Motivational Coping & Healing

Socialization is the process that helps children acquire the values and behaviors of society. Whiting and Whiting found that in Gussi, Kenya, children often worked with their parents and did housework at a young age. The children were reported to display nurturing and responsible characteristics.

In contrast, Whiting and Whiting found that in a small New England town, the mothers of children often took care of the children and mainly did everything for them. The children were more focused on schoolwork rather than household chores.

The children from the town of New England had characteristics of being overly dependent on their caregivers and often competed for the attention of the adults. Both sets of children adapted to the roles society placed on them and had different outcomes.

By giving the children of Gussi, Kenya, more responsibility that focused on community values, they developed more responsibility and compassion for their community. Meanwhile, the New England children were taken care of to the point of being overly dependent on their caregivers. Each social climate produced different outcomes for children, including how they interacted with the world.  

In the 1990s, a study was done on the socialization of American kids. It was found that children are growing into mini adults, which is causing things such as teenage pregnancies, mental health crises, homelessness, and abusive relationships. Children are seen dressing as mini-adults and attempting to act more adult-like based on things they see in the media.

Additionally, more children began owning cell phones, which there seems to be a correlation to depression, anxiety, and suicidal factors with children owning phones at such an early age.  

In today’s society, there is more and more research on the effects of certain factors that could harm a child’s growth and development. More parents are taking into consideration things such as electronic use, what media a child watches or listens to, and how to prepare children for society better.

I believe that socialization will get better as we focus on children and find ways to implement community values into the lives of children for a better future.  

What are your thoughts?