The child is dependent on the mother in every aspect since birth. Physically, he cannot meet his own needs. It is extremely important for the child's physical development to meet his/her physical needs, have a balanced diet, and provide health care conditions. Another need, at least as important, is the unconditional love and affection shown to the child. Motherhood also gains meaning at this point. When a mother says, "she feeds her child without eating, she dresses him without wearing", what is actually meant is the love and compassion of motherhood. Just as balanced nutrition and proper health care are necessary for the physical development of the child, love and compassion are also necessary for the child's self-confidence development. Children who do not have adequate self-confidence development may experience different levels of mental disorders or social dysfunctions in later ages.
As children begin to walk and talk, they move further away from their mothers and begin to act more on their own. The most distinctive feature of this period is stubbornness. He is extremely insistent on meeting his demands. However, this period is also an important period in which toilet training, avoiding dangers and some simple rules should be taught. During the teaching process, oppressive attitudes may cause the child to develop a dependent personality, or, on the contrary, may lead to the formation of a personality that is more aggressive, disobedient, and reactive to rules. It depends on the people responsible for care not showing contradictory attitudes about the rules. When one says no, the other says yes, one's positive approach and the other's negative approach, will make it difficult for the child to acquire the desired behavior and may lead to conduct disorder etc. in later ages. It will increase the risk of problems occurring.
Sometimes, parents try to explain to the child the reasons for the rules they have set. In this way, they think that the child will be convinced and that it will be easier for the child to comply with the rules by understanding these justifications. However, children do not think abstractly like an adult. Children think concretely. These persuasion efforts are mostly based on the child's thoughts and feelings. This may cause confusion and cause them to be more insistent and resistant in pursuing their wishes.
The correct attitude is to have a patient, consistent and determined approach, without damaging the child's self-confidence and considering his autonomy. Thus, children will be able to adapt more easily, especially in adopting the rules, and will also be enabled to acquire the desired behaviors.
Another distinctive feature of the childhood period is that they take their mothers and fathers or those responsible for care as objects of identification. Boys identify with their fathers, and girls with their mothers. They internalize their behavioral patterns and other distinctive characteristics by learning them through imitation. This situation plays an important role in the formation of self-identity. During this period, children's tendencies and behaviors that reflect their sexual identities become more evident. Such as haircut, dress preferences, game and toy choices.
In the process of formation of children's self-identity, the effects (positive or negative) of the role model or object of identification (mother, father or people responsible for care) are extremely important. Children find meaningful what they do, not what is said, they watch and learn. In this regard, the personality characteristics, behavioral patterns and communication skills of the role model or object of identification become important for children. The child's success in adapting to secondary social environments (school, etc.), being able to express himself and develop himself is directly related to the child's family life from birth to school age.
As children start school, parents or a significant increase in their ability to act independently of the person responsible for the child's care may be observed. During this period, children can fulfill their feeding, toileting and similar needs on their own. Children who have fully embraced their sexual identities are grouping among themselves; Boys group up with boys, girls with girls, and engage in rivalry and dominance over each other. During this period, girls do not like to be associated with boys, and boys do not like to be associated with girls. When we look at the children playing in the school gardens, it is seen that mostly girls and boys play separately and among themselves. They can also be seen playing games. It can even be named as a boy's game or a girl's game. This situation continues until adolescence. In this respect, adolescence can also be described as a period of awakening, awareness and resolution of conflicts.
School age children no longer have difficulty in following the rules. In fact, they tend to obey unconditionally what their teacher says. There is now a new role model or object of identification other than the parents or those responsible for the child's care. He is also a teacher. In this regard, teachers; Especially preschool and primary school teachers have a significant impact on children. It is very important that teachers are aware of these roles without exception. Because there is a strong possibility that children will unquestioningly accept what their teachers do and say.
Another issue that needs to be taken into consideration is the classroom environments, learning and teaching processes. There are generally twenty, thirty or more children in a classroom. However, every child is unique. Each child has many differences such as their developmental process, their reactions to stimuli, learning times, and learning methods. The extent to which these differences can be taken into account in education and training processes will have a significant impact on the child's personality development, socialization skills and achievements in educational processes.
Diversification of children's social environments outside of family and school will also affect the child's socialization. It also means diversification of role models or objects of identification in the process of forming one's identity. In this regard, it is very important that television programs, movies, internet and computer games that may set a negative example are controlled and supervised by parents or people responsible for the child's care.
Read: 0
