- Children develop attitudes through interactions with and feedback from the people in their environments. Ultimately, these attitudes impact the development of values. Review the various influences on attitude development explained on pages 377–380 of your course text. Choose four of these influences and discuss how each might contribute to the development of prejudice.
Socialization, social control, social participation and mutual support are some of the factors that influence the development of attitude among children. As children develop, socialization defines the means through which the community in which these children develop instills its values and norms in the children. Social control involves the means through which the community enforces adherence to the values by the children. Social participation involves the need for companionship in the community, which enables children to interact with others and develop attitudes concerning their differences and similarities. Lastly, mutual support helps children to develop attitudes by bringing together members of the community in cooperation to accomplish tasks like developing children attitudes (Berns, 2004, p. 18)..
- Review the section on self-regulation on pages 400–401 in your text. Consider the factors that influence a young child's ability to self-regulate. Why is self-regulation important to children's success in school and life? What changes in today's world might support or diminish fostering this vital ability in children? Explain your point of view.
Environmental factors like poverty influence the ability of a young child to self-regulate ("PPP: Family-Child Relationships || The Effect of Divorce on Children: What Makes a Difference || Children adjust better if they have information," n.d.). Self-regulation is important to the success of children in school and life because it helps the children to control their emotions, behavior, feelings and thoughts to fit in different situations in life ("How Can We Strengthen Children's Self-Esteem?," n.d.). Technological innovations and transformations in the word today will foster self-regulation among children as some of the innovations aim to deal with such issues.
- Peers, school, media, and community are some of the influences on children's conception of gender roles. Pages 430–436 in your text explain the depth and breadth of these influences. Choose two influences that are of most interest to you, and explain how each influence can lead to stereotyped behavior, or "sex typing." For each influence, identify ways that you as a professional can advocate for a more gender-neutral behavior or against sex typing.
The school and peers can influence the conception of children on gender roles. In schools, separation of female and male activities or encouraging the boys to do more technical subjects or sports can stir the conception on gender roles ("NASP - Divorce: A Parents' Guide for Supporting Children," n.d.). As a professional, I would advocate effective classroom arrangement of cooperation, in lieu of competition between both genders towards a common goal. Lastly, peers influence the perception of children by enabling them to compare the acceptability ("The Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids -- New York Magazine," n.d.). Therefore as a professional, I would advocate the encouragement of contact of equal status between the perceptual minority and majority groups.
References
Berns, R. (2004). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
How Can We Strengthen Children's Self-Esteem? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/strengthen_children_self.html
NASP - Divorce: A Parents' Guide for Supporting Children. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/resources/parenting/divorce_ho.aspx
The Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids -- New York Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/
PPP: Family-Child Relationships || The Effect of Divorce on Children: What Makes a Difference || Children adjust better if they have information. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.extension.purdue.edu/providerparent/Family-Child%20Relationships/EffectDivorce.htm
PPP: Family-Child Relationships || Children's Reactions to Divorce-Ages & Stages || What to expect. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.extension.purdue.edu/providerparent/Family-Child%20Relationships/ChildrensReactions.htm
PPP: Parent-Provider Relationships || Providers Talking with Parents About Divorce || Divorce can be a delicate matter. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.extension.purdue.edu/providerparent/Parent-Provider%20Relationships/ProvidersTalking.htm
