It’s usually not there with you the moment you wake up, but by the time you finish singing in the shower, self-consciousness may have descended on your morning. Unlike you, though, there’s a good chance Baby has never met the feeling of self-consciousness in the entirety of their young life. They may be perfectly happy to pick their nose out in the open as the two of you move through your day now, but that could be about to change as they learn more about the world, and the reactions of the people in it.
At the essence of self-consciousness as it first develops, it’s just a toddler’s awareness that they have a self, and is a separate person from you, and from the other people around them. Where people run into trouble, from toddlers all the way up through adulthood, is when it comes to what are called “the self-conscious emotions,” like embarrassment, pride, guilt, and shame. These emotions aren’t directly related to a toddler’s actions, but are a result of their perception of what other people will think about their actions.
A self-consciousness timeline
One of the first recognizable signs that a toddler is beginning to develop an awareness of themself as a separate person comes when they look in the mirror and recognizes the child they see there as themself. A common test for this is to leave a smudge of color, like a lipstick stain, on their face before bringing them over to the mirror. If they think it’s that other toddler who’s silly enough to have a dirty face, they probably hasn’t made that mental leap yet. If they reach up to rub the smudge away, congratulations, they are on their way to a lifetime of checking to make sure they doesn’t have spinach stuck between their teeth.
This milestone can come at a range of different times, but the connection usually clicks some time in the months leading up to their second birthday. It’s also around this time that toddlers start to become aware of other people’s reactions to their behavior. This awareness eventually leads to self-conscious emotions like pride, guilt, and shame. A toddler might show these emotions by apologizing or hiding after they have done something they shouldn’t, or by reacting with pride when they have done something they know you’ll like.
Another sign of a toddler’s growing understanding of themself as an individual comes with their growing language development – the use of self-referential language like “I,” “me,” and “my.” This type of language often also goes along with an understanding of the concept of ownership, which isn’t possible before an understanding of self.
Healthy ways to handle self-consciousness
Self-consciousness is a sign of Baby’s growing cognitive development, but it’s also not always a fun feeling. Shouldn’t Baby be able to dance around the house without worrying about how they look, and try to say new words and try new skills without worrying that they will make a mistake, or do badly? Of course they should, and how you respond to their budding self-consciousness can help make sure that they do. Self-confidence and a sense of resilience are important counterbalances to develop alongside self-consciousness.
- Lead the way: Baby looks to you and their other caregivers for clues about how to respond to situations, and situations they are embarrassed about are no different. If you’re hard on yourself, and you tend to dwell on your mistakes, there’s a good chance they will learn to do the same. On the other hand, if you stay calm, and do your best to learn from your mistakes before shrugging them off, they may learn that from you, instead.
- Offer them a way to fix it: When Baby messes up, offering them something to do instead can be a good way to diffuse any self-consciousness they may be feeling, whether that means encouraging them to help pick up a friend’s block tower they may have just knocked into, or repeating a word they have just mispronounced back to them as a model, or prompting them to say “sorry” if they bumps into someone.
- Walk the fine line: It’s not always easy to find the balance between not making too big of a deal about potentially embarrassing situations, and still taking your toddler’s feelings of self-consciousness seriously. One of the best ways to do this is just to follow Baby’s cues. If they seem embarrassed and like they are ready to move on from a subject, this might mean letting it go, even if you’re only teasing, or you think whatever Baby is embarrassed of is just cute. On the other hand, if they seem troubled by something, even if you don’t think it’s too big of a deal, like forgetting pajama day at their daycare, taking a little time to help them put the situation in perspective might be helpful.
Unless Baby is especially sensitive, there’s a good chance embarrassment won’t be a very big part of their life for a while, but it’s a good idea to keep in mind that they are learning more about the world every day, and this learning can come with all kinds of unexpected types of emotional growth.
Sources
- N.D. Eggum-Wilkens, K. Lemery-Chalfant, N. Askan, H.H. Goldsmith. “Self-Conscious Shyness: Growth during Toddlerhood, Strong Role of Genetics, and No PRediction from Fearful Shyness.” Infancy. 20 (2): 160-188. Retrieved May 24 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25685095.
- Rae Jacobson. “How to Help Kids Deal with Embarrassment.” Child Mind Institute. Child Mind Institute Inc. Retrieved on May 24 2017. https://childmind.org/article/help-kids-deal-embarrassment/.
- Michael Lewis. “The Self-Conscious Emotions.” Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Development. CEECD / SKC-ECD, September 2011. Retrieved on May 24. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/emotions/according-experts/self-conscious-emotions.
- Susan A. Miller, Ellen Boothe Church, Carla Poole. “Ages & Stages: How Children Develop Self-Concept.” Scholastic. Scholastic Inc. Retrieved May 24 2017. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/ages-stages-how-children-develop-self-concept/.
- Josephine Ross, Douglas Martin, Sheila Cunningham. “How do children develop a sense of self?” The Conversation. The Conversation US Inc. October 17 2016. Retrieved on May 24 2017. http://theconversation.com/how-do-children-develop-a-sense-of-self-56118.
