But before I get into that I think it would be a good idea to back track a little. What exactly is childhood socialization? I was surprised because my sociology text book (Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach) doesn't provide a concrete definition. But the website I have hyper linked below provides an insightful explanation for the concept...
In this article the author continues to speak about the effect parent's have on their children's social future. The treatment they receive at home, this includes discipline tactics and attention (or lack of), molds the basis of a child's development. How children are punished, respond to punishment, and how they develop independent behavior are each contributing factors to the process of socialization."The term social refers to a relationship or interaction between two or more people, who by definition respond to each other and influence each other’s behavior. Socialization is an important process in child development. Stated simply, it is the process whereby individuals, especially children, become functioning members of a particular group and take on the values, behaviors, and beliefs of the group’s other members. Although the process begins shortly after birth and continues into adulthood, the age of early childhood is a crucial period of socialization."
Sounds pretty obvious, huh? Maybe so, but the matter of the fact is it is very difficult for a parent to remember and utilize this in the moment. In the introductory paragraph of this article the author mentions her experience as a kindergarten teacher on the first day of school. Over the summer I worked as a teacher aide for my towns summer school program. The classroom I worked in was a special ed./general ed. pre-k class. We had about 12 students but one boy stopped coming after the second week. During the day he would be fine but in the morning he would throw fits when his mom dropped him off. When I say fits I mean crying, screaming, clinging to his mom, full out tantrums. Unfortunately, this was all mom saw of his experience in the program and it was much easier to pull him out of it than continue to watch her sons desperate refusal each morning. As a bystander to the situation it was upsetting for me because here is a kid who would clearly benefit from being a part of the program. That particular agent of socialization (people or groups that affect our self-concept, attitudes, behaviors, or other orientation towards life), his mother, felt like she was looking out for the greater good of him. But she failed to see that if he was grouped in the classroom being disciplined from an adult with that does not have that maternal tie to him his attitude and behavior would most likely shift, diverting away from tantrums and more towards an easygoing acceptance.
*Thoughts for next post: consider the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 1999; Guensburg 2001 study and findings of children in Day Care because it kind of contradicts the conclusion I just came to...
(page 79 in textbook)
Social Emotional Development
Hey Morgan! I'm also blogging about childhood socialization. I completely agree with what you are saying. At the daycare center I work in, I deal with a similar situation. There is a little boy who literally cries and makes a fit every day when his mom drops him off. His mother seems very nice... However my co-workers and I have noticed the way she treats him is not affecting him well. She clearly babies him at home which is a result to why he acts that way when she drops him off. He NEEDS to see his mom drive away and she NEEDS to wave to him and even then he still continues to cry for at least an hour. I feel terrible for him because of the distress it puts him in and his mother. I feel that if his mother did not baby him he would have never gotten this habit because he needs to get his way. He has developed this behavior because of a contributing factor of his mother’s coddling while continuing with the same routine every day. His teachers are trying to shift his behavior at this time.
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