10. CRISIS 6–7 YEARS

At the age of 6 years old, the child has a readiness for learning. L. S. Vygotsky identified a crisis of 6–7 years. According to the studies of L. S. Vygotsky, a senior preschooler, he is distinguished by his mannerisms, capriciousness, pretentious, artificial behavior. The child manifests stubbornness, negativism. Investigating these features of character, L. S. Vygotsky explained that children’s spontaneity was lost. During this period, meaningfulness also arises in one's own experiences. The child suddenly becomes clear that he has his own experiences. The child understands that they belong only to him, the experiences themselves acquire meaning for him. This is due to a very specific neoplasm - a generalization of the experience, i.e., the child’s attitude towards the world around them.

According to L. I. Bozhovich , a crisis of 6–7 years is caused by the appearance of a new formation, the so-called internal position. Until now, the child practically did not think about his place in life. But at the age of 6–7 years, these questions become relevant for him. At this age, children have an awareness of their social "I". Children imitate adults, strive to assert their importance.

LI Bozhovich pointed out that a child aged 6–7 years old has a need for an activity that ensures his social position. The internal position is in contradiction with the social situation in which the child is at the moment. From the point of view of adults, he is still small, and therefore helpless and not independent. But in his eyes the child is already an adult, and therefore can carry out socially significant activities. According to Bozovic, the crisis of 6–7 years is based on a conflict that arises from the collision of new needs that have arisen in the development process and the unchanged way of life of the child and the attitude of other people towards him. The relationships of the surrounding adults do not allow the child to meet the needs that he has appeared. This leads to frustration, deprivation of needs, which are generated by mental tumors that appeared by this time.

In the preschool age, children can be divided into two groups:

1) children who are already ready for learning activities due to internal prerequisites;

2) children who are not yet ready for learning activities due to internal prerequisites are at the level of play activities.

For children belonging to the first group, a 6–7-year crisis is a consequence of the need to replace play activities with learning activities. Children belonging to the second group will not have negative symptoms if they do not seek to start learning activities too quickly. If children belonging to the second group start learning from the age of 6, then violent scrapping of activity will occur. This will be noticeable by the crisis manifestations. Accordingly, some children come to school "out of crisis", and some - "in crisis".

L. S. Vygotsky studied stable and critical ages. He pointed out that stable ages consist of two stages. At the first stage, there is an accumulation of changes, the formation of prerequisites for a new age. At the second stage, the existing prerequisites are realized, that is, they lead to significant personality changes. Vygotsky believed that all critical ages have a three-membered structure, that is, they consist of the following phases: precritical, proper critical, postcritical .

A crisis of 6–7 years can be considered according to the knowledge of these phases.

In the subcritical phase, the child is no longer satisfied with the “pure” game as the leading type of activity. The child is not yet aware of what this dissatisfaction is connected with. There are already all the prerequisites in order to move from playing activities to training. At the subcritical phase, the period of modifying the game begins, adapting it to the new tasks of mastering the norms, motives, and goals of the activity. A game

modified, approaching imitation of activity. The relationship between the child and the people around him is significantly changing for the better (meaning the improvement of communication skills). There is an active process of preparing a child for school. During the subcritical phase, the prerequisites for the transition from gaming to training activities are not sufficiently formed. The child is completely satisfied with the game, he is satisfied with the position that he takes in society, that is, the child is not affected by what the surrounding adults consider him small. Nevertheless, in the process of communicating with school friends, in the process of preparing in kindergarten or at home for school, as well as under the influence of other reasons, the child develops a subjective desire to go to school.

After modifying the play activity, the child has a noticeable interest in non-play forms of activity, for example, in designing, modeling, drawing, and then gradually the child moves on to activities that are positively evaluated by adults. For example, a child seeks to do something at home, performs tasks for adults, wants to learn something, etc. During this period, the child has a desire to go to school, he already has a certain idea about learning activities. But the older preschooler himself goes to school - an event that is possible only in the future. Accordingly, the preschooler falls into the latent period . The child is ready to learn, but the process of learning has not yet begun. The farther apart are the periods of readiness and the ability to go to school, the stronger the negative symptoms in the child’s behavior.

The critical phase is characterized by discrediting the motives of the game activity. They have almost no interest in the child, he has a desire to go to school. The child perceives himself as an adult. His incompatibility with his social position and his aspirations. This phase is characterized by psychological discomfort and negative behavioral symptoms. Often it seems that the child has a difficult character. Negative symptoms have a function — to draw attention to oneself, to one’s experiences, and also to internal causes — the child is transitioning to a new age stage. The critical phase is associated with the start of school. The child may feel that he is quite ready for school. He may be interested in preparing for school, it is possible that the child has some success in preparing for schoolwork. But during the beginning of training the child has problems. They can be both serious and not so, for example, teacher's comments, failures in the performance of tasks, etc. After several failures, the child refuses to go to school. He experiences a discrepancy between the student’s position and his desires and possibilities. Gradually, the child has more and more reasons for not wanting to go to school. It can be difficult for a child to sit and perform the teacher's assignments, he is not satisfied with the daily routine established for the student. Accordingly, the child loses interest in learning. Often, in this case, the parents complicate the situation with additional classes that they spend on their own at home. Negative additional symptoms, whims, stubbornness appear in the child's behavior. Only gradually, thanks to the play activity, which is very important for the child in such a period, and thanks to the learning activity that the child gradually masters, the prerequisites for the transition to learning activity are prepared.

The postcritical phase is characterized by the fact that with the start of school education, the child becomes aware of his new social position. Negative crisis symptoms disappear, the child understands that his attitude towards him has changed. He is already an "adult", he has classes and responsibilities.

For some children, the crisis begins at the very beginning of schooling. In this case, the course of the crisis will be different. Postcritical phase is possible only with the gradual development of educational activities. The child is gradually aware of the compliance of its capabilities with the requirements of the school, creating motivation. The first successes lead to the fact that the child begins to feel comfortable in school.

Inattention to a child during a crisis of 6–7 years may lead to a risk of neurosis.