As a child grows, he goes through several development stages. Child development is defined as the emotional, physical, cognitive, language and social growth that happens from the time a baby is born to the start of adulthood. The learning and development activities that happen at various stages of development especially during early childhood impact the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth of a child. Therefore, it is significant for a child to have a healthy and well-balanced development. This paper discusses the Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of development and the various factors that influence the development and socialization of a child including parenting styles, childcare option, and peer interaction.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model explains how a child’s inherent theories and the environment interact to influence the development and growth of the child. Children find themselves enmeshed in a variety of ecosystems at the same time. This starts from the closest environment which is the home ecological system to the outside environment which includes the school system and the society as a whole. All these systems inevitably interact with the child and influence all the aspects of the life of the child (Ryan, 2001). Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model categorizes development contexts into five external influence levels.
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The first influential level is the microsystem which is the immediate and smallest environment in which a child lives. This includes the family home, daycare, peer group, community environment or school. The mesosystem is the second one and involves the interaction with various microsystems that a child gets himself in. There is the exosystem which encompasses linkages that exist between one or several settings and can affect a child indirectly. The macrosystem is another one and it is the best and most distant but may have an effect on the child. This includes the values and culture of a child. The last one chronosystem and adds the dimension of time that influences the constancy and change in the environment of a child (Ryan, 2001). Understanding this theory enables parents to be in a position to study a child in the context of different environments so as to understand further the development of the child.
Parenting Style
Authoritative parenting is the most appropriate style of parenting in this case. This style is used widely and considered the most beneficial and effective parenting style for children. An authoritative parent is easily recognized as such a parent has got very high expectations for his children but also ensures that the expectations are reasonable. Authoritative parents put much effort into developing and keeping a positive relationship between the parent and the child. The parent ensures that he explains the reasons behind certain rules and as much as there are rules and consequences, the parent takes the feelings of a child into consideration. Authoritative parenting also involves having an open style of communication between the parent and the child and it is one trait to be emulated from this style of parenting (Florez, 2011). Authoritative parents foster the ability to communicate with a child with no reprimand or judgment. This makes them have insight into the life of a child. It also develops an understanding that provides children with an understanding of the world around them more. The style of parenting develops the healthiest surrounding and environment for a child that is growing. It also helps in fostering a productive relationship between a child and the parent.
Childcare Option
Home daycare which is also called family daycare is the care provided to children at home rather than a center. Home daycare is suitable because it enables a parent to keep a child in a friendly, warm and homelike environment. The child gets all the security and comfort of a home setting and also gets other children to socialize or play with. Studies indicate that home daycare is an appropriate option because it involves smaller groups as compared to daycare centers. The environment which resembles a home is also assuring and comforting (Brym & Lie, 2006). The children are likely to have a consistent and single caregiver and have fewer chances of becoming ill.
The trick with home daycare is finding a great provider. The family should consider finding a good daycare at home settings where they will comfortable to leave the child every other single day. The parents should also keep in mind that the home daycares as not regulated like centers (Florez, 2011). They should, therefore, be comfortable with the choice of home daycare they make and check on things constantly or drop unannounced sometimes to spend some time with children.
Safe Technology Use in the Home
The media has got the potential to generate both negative and positive effects on a child. The developmental level of a child is crucial in determining whether the medium has got negative or positive effects on the child. Some of the positive effects of media include learning. Television, for instance, can be a powerful teacher. Sesame Street, for instance, is a program that toddlers can watch and learn many valuable lessons about the alphabet, arithmetic, kindness, cooperation and racial harmony ( Clements & Sarama, 2005) . Television on the negative side can take away time for school, playing, eating and other exercise activities. Children that take a lot of time watching television are less fit physically and have high chances of eating high energy snack foods. Violence is another negative effect of television and other forms of media.
It is therefore important that a parent implements strategies to ensure technology is used for the benefit of a child at home. Parents should explore media together so as to analyze their educational value. The parents should encourage their children to analyze and criticize what they watch in the media. They can be helped to differentiate between what is real and fantasy especially when it comes to advertising and violence and sex. Also, no child should be given permission to possess or be provided with a computer, video game gadget or television in her or his room ( Clements, & Sarama, 2005) . A place that is central is advised and these gadgets should have common passwords and access. This way, parents are in a position to monitor what their children watch and see on the media.
The Importance of Culture and Ethnicity in the Development of Self-concept
Despite the personal values, people base most of their self-esteem on the fulfillment of values of their culture. Research shows that young individuals base their self-concept and self-esteem not on personal values but on fulfilling the value priorities of other people in their cultural environments ( Kana‘iaupuni et al., 2010) . Self-concept is mostly based on factors like doing one’s duty, controlling one’s self, achieving social status and benefiting others.
Children sometimes tend to ask questions about other people during the most inconvenient times. Instead of keeping quiet which normally implies there is something that is not right with the other person, parents should take the opportunity to help children to understand the similarities and differences among people from different cultures and communities. For instance if a child asks about the skin color of another person, parents can answer by saying the different skin color originated from the parents ( Kana‘iaupuni et al., 2010) . Helping a child understand and respect the differences and similarities in race, culture, ethnic group, language, religion or family history will enable them to have respect for other cultures and be proud of their own culture too.
Increasing a Child’s Self-esteem
The first way to increase the self-esteem of a child is through positive criticism. A child listens to how an adult criticizes him or her. If a child is criticized as being lazy instead of not trying hard, the child will believe that he is lazy. He also will believe that failures originate from unchangeable and permanent factors (Brym & Lie, 2006). Parents should focus on temporal and specific causes when they talk to their children regarding their failures.
The other way of making children feel more confident is explaining to them that there is no person who is perfect and letting them know that no one expects them to be perfect. The way a parent reacts to the disappointments and mistakes of children, affects the way the children react also. This also includes avoiding comparison them with other children. Instead, a parent should appreciate the individuality of every child. Letting them know that no one is perfect also involves not calling child names or using sarcasm to pass a point. This is likely to belittle the feelings of a child.
Importance of Socialization at Home and School
Socialization for children has several benefits. The benefits are different at home from school. At school, the importance of socialization is that it helps children to learn to be part of a team. The experience at school teaches children to know how to be part of other people. Sharing, taking turns and manners are encouraged and modeled at school. Children get to learn to be good friends and appropriate behavior boundaries at school during socialization (Florez, 2011). Socialization at home, on the other hand, helps a child to know what they are expected to do as they become adults and full members of the society. Socialization at home is where children start developing language skills. Communicating with parents, siblings and neighbor’s children enables them to develop and master verbal skills.
School is a positive haven for a child because there is trained staff at school to help children to learn. A parent may not know the signs of learning disorders but trained teachers do. The trained teachers can spot early signs of disability which can lead to early intervention. A home is also a positive haven for the child as socialization at home enables them to develop bonds with other family members.
The Teacher’s Role in a Child’s Life
A teacher is a significant agent in the life of a child, especially in elementary school. The bonding that happens at their first to two years in elementary school is similar to that of their parents and therefore they expect their expectations to be met (Brym & Lie, 2006). The teachers, therefore, are not just information and knowledge transmitters. They also play other roles since children spend many of their waking hours at school with the teachers. The teachers at times are required to give basic needs, take care of the children, give models of solving conflicts, teach values and morals and even compensate for the deficiencies of the children that come from families of low social economic status or those with other psychological challenges.
Research shows that the goals of a teacher for a child involve expectations and social values. This is one way a teacher can affect the socialization of a child. Examples of expectations include solving their conflicts, controlling their impulses and responding appropriately to requests. In this case, teachers should encourage pro-social behavior, sharing, communication, and cooperative behavior and also forbid aggression. Doing this will influence the socialization of a child positively.
Importance of Peer Positive Interactions
Positive peer interaction helps children to learn several skills which they stick to in their entire life. Children especially the young ones are egocentric in nature. Allowing them to interact with their peers helps them to naturally come out of the egocentric phase. Setting boundaries, sharing, problem-solving and others all come from positive interaction. Children learn how to possess empathy for others, recognize when their friends are mad, sad or happy when they interact positively.
A parent can foster friendships at home by allowing children to play with other children. Parents should spare some time for children to play. They can also invite friends to their homes to play and socialize with their children. The other thing parents can do is sending their children to preschool (Florez, 2011). This can help them to learn social cues which will enable them to learn the reactions and behaviors are suitable and those that are not.
Conclusion
As a teacher, it is significant to understand the various developmental stages of a child and what a child requires to develop and grow. Teaching is especially a profession that requires one to completely understand children at all stages. Understanding child development is important since it is a process which every child goes through. If people go into this profession with no preparedness, it will be hard to monitor the progress of the students which will result in frustration for both the teacher and the students. Understanding the theories of socialization also helps teachers to provide an environment that is conducive for positive interaction of the children.
References
Brym, R., & Lie, J. (2006). Sociology: Your compass for a new world . Cengage Learning.
Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2005). Young children and technology: What’s appropriate. Technology-supported mathematics learning environments , 1 , 51.
Florez, I. R. (2011). Developing young children’s self-regulation through everyday experiences. Young Children , 66 (4), 46-51.
Kana‘iaupuni, S., Ledward, B., & Jensen, U. (2010). Culture-based education and its relationship
to student outcomes. EDUCATION .
Ryan, D. P. J. (2001). Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Retrieved January , 9 , 2012.
