Childhood Socialization

Childhood itself is a slightly ambiguous term, and is not a fixed definite period of life. The book “AS level sociology” written by Rob webb, Hal Westergaard, Kieth Trobe and Liz Steel defines childhood as “ a socially defined age status” going on to say that there are major differences in how childhood is defined, both historically, and culturally, similarly, Stephen Wagg says of childhood;

Gender is a concept constructed entirely by society. We base gender off of what we perceive and what others perceive of us. Until fairly recently, it has been categorized as one of two things: male or female. When we watched the documentary in class, we saw evidence of society 's socialization of young children. Commercials for Nerf Guns, action figures, and cars and trucks were all depicted with young boys as their users. Never did we see a girl playing with GI Joes or with Hot Wheels, only boys played with those. Meanwhile, dolls, baking sets, and make up kits were only advertised to girls, and no boys were shown playing with Barbies or Bratz. Society begins to shape gender notions from a very early age, where people are shown that they are one or the other, either male or female.

I learned that I had been mistaken in the concept of gender identity in my past. Indeed, gender equality for me meant the way a person perceives himself or herself about others. However, I laid much importance on the role of the society in determining an individual’s gender identity. Arguably, the society defines gender identity thus; by default has an influence on a person’s gender identity. I wrongly believed that a person does not have the right to determine their gender identity. This premise was corrected, and changed, after watching the film, Don’t Know Dick in the class. The movie is not only an intense documentary on gender identity, but it also serves as a learning tool, helping the viewer understand fully the concept of gender

The way society is taught to be socialized is salient and goes unnoticed, therefore it is valid to claim that gender is socially constructed through our everyday practices, whether we are aware of the construction or not. With socialization beginning the instant a child is born, the process is continuous through out adolescence and varies dramatically across the two genders. With guidance from institutions and arenas such as education, sports, music and the mass media gender seems to be coerced, as it comes with a scripted set of behaviors and attitudes. This essay argues that gender is socially constructed on an everyday basis. To further explain this thesis the essay will draw on early childhood socialization of masculinity and femininity,

It all starts from the moment a child is born. The doctor happily shouts “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!”, a pink or blue hat is slapped on the kid, and a celebration of the new life begins. It is not only the beginning of a new life, but the beginning a childhood of the pressure to conform to gender norms. The general understanding of what it means to be male or female is very cut and dry, and to challenge the norm is often met with ridicule. Growing up with the pressure to conform and restrain yourself from being who you truly are is an unnecessary struggle that children do not need. The effects of societal gender roles enforces negative stereotypes and does more harm than good to children.

Prior to this moment I had never really felt pressured from society to fit my gender. I had seen many ideal beauty standards for females that I never felt I met but I had never had a moment where I felt like my appearance was associated with my gender. This moment was really jarring to me because when I decided to cut my hair short, I never once thought about how this would change the perception people had about me; It seemed like a small cosmetic decision.

Systems perspectives include various social and economic structures in which people live and function. Within any given environment, a person is bound to be affected one way or another by interaction with or exposure to various elements. This paper focuses on the psychosocialbehavioral effects which various types of systems have on childhood development, and ultimately how adults may land on any particular end of the normal curve, as a result of their childhood experiences. Hereto is a review of three separate journal articles which focus on the effects social systems and family environmental systems have on the individual.

Of course we know that much of human development is biologically defined; however, culture also influences how human life is developed. The first aspect of childhood development that comes to my mind is nutrition. Because various cultures among the various nations of our planet are each very different from one another, we know that the provided nutrition also differs from culture to culture. The American culture is, generally speaking, fortunate enough to put nutritious food on the tables for their young ones; however, this is not the case across the globe. As some cultures are wealthy, others are in poverty. The factor of monetary opportunity greatly affects how a child is developed. Those who are not as financially fortunate may struggle

While reading chapter 11, I found the topic of childhood socialization to be very interesting. Childhood socialization uses gender role biases to assert how a male or female child is to act in a society. Based on a person’s culture, one will teach their child certain aspects of gender roles that are specific to their societal values, attitudes, and motivations. In other words, a parent will raise their child based upon the societal norms of how a boy or girl is to act. For example, when one thinks of playing with toy dolls and nail painting, they assert those actions to activities done by girls. Also, actions such as playing video games and watching football are mostly seen as activities done by boys. With this being said, socialization and societal patterns inflict gender roles and child rearing. On another note, when people see children performing behaviors that are not specific to their gender it creates anomie. For instance, a fashion magazine did a cover of a mother playing with her toddler son who was wearing pink nail polish and a princess

Play helps equip children for what life may throw at them. Children are born to be actively engaged and explore the world with their own eyes. Through play children learn what it means to fail in life as well as what it means to accomplish a goal. Play is not only a strategy to keep children entertained in early childhood, but also allows children to learn how to create and work together at an early stage. Children at play has been undervalued by society without realizing that “playfulness is that benign base on which the most valuable worlds of children can be successfully built (Iakov, 2012, p. 25),” meaning that play is a fundamental strategy that assist children to develop experiences for the future. It is very upsetting that society

“How important is your biological sex as a determinant of your gender expression? Is gender a socially constructed performance”?

I think that Erikson’s theory explains Aubree’s anxiety. By failure in successfully completing one stage, it can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self, (Developing anxiety). I will be focussing on Aubree’s development process throughout her life. I have noticed her characteristics relate more to the social/ emotional side of development. Aubree clearly showed that she had anxiety/ attachment issues throughout the ages of 0-12, which relates to temperament. What made Aubree get this anxiety? There are many theories I can relate to Aubree’s anxiety. Different theories can relate to different age groups and development stages. A theory is an

Childhood social development is important aspect that impacts a child life early on, it helps them grow and communicate better in life. Socializing is always a good thing to do having your child interact with other kids helps them have a better self-esteem and helps them figure out who exactly they are. Exposing your child to socialization can be as easy as taking your child to the park, scheduling a play date, having them join a team sport or enrolling them in a head start school.

This purpose of this study, done in Pakistan, was to identify social development in the early childhood years. One hundred and forty, random selected, boys and girls from Lahore City were used in this study. Fifteen was randomly chosen from each of eight private schools between the ages of 3 and 8. They were divided into three groups; 3 to 4 year olds, 4 to 6 year olds and 6 to 8 year olds. A checklist was developed to help collect data about children’s social development, consisting of 53 questions and two columns of yes or no, for opinions of teachers, by three experts in childhood education. The checklist covered areas of development consisting of individual characteristics, social skills, communication skills and peer relationships. One of the experts visited each of the schools and explained to the teachers how to observe the children. After one week the observational sheets were collected. Percentages computed identify various patterns in the data to reach certain conclusions. The results in the 3 to 4 year olds were: 60% do not usually show a positive mood for the whole day; positive relationships with peers is shown in 75%; when reminded 30% say thank you; 65 percent interact in non-verbal ways with peers such as a nod or a smile, and engage in games with adults; 60% showed interaction and exchange of information with peers; 68% participated in classroom group activities; 75% feel embarrassed when someone talks about their words or habits to someone else; 63% showed

     While physical characteristics may clearly define one’s gender, race, or even social status, it is often one significant moment in one’s life when their gender is truly decided. The first five years of my life consisted of my younger sister and I imitating our mother, playing with dolls, and dressing each other up. As my sister was the main person that I played with, gender never really crossed my mind. Even when I started preschool and kindergarten, boys were not boys to me; they were simply new friends and more people to play with. At that moment in my life, I was just Jackie Goldsmith, I stood in the “girls’ lines” at school, and wore pink dresses and ribbons in my hair to church on Sunday.