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Trust vs. Mistrust is Erikson's first stage of development. This occurs from birth until about 18 months old. This is a very important part of a child's development because it ultimately determines how they view the world around them and if it is safe. When an infant is hungry, they will alert their caregivers by crying/fussing and if their caregivers tend to their needs, the child will develop trust with them. If a child's needs are not met, they will develop mistrust and will feel fear and unsafe. My childhood wasn't a typical one. My mother and father were unable to provide a safe living environment for me, so my grandparents raised me. They got me when I was 6 months old. During the first 6 months of my life, I most likely developed mistrust because my basic needs were not consistently met. However, after my grandparents adopted me, I know that they took the absolute best care of me. I believe that I left this stage with trust but I definitely teetered that line in the beginning. While studying this stage, I have learned that sometimes when a child leaves with mistrust, their future relationships can be affected. When I was young, I remember that I was very attached to my grandparents. I would have meltdowns when they left. Because of this, I do think that the first 6 months of my life did affect me in some sort of way.

"Consistent with Erikson’s views on the importance of trust, research by Bowlby and Ainsworth has outlined how the quality of the early attachment experience can affect relationships with others in later life."

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Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt is Erikson's second stage in development. This stage occurs from 18 months to 3 years old. During this stage, the child is developing their sense of independence. This can be tough because during this stage, children want to do things all on their own without anyone helping them. It is important to give children the "space" to try to do tasks on their own. It may take longer but allowing them to learn these things without putting pressure on them will help them feel confident in their tasks. A great example is potty training. I hear a lot that a child is ready when they are ready and by rushing potty training and becoming frustrated and/ angry when they have accidents, it can lead them to feel shame and doubt. Instead, praising them when they do make it to the potty will make them excited and more willing to keep doing it. Another example is allowing your child to dress themselves. When I was a child, my grandmother would allow me to pick out my own clothes and dress myself on the weekends. She would allow me to wear that outfit out regardless if i matched or was in a Halloween costume. She said sometimes my clothes were on backwards. My grandmother said that on these days, I was happy and very proud of myself when I was done. She never made me feel like I was silly or bad for picking out even the silliest outfits. Due to this, I left this stage in autonomy.

"When a child manages to do something on their own, they gain a sense of self-control and self-confidence."

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Initiative vs. Guilt is Erikson's third stage of development. This occurs from 3 to 6 years old. This stage is all about taking imitative and exploring their environments. They are curious about the things around them. if they are encouraged and feel other's excitement in what they are doing, they will learn to take initiative and begin to think for themselves. They will continue to explore and not feel ashamed. If they are constantly told that they "can't' or they are criticized, they may feel guilt or that they are wrong. "It is at this stage that the child will begin to ask many questions as his thirst for knowledge grows. If the parents treat the child’s questions as trivial, a nuisance, or embarrassing or other aspects of their behavior as threatening, the child may feel guilty for “being a nuisance”."

When I was a child, I always asked a lot of questions. My grandpa told me that I saved all of my questions just to ask him because of how many I would ask. To me, he was the smartest man and knew everything so I wanted to learn from him. I don't ever remember him being annoyed or ever asking me to stop. I am sure he wanted to but he knew that I was learning about the world around me. Another example I have is that my babysitter, her daughter, and I would always play games that my friend and I made up. Her mom would always play along and let us choose how the game worked. Looking back on that now, I am sure my friend and I argued a lot but both of us were taking initiative and overcoming our made up challenges. To me this is an exciting stage to be in. I left this stage in Initiative.

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Industry vs. Inferiority is Erikson's fourth stage of development. This occurs from 7-11 years old. In this stage, children start to compare themselves with their peers. They are also learning new skills and how to master them. If children are encouraged by their caretakers, peers, and teachers, they may develop a sense of self-worth and they will feel confident in their work/skills. However, if they are not supported and are constantly being criticized, they may develop a sense of inferiority. My most remembered event as a child falls under this stage of development. When I was in 4th grade, I had made a mistake on an assignment and my teacher had help up my paper, pointed at me, and proceeded to call me stupid in front of the entire class. That moment changed my entire schooling experience. I felt as if my work was not good and the following year, I actually was held back. A lot of this was due to me not turning in my assignments because I think I was afraid of backlash. After that, it became a bad habit. I most definitely left this stage in inferiority. Children become capable of performing complex tasks. Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a belief in their abilities. Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their abilities.

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Identity vs. Role Confusion is Erikson's fifth stage of development. This stage occurs from 12-18 years old. During this stage, adolescents are often faced with and "identity crisis". They are trying to figure out who they are, who they want to be, and what they believe in. These things can change throughout this stage. If adolescents are given the freedom to explore different roles, they will develop a sense of self and they will gain confidence in themselves. However, if parents force them to be who they want their child to be or believe what they believe, the child will develop role confusion. They will feel "lost" and not know who they are. They also may rebel, and this could cause them to fall into unsafe roles.

Teenagers explore who they are as individuals, seek to establish a sense of self, and may experiment with different roles, activities, and behaviors.

Throughout my middle school and high school years, I just wanted to fit in. I definitely experienced both identity and role confusion multiple times. I believe that is a normal thing. Comparing who I was in middle school with who I was my senior year, there was a reason I was voted most changed. In middle school, I would do whatever it took to try to fit in even if I wasn't always who I knew I wanted to be. Same in high school really but after a while, I realized that I wanted to find my own identity and not be what everyone else was trying to be. Even though I didn't always make the right choices, my parents never made me feel like I couldn't come to them, or I had to be a certain way. They allowed me to be anyone I wanted to be as long as I was safe, kind, and smart about my choices. I left this stage with Identity, but I truly believe we are capable of changing in any stage.

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Intimacy vs. Isolation is Erikson's sixth stage of development. This stage occurs from 19-39 years old. During this stage, we are looking to build intimate/loving and lasting relationships. We want to find love and share our interests and who we are with someone. We build trust again during this stage, we just happen to understand what that actually means this time around. If we are successful, we develop a sense of happiness. We may feel safe and vulnerable, but in a good way. We can express our love as well as receive it. If we are unable to find these things with someone or someone's, we may develop isolation where we feel alone or unachieved. Our self-esteem may be low, and we may not feel accomplished. I am currently in this stage of development. I would confidently say that I am going to leave this stage in intimacy. I found the love of my life, my husband, but I also have formed some of the strongest friendships that I hold very close to my heart.

Romantic and sexual relationships can be an important part of this stage of life, but intimacy is more about having close, loving relationships. It includes romantic partners, but it can also encompass close, enduring friendships with people outside of your family.

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Generativity vs. Stagnation is Erikson's seventh stage of development. This occurs from 40-64 years old. During this stage of development, individuals may wonder what they have contributed to the world aside from family and what they are leaving the next generation. If they feel that they have contributed value to the world they will feel generativity. If they feel their contributions were not worthy, they may experience stagnation which may leave them feeling unaccomplished and that they have been unproductive.

Although this stage is a little bit away for me, I can start contributing now. Throughout our lives, we grow in so many ways. We learn from our past and use that to build our futures. I believe if we continue to push ourselves to be better than what we were yesterday, we can leave this stage in Generativity. Like many other stages, we will experience both sides to most stages.

In fact, Erikson theorized that adults who are coming across challenges risk a lot. At this stage in human development, if adults don't continue to grow, they risk becoming stagnant.

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Ego Integrity vs. Despair is Erikson's eighth stage of development. This occurs from 65 years old death. During this stage. The individual will look back on their life and accomplishments. If the individual feel like their life had meaning and they feel accomplished, they will develop ego integrity. If they do feel like they had a great and accomplished life, they may develop despair. This can cause bitterness, regret, and anger as well as a sense of failure. This stage is the last stage. I kind of feel scared to reach this stage one day. My husband and I have been trying for a family and my mind sometimes wonder if it doesn't happen, what will I feel during this stage. Until then, I will continue to be my best self and strive for happiness.

Individuals who reflect on their lives and regret not achieving their goals will experience bitterness and despair.