Middle Childhood Development ✓ Solved

Since children go throughout childhood, there exist numerous environmental influences onto their socialization into individual characters. These influences comprise parents, education, the media, as well as peers. Individual relations play an essential part within the development of the person's self-thought and have a powerful influence on how kids see the responsibilities of males as well as females in our society. This continuation of the gender bias along with stereotypes is often started in the family and then is further toughened through peer groups.

The summary of writing dealing with the effect of peers on children's sex role socialization indicates that rigid adherence to traditional sex roles, while restraining to children, is powerfully encouraged through the peer group and is reinforced through parents, schools, and the media.

Self-esteem comes from various sources for children at multiple levels of development. Maternal attitudes and behavior heavily influence the improvement of self-esteem in adolescents. Positive maternal behavior, including hope and praise of mastery, as well as the incorporation of the parents' personal attitudes toward success and circumstances, are the most powerful factors in the development of self-esteem in early childhood.

As children grow older, their experiences outside the home and interactions with peers become significantly more important in defining their self-esteem. Schools affect their students' self-esteem through the attitudes they promote toward competition and diversity and their acceptance of accomplishment in academics, sports, and the arts. By mid-childhood, friendships have assumed a crucial role in a child's life. Surveys show that school-age children spend more time with their friends than engaged in schoolwork, watching TV, or playing alone. The amount of time spent with parents significantly decreases from when they were younger.

During this stage, cultural acceptance by the peer group plays a significant role in developing and sustaining self-esteem (Kaufman-Parks et al., 2017). Significant influences on gender role socialization comprise parents, the media, education, and peers. Parents impact their children's gender identity in several ways, including daily interactions, working as role models, reinforcing community messages, and providing acceptance or judgment of their children's activities and behaviors. This communication of beliefs from parents exerts influence over how children perceive the roles of males and females.

The importance of media on children has been widely discussed in recent years. From hours of watching television, films, and reading, children receive messages about gender roles from various sources. As they enter education, the input of teachers and the school program regarding gender roles cannot be overlooked. As children form friendships with both same-sex and opposite-sex peers, they continue to develop new ideas and stimulate previously learned thoughts (Weiss, 2017).

During middle childhood, children attain more independence from their parents and home. They begin to think more critically and distinguish between right and wrong. Children at this stage focus more on relationships and cooperation, while still being strongly influenced by their parents' judgments. At this age, children can explore emotions and ideas with their parents and friends. Middle childhood is a critical period when children develop interpersonal relationships, which improves their social skills and encourages productivity (Sampson, 2017).

In conclusion, children have more influence within the problem identification and information search phases, but their impact decreases in the final decision-making phase. Their effect may be direct or indirect. Younger children are inclined to influence household purchases through direct requests, whereas older adolescents may employ various techniques to affect their parents' decision-making, such as negotiation or strategic influencing.

The influence of parents helps children differentiate themselves through role modeling, and positive parental influence creates a safe environment for proper growth. Parental impact is significant in shaping a child's development. Thus, it is clear that the effect of parents on a child is critical during formative years.

References

• Kaufman-Parks, A. M., DeMaris, A., Giordano, P. C., Manning, W. D., & Longmore, M. A. (2017). Parents and partners: Moderating and mediating influences on intimate partner violence across adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 34(8).
• Sampson, R. J. (2017). Family management and child development: Insights from social disorganization theory. In Facts, frameworks, and forecasts (pp. 63-94). Routledge.
• Weiss, H. B. (2017). Family support and education programs: Working through ecological theories of human development. In Evaluating Family Programs (pp. 3-36). Routledge.
• Schubert, F. (2015). Introduction to Law and the Legal System (11th ed.). Loose-leaf. ISBN-13.
• Samaha, J. (2015). Criminal Procedure (9th ed.). ISBN-13.
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• Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the Book. Publisher.
• Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the Book. Publisher.
• Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the Book. Publisher.
• Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the Book. Publisher.