As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son recently celebrated his seventh birthday, a warning has just arrived, urging the Sussexes to refrain from rushing things.
A clinical psychologist, who is a member of the Emma’s Diary medical advisory board, and is an expert in perinatal and family mental health, has just spoken out about a big question that the Duke and Duchess’ have failed to look at properly.
The name of the expert in question is Dr. Frankie Harrison and he is talking daily express uk He explained how much they risk influencing their son’s formative years as it is a time of “complex social situations” as they are often led to ask “big questions”.
Dr. Harrison also delved into this idea, saying, “Seven years is a critical age developmentally. And it’s important to talk about it. Around this time, children move out of more magical, egocentric thinking and into what we call concrete operational thinking. They can begin to reason through things, connect cause and effect, and understand complex social situations in a way they didn’t before. This means questions can become bigger and more direct.”
It has also been described as the age where self-expression, individuality and the child’s sense of self are developed in an effort to “fit into the world around them”.
Meanwhile, “family stories matter here,” he explained a little later in the conversation. “Children this age need a more coherent narrative about who they are and where they come from, even if some parts of that story are complex or difficult.”
This is because this is where they understand the concept of grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles and “how present or absent these relationships are.”
According to the expert, “If there is any distance, geographical or otherwise, children at this age begin to pay attention and feel in a way they might not have done before. They can ask more questions, be more curious, be more direct.”
But “if questions are not answered, children fill in the blanks. Therefore, it is important to provide solid, honest narratives at this age,” he also warned. After all, “by age seven, children are perceptive. They notice if something is being overlooked, or they’re not getting the whole story.”
Before concluding he also said, “The relationships you are building now are the foundation of adolescence. Trust, openness, and the message that no question is too weird.”
