Child-Rearing, Development and Behavior

Part 1

Curriculum

In the diverse fields and disciplines engaged in study, practice, and policy relating to children from birth to age 8, the areas of child growth and early childhood are addressed in different terms and categorized in different ways (Litovsky & Dusek, 2016). Children are not just passive listeners who register the appearance of objects at an early age. Instead, they're constructing explanatory systems—implicit theories—to structure their information. These implicit theories include causal concepts and causal relations, allowing children to predict, explain, and reason for related phenomena, as well as interfere to modify them in certain situations.

Discrete Trial Training

Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is a teaching method used in some autistic children's therapy. It isn't a treatment in and of itself. DTT is based on the philosophy of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) (Litovsky & Dusek 2016). It entails breaking down skills to their most fundamental components and introducing them to children one by one. Children are rewarded with all of their accomplishments, which motivate them to continue learning. This may be a cookie or a little gift for a boy (Litovsky & Dusek, 2016). A teacher teaching colors to a kid, for example, could start with red. She will encourage the child to point to the color red and then thank him or her for doing so. She'd then teach yellow on its own, strengthen the ability, and then inquire about both colors.

Pivotal Response Training

Pivotal response training (PRT) is a means of consistently applying the research methods of applied behavior analysis (ABA) to teach practical social-communicative and coping habits to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in a naturalistic teaching environment (Litovsky & Dusek, 2016). Pivotal reaction preparation improves joint attention skills (initiating and reacting to signals, eye contact and following others' gazes, attracting others' attention while playing, following orders, sharing emotions and emotional states, and imitation).

Positive Behavior Support

When children get constructive, reliable instruction from their parents, they soon learn how to act. As a result, it is important to pay attention to children when they act properly, rather than just punishing them when they do something the guardian does not approve of. Listening to children's needs and maintaining their integrity are important aspects of promoting healthy behavior reinforcement for them (Litovsky & Dusek, 2016). It often entails meeting their needs, such as welcoming them at the start of class or promptly returning corrected assignments. 

Positive Reinforcement 

Positive reinforcement, or shaping the child's actions with encouragement or incentives, entails "focusing on the 'positive' things your children are doing or such activities that you want and want to see more of." In operant conditioning, good reinforcement corresponds to the placement of a positive signal following an event that increases the probability of the behavior repeating itself in the future (Litovsky &  Dusek, 2016). When an intervention results in a favorable outcome, event, or benefit, the response or behavior is validated.

Antecedent

Socialization scholars are particularly interested in how parents supervise and monitor their children's actions and behaviors. These parenting patterns and styles have been categorized under the umbrella term "parental influence." Preventive techniques that may be applied in education, at home, or in centers to minimize the incidence of problem behavior are known as antecedent strategies (Litovsky & Dusek, 2016). Fundamentally, these techniques are based on proactively altering the atmosphere to eradicate elements that can exacerbate or cause problematic conduct.

Consequences 

A consequence is something that occurs as a result of your child's inappropriate behavior. Repercussions may be beneficial or harmful. Positive effects perpetuate behavior and increase the likelihood of it occurring again. Healthy reinforcement comes in the form of positive attention, recognition, and incentives for good behavior.

Contingencies 

Predictable trends in early parent-child interactions can aid in the development of self-regulation in children. The predictive value of mother- and child-initiated contingencies was related to the frequency of individual mother- and child-behaviors. Stronger mother- and child-initiated contingencies, as well as the average level of parental instruction, were all found to predict improved behavioral control in children (Litovsky & Dusek, 2016). Dyadic interventions will help researchers to understand how parent-child relationships affect young children's developing regulatory skills.

Take Away

When babies, infants, and school-aged children grow up, they gain new talents and abilities in a predictable pattern. A child grows at his or her own pace. Family members who wish to ensure that their children are progressing in a stable manner should use developmental achievement checklists. However, it's still essential to sustain all well-child appointments, as progress is assessed at each. If a parent is worried about a missing milestone, the child's doctor will examine it and, if necessary, do a developmental screening to get a better view.

Punishment

Corporal punishment by parents has a negative impact on children's social and academic growth. Corporal punishment has been attributed to insecure commitment and strained parent-child relationships, as well as a host of mental health issues including anxiety, stress, and suicidal thoughts.

Part 2

How children are raised is usually influenced by cultural expectations on parental activities. These standards influence what attitudes and values parents instill in their children, what habits are acceptable, and how these values and behaviors are taught (Lamb, 2017). At a young age, culture affects specific parental cognitions and practices and infant mental development by such pervasive aspects as what parents expect of their children, when and how parents care about them, and which activities parents’ value, prioritize, and praise. Cultural disparities in adult-child relationships also affect how a child act socially (Lamb, 2017). I was born and raised of Colombian-Canadian origin. My parents were both native Colombians that immigrated to the United States of America.  After gaining citizenship in the United States, my Parents settled and started working in Florida. During my early years in Colombia, children were expected to assume responsibility while they were still young. Parents did not bother much to have an emotional attachment with their children to see that their children are doing as instructed without question. Things were, however, different with the parenting system in the United States. Growing up, I was astonished to see children suing their parents to the authorities because of being given too much responsibility and duty. This kind of experience was unheard of in my native land. One of the things that I liked about the parenting system in the United States was the cultivation of parent-child friendships and emotional relationships. Children could learn to relate and count on their parents for emotional support fearlessly. With time, we learned to adjust, talk and interact more as a family and listen to each other's opinions. In our current family structure, the father is the head of the family. My mother is my father’s helper and companion and I am the only child in the family set-up. Being the only child, I am closer to my mother, with whom we spend much time.  Communication is something we have worked on over the years. When issues arise, and I need someone to talk to, I approach my mother first. In many instances, we have solved many petty problems with my mother without my father having to know about it. However, when there are significant issues to solve, my mother always helps me approach my father for counseling and guidance. In the case of behavior modification, my father is always straightforward and goes straight to the point. He can quickly raise any issue that needs behavior modification and addresses it instantly. While my mother would take some time to observe me first before approaching me for behavior modification, my father is always direct.  In many cases, my parents would choose to take matters into their own hands when it came to medical practices. They would become very hesitant to take any one of us to hospital due to the kind of racial discrimination that as upfront in the hospitals. Doctors could only take care of the patients from their own races and dismiss the rest. They would refuse to prescribe medicines and claim that there was no medicine in the hospital while still serving the patients from their own races. Therefore, it always felt secure when we took care of each other in our homes and outsource medicine from the private sector.  Due to the kind of poor treatment that people have treated immigrants, my parents have taught me never to treat other people like I have been treated. They have taught me to see beyond the skin color and realize that we are all human from within. They despise racism and are always agitated when treated unfairly. Although they I not much they could do, they have always treated other people with respect and dignity and have taught me to do so.   Further, my family has always shown concern for the minority and disabled. My parents joined a charity-based organization where they give donations to help the disabled. They have always taught me to never despise them or look down upon them but to lend a helping hand and support them. In every month, my parents through the charity-based organization usually visits the camps of the physically disabled, donates food, clothes, cleans their camp and spends time to talk with them, giving them comfort and showing them love.  Occasionally, my parents praise me when I have done well in academic and co-curricular activities, which boosts my spirit and energizes me to keep moving. Also, I have noticed that my parents are starting to buy me more gifts even when it has nothing to do with my behavior and performance. Their act of kindness in buying me gifts has led me to learn to be open with them and to be assured that they are here for my good and success. Further, I have known to be careful not to hurt their feeling through disobedience but always to air out my opinion respectfully. With this kind of interaction, we go for a long time without any negative influence on each other. It is vital to learn to interact with children and gift them passionately (Lamb, 2017). Doing this makes them believe more in their parents, approach them and choose not to disobey their instruction but fosters a healthy and robust relationship.  

References

Lamb, M. E. (2017). The Role of Parents in Child Development. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.  Litovsky, V. G., & Dusek, J. B. (2016). Perceptions of child rearing and self-concept development during the early adolescent years. Journal of youth and adolescence, 14(5), 373-387.