How does a child’s communication change throughout preschool age?
The need for communication is inherent in human nature. But this need has many nuances. At different age stages, communication performs its actual functions. The nature and motives of communication change even at such a short stage as preschool childhood.
Firstly, the circle of people with whom the child interacts is gradually expanding. First of all, these are adults who explain, help, and protect everything. But then the preschooler’s interest in communicating with children like himself becomes more active.
Secondly, the subject matter of communication changes. Communication based on practical actions is being replaced by mental communication. If a 3-4 year old child reaches out to his interlocutor to show what a beautiful dress a doll has or talk about a new car, then a five year old child can spend hours asking his “Why?”, simply walking next to his mother.
No improvised objects or toys are needed to ask where the sun sets, what the rainbow is made of, or why the chicken doesn’t fly. And all this interests children so much.
The progress of communication in preschool age continues further, introducing new motives for the need to communicate with adults or peers. Having bombarded their parents with questions about natural phenomena and learned something for themselves, children strive to share their knowledge with their peers. And adults are addressed with the next batch of questions - now about people’s relationships, professions, hobbies and other human subtleties.
Communication is the best opportunity to get to know the surrounding reality and yourself. This is one type of activity, which is why it is called a communicative activity. Preschoolers are involved in this activity. They are guided by different motives. Forms of communication in preschool age acquire an extra-situational character, since the development of cognitive processes and speech allows the child to reason abstractly, and not just about what he sees and hears at a particular moment.
Forms of communication between preschoolers and peers
In the period from 3 to 7 years, forms of communication with peers are observed, which are consistently updated from younger to older preschool age:
- Emotional-practical
- Situational business
- Non-situational business
Communication among younger preschoolers is prompted by emotions or practical action. Kids can simply run up to each other with a joyful smile, and this is already a sign that they are interested in communicating
It is not so important how long their communication will captivate them. The emotionality of contact is valuable
The children's joint actions are still short-lived. They can make Easter cakes nearby or roll cars. They can demonstrate how far they throw a ball or slide down a slide. However, the emotional-practical form of communication provides the basis for the formation of initiative in communication.
In middle preschool age, children's business communication actively develops. This is due to the progress of the role-playing game. Preschoolers no longer play just side by side, but together, choosing more complex plots, distributing roles, and agreeing on the rules.
Some business qualities are demonstrated, but they are tied to situations. For example, a child may act as a strict controller in the game in accordance with the chosen role, but behave timidly in ordinary contacts.
Extra-situational relationships allow you to shift attention from the actions of the communication partner to the person himself. Unexpectedly, the preschooler begins to see his play partner as an interlocutor, a person with his own interests and preferences.
Another thing is that the revealed personality traits can either please or repel. Both a boy and a girl can tell their yesterday’s friend that they no longer play with him, because he takes other people’s toys without permission, offends others, etc.
The behavior of peers serves as a kind of mirror, allowing the child to see himself from the outside. And developing social intelligence helps the preschooler to notice the nuances of facial expressions and statements that previously escaped attention.
Basic conditions for the development of communication in preschool age
Close people play a primary role in a child’s life, and the child’s involvement in communication depends on them. Unlike older children, any activity of preschoolers is directed by adults. The corresponding features of communication between preschool children are emerging:
- An adult gradually immerses the child in the knowledge and skills developed by many generations of humanity, and without which life is unthinkable.
- The child perceives adults as a model - how to behave, what feelings and qualities to show in various situations.
- When communicating with adults, the preschooler receives feedback in the form of support and praise.
- Communication with peers provides an opportunity for a child to get to know himself and realize that he is one of the same children.
Motives for communication among preschoolers
Let's find out what motives drive preschoolers when they initiate communication with an adult or peer. A 3-year-old child hands his dad parts of a construction set - this is already an invitation to interact. The 4-year-old “why” besieges his parents with questions about what and how. A 5-year-old preschooler sits his grandmother in a chair and declares that he will treat her. A 6-7 year old child declares that he will go play with Mishka, but he is not interested in playing with Vladik.
In any of these cases, a leading motive appears. , cognitive motives predominate . Children understand that adults can and know a lot, therefore, in addition to emotional attraction to adults, they are driven by cognitive interest.
In middle preschool age, children need play partners. They are attracted to story-based games that simulate everyday life.
And since the most efficient play partner is an adult, children love to involve the role of mothers, grandmothers and, less often, the male part of the family in playing the role. Let gaming activities take place, but business motives of communication predominate at this age.
Older preschoolers actively communicate with both adults and peers. They become selective in relation to their peers. They make friends with whom they are ready to play “mother-daughter”, football and any other game. But a category of children with whom they do not intend to communicate is also identified. And if you play in a team game, then on different teams. Personal motives come to the fore at this age stage .
6-year-old children also continue to approach adults with questions or a desire to hear evaluation and praise. Along with knowledge of the world, they are now often interested in issues of a moral nature. The motives for communication between preschool children and adults in such cases can also be attributed to personal ones.
Development of communication skills in preschool children
The communication need is special. It develops as a need to know oneself and other people. To satisfy this need, at least primary communication skills are important. What communication skills can we talk about at the age of 3-5 years?..
To guide your child in developing successful interactions, pay attention to how your child expresses himself when trying to communicate with similar kids. Communication among younger preschoolers is characterized by:
- Attention to a peer as someone “like myself.”
- Emotional perception of interaction with a peer.
- The desire to show oneself to one’s peers: what I can do, how I do it.
- Sensitivity and receptivity to how your little communication partner treats you.
All of the above components are important. When observing a child, it is easy for adults to notice what is present in abundance and what manifestations are completely absent. For example, if a preschooler is just demonstrating his achievements, you need to intervene and suggest: “Let’s see how a girl/boy can do...”, “You showed off your excavator, and now your friend wants to demonstrate how his cars drive.”
It is useful to regulate the emotional background of communication between preschoolers. For children who are frowning, their mood will be disturbed. Changes in emotions are facilitated by surprise. Figure out how to surprise the kids (by building an unusual tower, demonstrating the unobvious advantages of a familiar toy, etc.), and you will see how their mood will change positively and communication will begin.
If you instill a culture of interaction from early childhood, over time, younger preschoolers intuitively demonstrate such an important quality - paying attention to their communication partner. This is an opportunity to develop the child's communication skills.
Communication among older preschoolers is more multifaceted. After 5 years, children spend significant time with peers. They are connected by various activities that require communication.
This is a role-playing game, creativity, and productive activity. Interaction with others often takes the form of cooperation.
How successful the cooperation will be depends on each participant. In older preschool age, the development of communication skills is closely intertwined with the formation of moral qualities. Goodwill and attention to others, affability and friendliness, willingness to help each other and the ability to give in are qualities without which interpersonal relationships cannot be successful.
Forms of communication with peers
Separation from an adult creates a new social development situation in which the child strives for independence and wants to actively act in the world of adults. The world of the people around you falls into two circles: close people and all other people. The child’s successes and failures, joys and sorrows depend on these relationships. Therefore, the social situation of development of this period is called “ child - social adult”
" Through relationships with adults, the child develops the ability to identify with people. The child learns accepted positive forms of communication that are appropriate in relationships with other people.
Communication with peers.
Adults remain a source of new information and assessment until the end of preschool age. However, during preschool age, other children take up more and more space in a child’s life. At 4-5 years old, a child already knows for sure that he needs other children and clearly prefers the company of his peers.
Features of communication with peers:
1. Variety of communicative actions.
When communicating with peers, a child is capable of not only arguing and demanding, but also deceiving and regretting. For the first time, coquetry, pretense, fantasy appear.
In relation to a peer, from 3 to 4 years old, the child solves the following tasks: managing the actions of a partner, control, evaluating actions, comparing with oneself.
2. Vivid emotional intensity.
Emotionality and relaxedness distinguishes communication with peers from communication with adults. Actions addressed to a peer are more affective. A preschooler is 3 times more likely to approve of a peer and 9 times more likely to conflict with him than with an adult.
From the age of 4, a peer becomes more attractive and a preferred partner.
3. Non-standard and unregulated communication.
If children adhere to certain rules of behavior when communicating with adults, then when communicating with peers they use the most unexpected actions:
they mimic, make faces, and compose fables
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This freedom of communication allows the child to show his originality and individuality.
4. The predominance of proactive actions over reactive ones.
It is still difficult for a child to maintain and develop dialogue. For him, his own statements are more important than the speech of others. He supports an adult’s initiative 2 times more often than the proposals of another child.
In communication with peers, two turning points are observed at 4 years and 6 years:
At 4 years old, children clearly prefer the company of peers to adults and solitary play.
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At the age of 6, selective affection begins to clearly manifest itself, friendship arises
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Forms of communication with peers
1. Emotionally is a practical form of communication. (2-4 years)
The child expects his peers to participate in fun activities and craves self-expression. It is enough for him if a peer joins his game and intensifies the fun
At the same time, everyone strives to attract attention to themselves
2. Situational business form of communication (4-6 years)
This period was the heyday of the role-playing game. The plot-based role-playing game becomes collective. Outside the game: the guys agree on the distribution of roles, the conditions of the game)
3. Non-situational - business form of communication (6-7 years)
Half of the speech addresses to peers acquire an extra-situational character: that is, they talk about where they were, what they did, and evaluate the actions of a friend. “Pure communication” becomes possible, not bound by action or play. More and more contacts between children are observed at the level of real relationships, and less and less at the play level.
Along with the need for cooperation, the need for recognition and respect by peers is clearly highlighted.
