At all age stages, there is a special social situation of development characteristic of them only. This is the social position of each child in the system of relationships accepted in society. It is the social situation of development that is determining when filling a person’s life with a special, characteristic content:
- special relationships with people who directly surround the child;
- leading, special for this stage of development activities (labor, teaching, play or communication).
Each age period includes a specific system of rights that the baby can use, and responsibilities that he must constantly perform. Therefore, the social situation of development is not just a psychological phenomenon, but a comprehensive and basic for the dynamics of the formation of the child. Since, precisely thanks to her, qualitative neoplasms arise.
How is its content formed? It spontaneously takes shape, based on historical long-term experience and taking into account the needs of modern society.
Any child, regardless of what his individual development and degree of readiness, having reached a specific age, will be put in the appropriate position accepted for this society. Thus, he will fall into a system of conditions that will determine his further development and the nature of his activity at a given age. Therefore, the child faces a certain dilemma: he must necessarily meet these conditions or not. Only in this case will he be able to feel psychologically and emotionally comfortable.
Therefore, the social situation of development is a characteristic combination of external conditions and internal processes, characteristic of all age stages.
Consider in more detail the preschool and adolescent periods.
Thanks to the emotional and psychological separation of a three-year-old child from adults, certain prerequisites appear for the emergence of a new social situation for the development of a preschooler. The baby can now go beyond the boundaries of his family for the first time and establish a new level of relationships in other adults and children. Why is this necessary?
The child is trying to "enter" into the world of adults, perceiving them as carriers of social roles. That is why the role-playing games with other children in robbers, doctors, drivers, doctors and so on are actively developing. It is important for a preschooler to "enter" into the adult world, therefore, "modeling" it becomes fundamental in mental development.
The social situation of adolescent development has a slightly different task. This age is the basis for the transition from childhood to a responsible and independent life. Therefore, this "intermediate" position has a significant imprint on the course of this period.
First, basic anatomical and physiological changes begin. For several years, the child’s body turns into an adult, and sexual development plays a special role.
Secondly, a different level of relationships with peers and adults is formed. This is especially true of interactions with the family, since the physical and spiritual life moves to the outside world as much as possible. The first place is now occupied by relations with peers with whom there are common interests. They are built on a higher and more complex level, as adolescents are passionate about joint activities and topics that are intimate for them. An emotionally comfortable state is determined by whether he is included in any group of peers.
Therefore, to ensure optimal development of the child, it is necessary to provide him with the “correct” social development situation.