Development of a Child's Sense of Self

Please respond to this students post.
Your total response should be at least 150-250 words. Your explanations should be complete, clear, concise, thorough, and supported by cited information from a class learning resource, and follow APA style with your in-text citation and reference.
Use this Source:
Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French (2017). Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective.
A's Post:
Children begin to develop a sense of self since birth, however, this first begins to present itself more clearly as the child approaches 15-24 months of age. (Lewis & Brooks, 1978) An important indicator of the development of this sense is the culmination of separation anxiety, as a baby can now differentiate between themselves and their primary caregivers.(Garretson,2023) Another important indicator is if the child can pass the "rouge test". First developed by Lewis and Brooks in 1978, the tests consists of a parent discreetly placing a dab of lipstick on their child's nose. When the child looks in the mirror, if they move to touch the lipstick on their nose rather than on "the baby" in the mirror, they have developed a sense of self. (Lewis & Brooks, 1978)
As a baby enters toddlerhood, they start to understand more complex, social emotions such as empathy, guilt and embarrassment. (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019)Toddlers tend to be egocentric, thinking that everyone around them thinks, behaves and feels just as they do.(Lally & Valentine-French, 2019) Throughout this period, children are unable to understand differing perspectives to situations. An example of this would be a child buying their best friend a chocolate ice cream cone because it's their personal favorite, so they believe their best friend's favorite flavor is chocolate too. As children approach middle childhood, they also begin to develop self-concept, with younger children usually having a more positive image of themselves. They also begin to discover their gender and their sense of self control.
There are a multitude of ways parents can support the development of a child's sense of self.I believe that a few of these are: supporting your child's interest, encouraging pretend play, using words of praise and affirmation and by speaking to your child in a loving, respectful and affectionate way.
My niece Sofia is three years old and is absolutely amazing. Around the age of two she began using the word "I" alot. She was able to verbalize what she and only she wanted. For example, she would say "I want to play" or "I want a snack". She loves to play dress up and would recognize herself in the mirror and in photos (if she's dressed as Elsa from Frozen she would say Princess Sofia instead of Princess Elsa.) She also displays the classic traits of toddlerhood egocentrism, as she doesn't understand that just because she is available to play or color, doesn't mean that I am.
References:
Garretson, Michelle, The Sense of Self, SUNY Empire, 2023
Lewis, M., & Brooks, J. (1978). Self-knwledge and emotional development. In M. Lewis & L. A. Rosenblum (Eds.), Genesis of behavior (Vol. 1, pp. 205-226). New York: Plenum Press.
Martha Lally & Suzanne Valentine_French. (2019). Lifespan development: A psychological perspective . Second edition.