Factors Affecting Sense Of Self Development In A Child - Case Study Example

Factors Affecting Sense Of Self Development In A Child Introduction A child normally undergoes five different developmental stages; Social, Physical, Intellectual, creative and emotional. Emotional development is one of the critical developmental stages which determine the future personality character development of a child. Self-awareness and self-confidence are the parts of emotional developments. The sense of self like me, myself and I developed as part of the emotional development. “At the age of 18 to 36 months, a child’s cognitive and emotional faculties develop surprisingly quickly” (Child Development Media, n. d). During the initial stages after the birth, the child undergoes rapid development physically and mentally. “Child development is the study of, how and why children develop perception, thought, processes, emotional reactions, and patters of social behaviour” (Aldgate et al, 2006, p. 17 & 18). It is not possible for a child to stay away from the environment. By nature man is a social animal. The tendency to socialize with other entities may start to develop, immediately after the birth itself. Child development has; different dimensions, orderly pattern and the results of different stages of development lead to more efficient way of functioning. There are interactions between the child and the different contexts in which it grow up (Aldgate et al, 2006, p. 20). A normal child may develop physically and mentally following certain patters at different stages of his development. Before birth, the child was not interacting with any other parameters except the mother. But after birth, the child happens to be in the middle of lot of social domains which can affect the mental developments of the child. The sense of self development begins to develop at around 4 to 6 years. The sense of self development may not be rapid at the beginning stages, but acquires momentum gradually. Many factors like relationships, friendships, gender, emotions, self-concept, parenting, culture, attachment etc can affect the sense of self development. This paper mainly focuses the effect of attachment and religion/culture in the sense of self development of a child. Sense of self Sense of self is an individuals' relative awareness of their own individual personhood, internally as well as externally. In the course of normal development children gain over time an increasing awareness of self, the world, and interpersonal relationships. At any given age some children have a more differentiated sense of self than do others (Definition of Sense of self, 2009). As the children grow, the sense of self also started to grow. Evaluation of peers is one of the major factors which can affect the sense of self or self esteem development. If the peers recognize and accept the opinions of a child, the child will develop a healthy feeling as a valuable person. On the other hand if the peers neglect what he says, he will develop negative feeling and his sense of self development will be affected. “When children develop stronger ties with their peers in school or around the neighbourhood, they may begin to evaluate themselves differently from the way they were taught at home” (Katz, 2000). Sense of self may develop when the child was able to perform a task independently. Freedom from every barrier is one of the basic needs every child likes to have. During early childhood, parents may not allow the child to do something independently. But as time passes the child will get opportunities to perform some tasks independently which will increase his self confidence and sense of self. Sense of self is important for a child to interact effectively in a society. Lack of self confidence will make them introverts and it is difficult for such children to come out from the shell even after they grown up. For example, a child who often been harassed by peers for his nasty look or peculiar mannerisms may stay away from interacting with the peers. The lack of interaction with the peers further retards his sense of self development and he will become a useless fellow in the future. The foundations of self-esteem are laid early in life when infants develop attachments with the adults who are responsible for them. When adults readily respond to their cries and smiles, babies learn to feel loved and valued. Children come to feel loved and accepted by being loved and accepted by people they look up to. As young children learn to trust their parents and others who care for them to satisfy their basic needs, they gradually feel wanted, valued, and loved (Katz, 2000). In short, parents can play an important role in the sense of self or self esteem development of their children. They should treat their children respectfully and the views and suggestions of the children should be honoured. Moreover, parents should realize that punishments alone may not streamline their child’s development; rewards also can play a vital role in the self development of the children. Factors affecting sense of self development in a child Relationships, friendships, gender, emotions, self-concept, parenting, culture and attachment are some of the factors which can affect the sense of self development of a child. As mentioned earlier, relationships with the friends and relatives can affect the self development immensely. Gender is another critical factor which can affect the sense of self development. Children who are frustrated in their efforts to develop a positive and healthy sense of self will make their mark in some, often disturbing, way. It may be necessary for the child to terrorize, bully or see people frightened, worried, crying, at their wits' end (Crenshaw PhD, 2006) Sense of self development has lot of implications in the future life of a child. The future of a life is shaped based on the sense of self developed during his childhood. For example, suppose a child forced to develop under the tight control of his parents. If punishments were the only motives he received from the parents, he will never develop a sound personality in future. Such children will become introverts and will shy away from interacting freely in social matters. On the other hand, children who got punishments along with rewards and recognitions will never derailed in their future life and will develop strong and healthy personality in future, useful to the society and the family. “Whatever situations we find ourselves in, whether through work or play, our gender is usually salient. That is to say we are aware of our maleness or our femaleness through the options available to us and the choices we are compelled to make”(Abbott, 2001, p. 2). A complete explanation of the above factors with respect to the sense of self development is beyond the scope of this paper and our discussions limited to two factors; attachment and religion/culture, in this paper. Attachment Attachment theory in child development originated in the work of British psychiatrist John Bowlby (1907-90) who argued that the propensity to form strong emotional bonds with particular individuals was fundamental characteristics of human young, it had survival value by bringing nurturance, protection and security to the infant (Barnes, 1995, p. 3). Attachment is a human act which separates him from other animals. Attachment is an emotional bondage between two persons, mostly with the children and the parents. Attachments help children to overcome stressful situations. For example, whenever a child experiences certain stress of problems in his early life he will approach his mother first and then the father for support. Bowlby believed that the attachment developed between the child and the parents may have lot of impacts upon the future life of the children. The core of attachment theory is the feeling of security. A child during his early days feels secure only at the custody of his mother. The child when he enters the world needs security feeling first in order to accustom with the new experiences of the world. The major characteristics of attachment theory are; Safe Haven, Secure Base, Proximity Maintenance and Separation Distress (Wagner, 2009). Safe haven means the habit of child to return to the caregiver for soothing and comfort when he feels threatened. A child will approach only a person to who he has attachments in case of an emergency. He will never approach strangers for help during his early childhood. Secure base means the secure and dependable environment provided by the caregiver to the child. Proximity maintenance is the habit of child to stay close to the caregiver and the separation distress is the feeling of the child when separated from the caregiver During the initial two to three months, the child may not be able to discriminate among the people who care for him. But from three to seven months, infants show better familiarity with respect to the caregivers such as their parents, by reaching for them, smiling at them, and responding to soothing efforts by them. At the age of around nine months the child will definitely show evidences of his attachment and relationships with others by smiling at the parents and the caregivers. Moreover the child will show distress whenever he was left behind by the caregivers or the parents. Partnerships emerge between children and their caregivers later, so that children develop an appreciation of caregivers as separate persons with their own goals, needs, and desires. Attachment relationships with parents and other important caregivers continue throughout the lifespan of a child (Attachment - History Of Attachment Theory, Three Main Propositions Of Attachment Theory, Mary Dinsmore Salter Ainsworth And The Strange Situation, 2009) “Being acknowledged and affirmed by important persons, children gain confidence and inner strengths through secure attachment with this people” (Dowling, 2005, p.12). Apart from the parents, others can also establish attachments with a child which will positively influence the sense of self development. The recognitions or acknowledgements from others after the early childhood period, can inject immense confidence upon the children. Till the age of around there to four years he may not be able to recognize the compliments from others and may not try to establish any attachments with others. Parent- Child relationship is primarily a cultural construction shaped by the requirements of each society (Schaffer, 1996, p.61). In some societies this relationship would be much stronger. But, because of the increased commitments in the family, society and workplace, Parent- Child relationships have been weakened at present. Most of the children of working parents forced to take shelter in day care centres because of the various commitments and busy schedules of the parents which prevent the children from getting the much needed, affection, attachment, attention etc from their parents. Such children may not develop a healthy sense of self feeling and may become problematic persons in future. “The focus on the crucial role of child’s attachment type (secure versus insecure) in relation to the mother has been a focus of intensive social constructions in western societies”(Valsiner, 2000, p. 177) Religion/Culture “Moral code does not evolve until the child is approximately 4 to 6 years old” (Abbott, 2001, p. 26). The influence of religion or culture begins to affect the sense of self development after four to 6 years. The child may not be able to recognize the importance of religion or culture till this period. The child begins to recognize the importance of religion and beliefs in human life during this period along with the concept of good and evil. For example, some religions like the Christians and Muslims give more emphasize to their beliefs and customs and they will begin to teach the child about the existence of God, Good and Evil during this period. Some other religions like the Hindus may not have such traditions and the Hindu children happen to know about the beliefs through the practices performed in front of them by their parents. In any case, because of the influence of religion or culture, the child realizes the fact that human being is only a creation which needs to abide by the laws of the creator, during this period. The above fact always acts as a retarding force whenever he tries to break the customs and traditions. A sense of God as Other presupposes ability to recognize the reality and significance of 'the other' over and against 'the self.' This in turn seems to require a process of self-differentiation, self-awareness, and other awareness, and thus suggests that a sense of personal identity is integral to such spirituality. Christian theology tend to emphasize, self-fulfilment at the individual level, but also emphasize the significance of community and social relationality as integral to self-definition and a self-conscious search for personal identity (Gordon, 2009) “Psychological development is profoundly affected by the social setting in which the child is reared” (Schaffer, 1996, p.97). Religion or culture plays an important role in setting the social environment. For example, in countries like Saudi Arabia, children forced to spend their lives under the tight boundaries of their religion. Freedom is limited for such children and their emotional and sense of self development would be adversely affected by such tight control. On the other hand in country like America or Britain, the children get ample freedom and opportunities for their developments. In other words, constraints are less in western societies compared to other societies. “Child development is intimately connected with the social context provided by other people and by the wider social structure within which the child grows” (Smith et al, 2005, p.5). Children have a habit to imitate their idols and most of the idols during their childhood would be from the family itself during early childhood. But later when he enters the school, he will get more opportunities to interact with the social elements and his sense of self development will be influenced by such social elements also. Even though heredity have a major role in developing the sense of self of a child, the contributions of environment is also equally important. It is difficult to anticipate that a child born in a healthy family atmosphere may develop sound sense of self if he forced to live in a different atmosphere later. Same way, even if a child born in a bad family atmosphere, may become a good citizen if was able to brought up in a good environment. Conclusions Child development is a complex process which undergoes several stages. It can be affected by various parameters in the family and the environment. Rapid physical and cognitive development of the child starts immediately after the birth. These developments obey certain pattern and order. As the child grows the sense of self also started to develop. Sense of self is one of the important entities which can impact the future life of the child positively or negatively depends on the nature of self development. Even though many parameters like relationships, friendships, gender, emotions, self-concept, parenting etc can affect the sense of self development, religion or culture and attachment are the two major contributors for the self development. These two parameters can make or break a child, depending on the nature of attachments provided and the religious atmosphere through which the child develops. References 1. Abbott, T. (2001) Social and Personality Development, London: Routledge. 2. Attachment - History Of Attachment Theory, Three Main Propositions Of Attachment Theory, Mary Dinsmore Salter Ainsworth And The Strange Situation,( 2009) Retrieved on 23December 2009 from http://social.jrank.org/pages/53/Attachment.html 3. Aldgate, J. Jones, D. Rose, W. and C. Jeffery (2006) The Developing World of the Child, London: Jessica Kingsley. 4. Barnes, P (1995) Personal, Social and Emotional Development of Children, Oxford: Open University. Introduction 5. Child Development Media, (n.d), Retrieved on 23December 2009 from http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/parenting/61624a.html 6. Crenshaw David A PhD (2006), Development of a Healthy Sense of Self in Children Retrieved on 23December 2009 from http://searchwarp.com/swa39860.htm 7. Dowling, M. (2005). Young Children’s Personal, Social and Emotional Development, 2nd Edition, London: Paul Chapman Publishing 8. Gordon James, (2009), Is a Sense of Self Essential to Spirituality?, Retrieved on 23December 2009 from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a908386566~db=all~jumptype=rss 9. Katz Lilian (2000), How Can We Strengthen Children's Self-Esteem?, Retrieved on 23December 2009 from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/strengthen_children_self.html 10. Schaffer, H.R. (1996) Social Development, Oxford: Blackwell. 11. Smith, P., Cowie, H., & Blades, M. (2005). Understanding Children’s Development. Blackwell: Oxford. 12. Valsiner, J. (2000) Culture and Human Development, London: Sage. 13. Wagner Kendra van, (2009), Attachment Theory, Retrieved on 23December 2009 from http://psychology.about.com/od/loveandattraction/a/attachment01.htm Read More