hating children, thinking they are all naturally malicious, however I find it more than likely it usually a select few in a group that act maliciously, while the majority will follow. A key example of this can be seen with Lord of the flies, with only a few prominent figures acting hostile at first, and the rest of the children following though. Now this doesn’t mean children are unempathetic far from it. I would say more so that children’s comprehension is overly homogenized on the entire enviornment. Because of this it is hard to prioritize and or focus on an individual’s needs. I don’t believe this is impossible for children to accomplish, rather just harder considering how complex the world really is. Child psychologist Leonard Shengold who recently passed away has spoken about his thoughts on empathy at an early age. In the below quote reflects an experience Dr. Leonard Shengold had at age 5.
(The NewYork Times,Dr. Leonard Shengold, 94, Psychoanalyst Who Studied Child Abuse, Dies, Sandomir Richichard)“And as soon as she said that, I could tell from her face how distressed she was to have said it. She started to cry, and I started to cry. Perhaps I had an early talent for empathy.”
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While, retrospective, this quote does show children are capable of empathy, despite them often being attributed with an egocentric world view. In order for a child to empathize they must however be properly informed about a situation. One cannot expect obedience, if one doesn’t bother to explain a situation. If anything, it is likely to build a sense of distrust which will likely carry on into adulthood. This seems to be the major reasons why orphans tend to have behavioral problems, due to early distrust via their circumstances.
Mental disorders have oddly become prevalent throughout the modern era. Though I personally believe that everyone falls into the mental disorder spectrum to a degree, it is only when one’s psychologically becomes dangerous to one’s self an or other when something truly becomes a mental disorder, via creating disorder. Perhaps this increase in mental disorders is caused by the internet, causing more awareness of the problems in the world. Perhaps we are only getting results on these mental disorders now because greater knowledge of these fields is available. There is one thing I know for sure however, childhood is hard to experience no matter who you are. The world is hard to understand for even many of the greatest philosophers. Thus what must be done is try to understand the next generation, so they can understand the past.
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