Developmental Psychology

1. I think that parents should have a license before they have children, and it should take a form of certificate for a guarantee against genetic diseases and other diseases, leading to disability from birth. Now society is forced to spend huge amounts of money on maintaining genetically ill people. These diseases and births can be avoided with the necessary help and advice before the conception. After submission of the application and the required documents by potential parents, experts will gather information on potential parents to determine whether they are able to give birth and raise a child properly. In this case, collection of information will be carried out in a number of areas: education, income, criminal record, culture, kinship, pernicious habits and much more. Moreover, the information will be collected via social networks. The consideration of one application will be taken several months, after which the decision will be made on the expediency of issuance a license to a family for having a baby. However, if a child is born without the prior license, the law will provide for a number of restrictions for the child and for the parents, such as:

· Child benefits will be denied;

· Access to public schools and higher education institutions will be denied to the child;

· Maternity leave and vacation benefits will be denied to the child’s parents;

· Due to violations of the law, 50% of the parent’s salary will be held in favor of the state, during 12 years from the birth of the child.

2. During the term of voluntary childcare, the trustee gets and the parents lose their right to legal representation of the child. Performance of functions of a trustee at voluntary childcare is free; the state does not pay maintenance for the child, because the parents are obliged to fulfill their responsibility to provide adequate maintenance of the child, as well as to the educational part of their parental responsibilities. In the case of maternal deprivation, it is highly recommended by experts to determine the agreement between the parents and a guardian, as it will be the payment of maintenance for the child, and what is the involvement of parents in the upbringing of the child. It should be remembered that abandonment of the child by its mother in the institution with the writing of the application with the consent of its adoption is not the basis for the appointment of voluntary childcare. In some regions, there is a widespread practice when the mother inscribes in such a statement that she did not object to the transfer of the child to the custody of another person, and the right to choose a guardian reserves the guardianship and custody. Or there are even statements like “Waiver of parental rights” or “Authorizing the transfer of the childcare to an indefinite number of persons.” These kinds of paper are null and void and do not give a guarantee that the state will pay childcare for the child, even in the case of maternal deprivation.

3. To my mind, children should have a say over their own development within the confines of the choice of leisure activities, the circle of communication, the choice of actual authority to follow. However, it is worth remembering that in issues of freedom (like many others), these should not be extreme. Restrictions around and giving full freedom (permissiveness) do not have a very beneficial effect on the development of a child’s personality. I believe that the question of influence on the child’s own development should be regulated under the following rules:

· Parents give the child a right to choose among several alternatives;

· It is also possible when the child offers its alternative and the adult asserts it if it suits both;

· Parents will not give the child a choice in a situation that could do serious harm to the child or others;

· With the exception of the previous situation, the freedom of choice implies that a child can choose any option, including an erroneous from the point of view of adult (mistake is a valuable experience);

· Position of responsibility. On the one hand, parents take into account the child’s views. On the other hand, in those matters where the child takes all the responsibility on himself, he stands on an equal footing with adults.

I think that if a child is brought up according to these rules, it will obtain responsibility, goal setting, reflection, and it will never allow itself licentiousness.

4. Racism affects mental and physical health, as well as any other serious psychological injury. Victims of racism are experiencing psychosomatic disorders such as mental suffering, anxiety, depression and physical pain. The more discrimination based on race a man is exposed to, the more serious psychological problems he can have. As a child, the victim of racism can develop a sense of instability in its own position, when a person has two or more distinct and incompatible social statuses (for example, the social status of a certain person comes into conflict with his status following from ethnic origin). This contradiction between the role and status is likely to lead to difficulties in adaptation or to mental disorders in children. Victims of racism in old age often suffer from high blood pressure caused by the experienced stress, stigma, and discrimination. High pressure often leads to the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system. The manifestations of racism, both individual and institutionalized cause chronic stress or prolonged difficulties that hinder the successful functioning of people. They understand that they are able to achieve more, but the system or other people are hindering their advancement. These difficulties allow the victim to realize that his interests are infringed, it leads to confusion, and lower his self-esteem. These difficulties may also contribute to the further separation of the representatives of national minorities against their ethnic groups, especially in those cases when the methods they use to overcome permanent difficulties are different from those used in these groups, which further aggravates the mental stress.

5. Research carried out at individual enterprises that employ large numbers of children has created serious doubts about the veracity of the argument that children are physically better able to perform certain jobs. Almost all types of work carried out by children have also been successfully implemented by adults. Even in the manual weaving carpet (the job in which children’s labor is considered to be indispensable), it was revealed that children are not more skilled than adults, and most skillfully woven carpets were made by adult women. Working children have a backlog in the physical development and a range of diseases that result from tension and severity of work for a growing child. In addition, children develop neuralgia, sciatica, and other neurological conditions with a significant deterioration of the ill child and loss of working capacity. But if the labor takes place within the family or school, if such labor is not hard physically and mentally and does not violate the rights of the child, then the child labor can have positive effects, such as:

· Child acquires the motivational aspect of labor, the source of which is the need for cooperation and interaction with adults and the desire to act like an adult;

· Child acquires the automated actions and forms on their basis the first simple labor and skills;

· Child separates itself from its actions, which contributes to an understanding of the results of operations and its relationship with the execution of the action;

· Child seeks to achieve a result of the performed actions and to be appreciated by adults.

6. The onset of the age of majority for any child is the onset of full legal capacity. Despite the apparent study and resolution of this social aspect, in life, we often have to deal with a situation where we can face a lot of problems associated with actions that are made by full rights and legally capable young people, freed from parental care. To my mind, the minimum age for driving and consuming alcohol should be raised to twenty-one, because at the age of eighteen, young citizens are showing great activity and they are often influenced by the opinion of a certain social environment, the media, which does not always produce the desired correct guidelines. At this point, when a young citizen becomes a de jure independent of parental care, committing of errors “in his youth” becomes almost the norm, and he may have to spend the rest of his life fixing those. 18-and 21-year-old citizens are often fundamentally different in terms of motivations and behavioral responses. In many cases, it’s completely different people with different life approaches, points of view and the ability to react to situations in life. The minimum age for driving and consuming alcohol should be raised to twenty-one, so government, teachers and parents were able to have a few extra years in order to make it clear to the younger generation about the great responsibility which they take at the time when they get behind the wheel or consume alcohol.

7. The disintegration of the family is perceived by the individual, especially the first time, as a proof of disability, which leads to an acute experience of inadequacy, insecurity, depression, and self-incrimination. A new image of the family in children (in case the parents live apart) makes the child adapt to the new rules of communication and cooperation with each parent. There is scientific evidence for the assumption that childhood experiences may influence the performance of a marital and parental role in the future. Some psychologists believe that sometimes divorce can be regarded as a benefit, if it changes for the better conditions for the formation of the child, puts an end to the negative impact on its mentality by marital conflict and discord. But in most cases, the divorce of parents has a traumatic effect on the child. The most traumatizing is not divorce itself, but the family background preceding divorce. According to physicians, the situation of divorce even after 1-2 years can cause a severe form of adolescent neurosis. Especially dramatic this situation can be for girls if they are tied to their fathers and have a lot in common with them. However, a concern about the possible loss of the mother often arises, and, as a consequence, there is the anxiety of loneliness and social isolation. Overall fearfulness and amplified fears are increasingly coming from a young age, and frequent diagnoses, in this case, would be anxiety neurosis and hysterical neurosis, often growing into obsessive-compulsive disorder in late adolescence.

8. I believe that euthanasia of old people after 80 years should be done only with their consent and only if they have serious physical problems that lead to strong and excruciating pain. In my opinion, no one has the right to make bad patients experiencing severe suffering become subjective to vegetative existence, and pain robs a person of dignity. The patients often resort to far worse ways to commit suicide than a painless injection, seeking to put an end to their suffering. From the point of view of sacrificing the old in the interests of the young in a time of limited health resources, it would be wise to carry out euthanasia only with the approval of the old people, their full conscious decision and knowing what benefits they will give to the society. It would be great if euthanasia among people older than 80 years has been promoted as a heroic action at the state level, thus a person who has agreed to euthanasia as it was smacked of duty to its country. But in any case, euthanasia of persons older than 80 years should not be carried out on a forced basis. There is also a great possibility of abuse by family members. Greedy relatives may collude with the medical staff and put pressure on the old man to present his death as a voluntary act, whereas, in fact, consent to euthanasia will be produced under pressure. But, despite all the doubts, I personally would like to have legal recourse to assist physicians at the end of my earthly journey, even if my finale will not be painful and hopeless.

9. Dealing with a relative or a close friend who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is a heavy burden. Often, the patient or his relatives do not recognize the early stages of the disease and perceive memory impairment and changes in the person as a manifestation of the natural process of aging. However, they feel that something is wrong, accumulated confusion and irritation. Patients’ self-esteem drops, but they do not want to admit the possible existence of a problem. To my mind, people diagnosed with dementia should have a limited say in decisions about their welfare. After all, do not forget that, in contrast to a healthy person, the sick person cannot control his behavior and critically assess the changing views of the outside world. The patient has changed the perception of the surrounding objects and people; he loses the ability to think rationally. Therefore, its representation of the outside world begins to differ from those generally accepted, though for him, they are as real and obvious as before. It is not easy to imagine what is going on in the mind of the patient, but sometimes when you try to put yourself in his place it helps to understand what causes him to perform certain actions. Perhaps, strange behavior is just a way to express what the patient cannot say with words. We need to respond only to those behavioral abnormalities that represent a real threat, affecting the safety, health, and well-being of the patient or others. Some problems are not worth it, for the sake of their solutions to enter the conflict with relatives.