To What Extent Has Children’s Development Been Seen as a Social Process?

TMA01

PI X6137393

TO WHAT EXTENT HAS CHILDREN’S DEVELOPMENT BEEN SEEN AS A SOCIAL PROCESS?

To understand if a child’s development is seen as a social process, we need to also understand if this is coincidental with the cultural and natural processes that a child is open to. Is a child susceptible to these influences and if they are how do they change how childhood is perceived. How is a child or childhood defined? In England as with many other countries, a child is defined within a specific category allowing children to participate in specific events tailored to their needs.

Can a child be allowed to learn on their own or is it best to have structure and rules. Each case is valid in its own term, yes if a child is left to their own devices they will learn how to do things, for example if they press the head of a certain toy after a few go’s they will understand that the consequence of pressing the head is that the toy will do something. On the other side of the coin however is the structure of learning for example through playgroups or school, yes it still needs a certain amount of self-learning, but new things can be shown to a child that they would never be able to figure out on their own. A child will not learn to count or understand the alphabet unless someone is there to show them the basics, therefore allowing that child to grow.

Within the childhood category, there are sub-categories; these consist of various stages of a person’s life which allows them to participate in events that are suited to their age group. The child can be labelled under many different categories, babies, toddler, infant, pre teen and teenager. A child comes into this world unaware of most things around them. They have the basic instincts e.g. hunger, danger (being afraid). But in the most part they can be moulded into almost anything. Each stage of a child’s development changes within each of these categories. As a baby a person goes under tremendous changes...