Statement of the problem. The authors of this paper study the ideas of children of senior preschool age about their parents. Currently, the phenomenon of modern parenthood is actively discussed in the scientific literature, including the specifics of parents’ attitude to their underaged children and the image of parenthood in the representations of modern mothers and fathers. At the same time, there are practically no studies characterizing the image of a parent in the representations of children. The purpose of the article is to characterize the ideas of children of senior preschool age about their parents. The methodology of the research consists of the scientific ideas of A. Adler, M. O. Ermikhina about the importance of studying a child’s ideas about parents as a factor in the formation of its attitude to oneself and relationships with others; a systematic approach in the study of the family (A. Ya. Varga); the research of A. Adler, J. Bowlby and Russian scientists L. I. Bozhovich, N. V. Varayeva, L. S. Vygotsky, I. V. Dubrovina, T. V. Leus, and V. S. Mukhina regarding the influence of the image of father and mother formed in child’s ideas on the nature of its relationships with people around it and its social functioning throughout life. The study involved children of senior preschool age who are brought up in two-parent families. The main research method was content analysis of textual information obtained through an associative experiment. To identify an unconscious, automated level of representation of the image of father and mother by children of senior preschool age, as well as features of their relationships with parents, the “Incomplete sentences” method was used. Research results. The results of the study of the ideas of senior preschoolers about their parents are described. It is established that the ideas of senior preschool children about their parents are generally characterized by an emotionally positive attitude towards their father and mother. Children’s expectations from their parents are associated with participation of parents in joint activities with them (games, walks), as well as with manifestation of positive emotions and feelings by parents. At the same time, in the associations of children, there is practically no experience of interaction with parents against the background of the leading type of activity of a preschool child – games. The fears of children associated with their parents are characterized by the fear of emotional rejection by parents. Conclusion. Based on the presented description of the ideas of senior preschool children about their parents, the authors of this article propose and justify a system of psychological and pedagogical work with parents, which involves: informing them about the influence of child-parent relations on the mental and personal development of a preschool child; forming their position of emotional acceptance in relation to a child; teaching them effective ways of interacting with a child based on the leading type of children’s activity – games. The main content of this work is psychological education, as well as individual and group counseling of parents.

Statement of the problem. The authors study the characteristics of maternal attitudes towards children of primary school age with severe speech disorders. Currently, a large number of studies of the impact of the family on the development of the child are recorded, while there are practically no studies of parental attitudes towards children with developmental disorders, including children with severe speech disorders. The purpose of the article is to describe the specifics of maternal attitudes to children of primary school age with severe speech disorders and to substantiate the directions and content of psychological and pedagogical work with this category of mothers. The research methodology is composed of scientific concepts reflecting the general and specific laws of the mental development of children, presented in the works of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, V.V. Lebedinsky; studies by V.V. Tkacheva, characterizing the relationship of parents and children in families raising children with developmental disabilities; works by A.Y. Varga, A.S. Spivakovskaya, R.V. Ovcharova, Y.B. Hippenreuter, substantiating the significance of psychological support of the family to ensure the full mental and personal development of the child. The study involved 30 mothers raising primary school age children with severe speech disorders. The psychodiagnostic tool was the methodology for studying parental attitudes, developed by A.Y. Varga and V.V. Stolin, aimed at identifying the predominant type of parental attitudes towards the child; the methodology “Questionnaire of child-parental emotional interaction”, proposed by E.I. Zakharova, which allows assessing the severity of such indicators of parent-child interaction as sensitivity, emotional acceptance, behavioral manifestations. Research results. The peculiarities of maternal attitudes towards children of primary school age with severe speech disorders are described. It was established that mothers are characterized by a destructive attitude towards a child: the predominant types of parental relationship are “Authoritarian Hypersocialization” and “Little Loser”, which indicates the desire of mothers to exercise total control over the behavior of the child, based on the belief that the child is too small, immature, compared to peers, is not adapted to independent life. At the same time, the emotional interaction of mothers with children is characterized by insufficient expression of emotional acceptance, the ability to provide emotional support to the child. Conclusion. Based on the identified features of parental attitude to children with severe speech disorders, the authors proposed and substantiated a system of psychological and pedagogical work with mothers, which involves: informing parents about the features of mental and personal development of a child with severe speech disorder; mastering techniques of effective communication with the child; establishing a friendly parent-child relationship. The main content of this work is psychological education, as well as individual and group counselling of parents.

Statement of the problem and purpose of the article. The article is devoted to the study of the formation and development of self-consciousness among preschool children at the present time. The relevance is due to changes in the system of socio-psychological factors, conditions and prerequisites for the development of children’s self-awareness. The article describes the current context of children’s development that affects formation and development of children’s self-awareness, and also provides data on the development of components of self-awareness in the older preschool age, including complicated development among children with disabilities (disorders of the musculoskeletal system). Materials and methods of research. The proposed study is empirical. Theoretical research methods were used: analysis, synthesis, generalization and systematization of scientific ideas; structural, functional and genetic analysis of the problem; empirical research methods included: psychodiagnostics methods (questionnaire, experimental); mathematical methods of data processing. Research results. The results of a comparative empirical study allowed us to identify some features of the development of self-esteem and self-awareness among healthy senior preschool age children and children with disabilities. The predominance of inadequate overestimated self-esteem among healthy senior preschool children was determined, which is natural for this age period. Awareness of themselves by most healthy children occurs through highlighting their individuality. Most healthy children have the simplest version of the self-perspective formation. Children with disabilities (disorders of the musculoskeletal system) often have very low and low self-esteem, treat themselves and their abilities mostly negatively, in comparison with their healthy peers. They often feel rejected and feel pressure from loved ones, have a more complex version of the development of the self-perspective. Conclusion. Data on the development of components of self-consciousness among healthy and somatically challenged children of senior preschool age are presented and described, indicating the presence of features in the development of individual components of self-consciousness, depending on the conditions that ensure their formation and development.