Life Skills &value Education – Class-IX – Unit 7: Privacy

Privacy, just like body ownership, is a building block for the self – esteem development of a child. Every person has a basic need for privacy, and it has to be respected.  Privacy is a matter of right. Its understanding right from an early age acts as a prevention against abuse.

Privacy development stages in children are:-                   

 A. Toddlers

 When children cross the age of 2, they begin to understand that they have their own needs, wants, and choices. Privacy at this age is often marked by them being embarrassed if they know someone is watching them playing “pretend games”, proclamations like” I do it myself”, wanting to play apart from the parents, etc. It is their way of registering that they need privacy. This self – awareness leads young children to seek independence and assert their personality. Children at this age also adore secrets- the notion that they know something, someone else does not.

 B. School Going Kids

 Around 5 years of age, children start understanding gender identity and developing friendships and relationships. It is also the time for them to explore social situations on their own. Playing secret games, shutting the bathroom door or asking parents to knock before entering their rooms are some common behaviours around this age. Playing games like hide and seek, doctor- patients, helps them to explore relationships, behaviours and develop Understanding. While it is essential to start respecting the private bonds created between children and their peers. It is also time to lay the groundwork for personal safety, health and hygiene rules. Parents should position themselves as loved and trusted ones, and children can come to them about any situation that bothers them. They can talk about anything to their loved and trusted ones. At this age, parents/ teachers should also introduce the concept of physique to their children. Puppets, dolls or swimsuit images can be used to educate them about the human body.

 C.  Preteens

 In this age group, children become more centred on friendships and assert for their own spaces. They now have a fair understanding of permission and respect they try to make sense of their body’s transformation and growing independence. This stage is often marked with closed doors, intense friendships and embarrassment. As children begin adolescence, their bodies are being bombarded with hormones, feeling/ emotions and awkward changes. To compound preteen biology, adolescents do not have a fully functioning brain like adults do.

D. Teens  At this age, children are struggling with self- identity. They are under much stress as they push through this final transition to adulthood. Teens want to push the boundaries of what they can and cannot get away with, move about  independently  from parents, and create spaces that they feel they have complete ownership of, from their social circles to their smartphones. In this age group, breaking the rules and challenging the authorities is quite common. Teens need time to wonder and analyse who they are and what they stand for in life. Many profound questions need to be answered, and seeking privacy is one- way teens process this self- awareness. Their brains are also undergoing a radical period of development in the prefrontal cortex (part of the brain located at the front) that regulates judgement and the ability to read emotions, requiring teens to spend more time processing crucial decisions.

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