[custom_adv] Children typically reach developmental milestones. These milestones reflect abilities, such as walking and talking, that are achieved by most children at similar ages. [custom_adv] Among other things, we are interested in trying to explain how children reach these milestones and how individual, social and cultural factors may influence how we develop. [custom_adv] Centuries ago, child psychology was a completely foreign concept. During Medieval times, for instance, children were viewed as nothing more than small versions of adults. [custom_adv] They were treated the same – and even dressed the same – as grown-ups. Today we know that childhood is a very influential time in a person’s life. [custom_adv] Events that happen when we’re young – even small, seemingly insignificant ones – can have a direct impact on how we feel and behave as adults. [custom_adv] The study of the psychological processes of children, and specifically, how these processes differ from those of adults, how they develop from birth to the end of adolescence, and how and why they differ from one child to the next, is a specialised branch of psychology known as child psychology. [custom_adv] Child psychologists work with children and adolescents to diagnose and help resolve issues causing emotional or behavioural problems, such as learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, anxiety and depression.
