The perception of one's mirror image and interaction with it in psychology are associated with the formation of self-awareness. The fact that children are interested in their reflection in the mirror was noticed a long time ago: for example, Charles Darwin argued that if a child recognizes his image in the mirror, it means that he made up this image. Do you remember when we gave a very tiny baby a massage, stroking and naming parts of his body? Do you remember how in 3-4 months a little researcher was surprised to study his own hands, and a little later he began to taste his heels? All these are steps in mastering yourself. And loving parents provide essential assistance in the child's self-identification. Recognizing oneself in the mirror and enjoying interacting with the reflection are confirmations that the care and upbringing in the first year of life were correct.
[b]How do you know if a child recognizes himself in the mirror?[/b]
There is a technique by N.N.Avdeeva that allows you to find out if the child recognizes himself in the reflection. To conduct a small experiment, you need to create several situations near the mirror. For example, a child and a changed appearance (a light cap on his head, a smudge of lipstick on his nose), a child and a close adult (mom approaches the mirror with the baby), a child and a toy (a bright toy is placed behind the child, which he sees in the mirror).
If the child's actions are directed at the mirror (he touches the glass, tries to take a reflection), then he does not recognize himself yet. If the actions are directed at themselves (there are attempts to remove the cap, erase the lipstick stain, the baby is looking for a toy behind him), then this indicates that the child recognizes himself.
The child's good–natured attitude towards his own reflection, recognition of himself and his loved ones in the mirror are indicators of the well–being of the child's mental development, namely, the process of self-identification. Psychologists even distinguish the so-called "mirror stage" (J.Lacan), and it covers the period from 6 to 18 months. All this time, the baby interacts with his reflection in different ways. How?
Up to 4-5 months old, the child looks at the mirror with pleasure: it is bright, shiny, light is reflected in it, something is moving. All this attracts the child. He does not recognize his reflection, but he gets used to his appearance, so he can smile at the mirrored baby in a friendly way, and also try to touch him.
After 6 months, it may seem to you that the child begins to associate his movements with the movements in the mirror. And it really is! While the baby is still only catching the similarity, it surprises him, he looks at his hands, shoulders, legs, and not just his face.
At the age of 10 to 14 months, a child may try to establish contact with a reflection: he tries to touch it, kiss it (he puts his mouth open to the glass), brings toys and pieces of food to the mirror companion. He may try to look behind the mirror to find out where the reflection is hiding.
Experiments with the mirror continue, and by the age of 12-15 months, the baby realizes that he is in the mirror. This can manifest itself, for example, in the fact that a child approaches the mirror and, without taking his eyes off the reflection, corrects something or feels himself. Kids can look at their hair, some details of clothes. If you haven't watched your child through this process of self-discovery, there is a way to make sure that the child recognizes his reflection. To do this, you can organize a small experiment, such as that conducted by psychologist N.N. Avdeeva (described at the beginning of the article). For example, you can use lipstick to draw a red dot on a child's nose. If he recognizes himself in the mirror, he will touch his nose and try to erase the smear.
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