Child and Youth Sociology - Assignment Example

Child and Youth Sociology Student’s Name: Institution: Date: Answer 1 The impact of gender on the lives of young people has always elicited sharp debates. This section agrees with the argument that gender no longer shapes the experience of being a child or a young person. There are many issues which children face while growing up in various environments. These issues impact on their physical and psychological development because they are mainly influenced by various factors a child is exposed to either at home or in school. Even though gender and child protection laws in many parts of the world have been enacted, children continue to face various challenges as they grow up and this has a significant impact on their psychological development (Magnusson & Marecek 2012). Modern societies have different issues which shape the experiences of children as they grow up. Many children have to contend with absentee parents who go to work very early in the morning and come back home very late at night. As a result, such children do not get adequate time to stay with their parents and this affects their psychological development. Modernism has led to a reduction in parental influence in different societies (Magnusson & Marecek 2012). As a result, children find it difficult to distinguish right actions from wrong actions because they rely on their peers, elder siblings and other external influences to shape their experiences about life in the modern world. As a result, these experiences are making children knowledgeable at a very early age and this at times has both positive and negative impacts on their growth and development. Different forms of parental abuse have a consequence on a child’s psychological makeup. Since many people perceive children as innocent bystanders, they do not always reflect on about the impacts of their actions on the growth and development of their children. Some psychological experts have argued that children who are victims of violence are likely to be conditioned to thing that violence is a normal part of life (Wyness 2006). In the long term, these children get used to living in a violent environment and this makes them to come up with various ways to cope with violence and the harsh treatment they are subjected to in their homes. At times, children may blame themselves for their parents’ failures which make them become more stressed and psychologically disturbed. The social environment needs to favour youth development to ensure that they are not victimized by different situations in the environment they grow up in. A violent social environment may make a child to become violent as he or she grows up because he comes to learn that this is the only way he can gain respect from members of his community. As a result, a child is likely to get encouraged to become more aggressive to protect himself from various harmful influences that exist in his social environment. He may find solace in friends and other groups because of the companionship he gets out of interacting with people who come from a background similar to his (Wyness 2006). Children’s social position needs to be recognized to ensure their roles, responsibilities and rights are clearly described. Therefore, it is necessary for children to be made aware of their rights and responsibilities in the societies they are growing up. Children’s lives in different social contexts impact on who they become when they become adults. Educational opportunities and other social activities that a child participates in as he grows up make him well prepared to deal with various challenges that he is likely to be exposed to as he grows up. Theoretical as well as practical learning approaches help children acquire knowledge about different phenomena and this aids their psychological development in the long term. This psychological development is also aided by the levels of interaction a child has with other people and other things in his natural environment (Corsaro 1997). As a result, these interactions allow children to form different types of relationships with their peers, parents and other people in societies they are living in. Therefore, gender may not have an impact on the manner in which a child understands various factors that are taking place in the environment he is living in. Educational approaches which children are exposed to at a young age shape their understanding about different issues in societies they are living in. The integration of play and learning allows children to understand basic concepts that define natural environments which they grow up in. Playing exposes children to different behavioural influences that are crucial for their growth. Through play, a child is able to form strong social bonds with his peers which in the long run may have an impact on his emotional state of mind (Corsaro 1997). For instance, girls start playing with dolls at a young age to stay in touch with various aspects of their feminine nature. On the other hand, boys play with toys which have a high level of adventure and exploration. Therefore, all these interactions strengthen children’s knowledge about living and non living things in their natural environment and how they affect other important processes. Technological advances which are now common in different parts of the world shape childhood experiences differently. The development of computer and other technological tools have encouraged children to engage in gaming activities which expose them to both negative and positive ideas. As a result, the impact of gender on shaping their experiences has diminished because both boys and girls are conversant with such technologies and they use them for various purposes. There is also an increase in the number of consumer goods and services that mainly target children and adolescents. This demographic has become more important to many firms that seek to increase their market dominance in various industries they are involved in. These firms understand that children culture is growing in influence and has an impact on decisions children make in different environments (Mayall 2002). Therefore, they have realized the importance of developing products that mainly conform to children’s expectations and attitudes. Answer 2 The experiences of children and young people living in poverty have led to new research studies which focus on childhood sociology. Poverty has various impacts in childhood development across different societies. Poverty makes children to become social participants in economic and social activities which are dominant within various societies (Smart, Neale, & Wade 2001). Therefore, this blurs the line between childhood and adulthood because they are expected to make various contributions to sustain lifestyles that are practiced in communities they were born in. Critical issues regarding age relations have been used to describe functions which children are expected to play within socio-cultural contexts they are growing up in. Therefore, children living in poverty are usually forced to contribute to the economic wellbeing of their families and they have to sacrifice play and school time to attain this goal. Poverty makes children perform roles which have traditionally been performed by adults. They are expected to fend for their families to support their siblings and parents who do not have other means of survival. Childhood psychological development processes in children are affected by different environmental factors. Children are sensitive and vulnerable to various environmental factors such as violence, deprivation and education which shape their understanding about important issues that are observed in a particular society. They are forced to learn the consequences that they are likely to face as they grow up in poor homes and surrounding neighbourhoods (Smart, Neale, & Wade 2001). As a result, children acquire different types of traits which help them survive the harsh conditions they are exposed to in their home environment. They may be forced to acquire a more aggressive persona that encourages them to take different types of risks to accomplish their goals. Poverty makes children to become more resilient and they are likely to abandon their own ambitions to focus on short term goals. As a result, they may suffer from poor nutrition because their parents are either incapable or unwilling to provide them with their basic needs. Such children may be forced to take underpaid jobs to help them improve their economic status. This new sociology makes children understand that they need to find new ways of survival and they cannot rely on their parents or guardians for survival (Christensen & James 2000). Economic development in various parts of the world is reliant on child labour because some business firms find it easy to control children to perform very difficult tasks at low pay. As a result, children’s childhood innocence is taken away from them at an early age because they learn how to conform to various conditions in environments they are growing up in. Urban poverty has altered the sociological aspects that define childhood due to disintegration of families, erosion of cultural values and exposure to other modern influences. Therefore, socio-economic forces have pushed some children to live on streets because they are not able to rely on their families for important basic provisions. Such children have extensive social networks which they rely on to survive in harsh environments. More often than not, they are willing participants in different criminal acts that bring harm to other people in the society. They are also likely to be used to commit different types of offenses by well established criminal groups (Christensen & James 2000). Therefore, the new face of urban poverty being experienced in different countries has elicited various reactions regarding the role of children in different societies. Deprived children are now seen as part of crucial economic and social systems that give character to such societies. Social and economic resources drive children to understand themselves and what they are capable of in various societies in which they are living. As a result, children are able to understand the value they obtain from learning and other forms of interaction in various societies they are living in. Since popular culture in many parts of the world focuses on material wealth as the gateway to happiness, some children grow up with aspirations of making more money to enable them have better lives in future. These children are likely to be lured to join criminal gangs. They go through various forms of initiation which prepare them for the roles they are expected to play by gang leaders (Hirokazu, Aber & Beardslee 2012). Initiation into gangs guarantee a child a position in defined social structure and this makes them more motivated to impress their leaders to gain different types of rewards that are obtained from being members of particular gangs. Gang affiliation is one of the most common consequences caused by childhood poverty in different countries. The socialisation children and teenagers get while living in deprived locations make them revere people that are willing to do anything to acquire material wealth and power. As a result, they start looking at vicious gang and criminal elements in their societies as heroes. Since children are often looked at the next generation of adults, young people that come from poor backgrounds are easily encouraged to join criminal groups to prove their loyalty and courage (Hirokazu, Aber & Beardslee 2012). They are able to align their interests with those of the new role models they look up. This makes them go against conventional practices observed in various societies because they are interested in gaining recognition from people they look up to who shape the manner in which they understand various issues in societies they are living in. Poverty exposes children and young people to different conditions which alter their behaviour and survival instincts. As a result, young people are forced to become more inventive to survive in a world that is very competitive and harsh (Kehily, 2003). Therefore, the exposures they get to new sociological conditions in various environments they are living in have forced them to have a new perception about different issues. Poverty and deprivation affects the psychological development of children and they acquire new traits which have long term impacts on their growth. Male children growing up in deprived families may be forced to use their masculine instincts to acquire material things that their parents cannot provide. Girls may also get exposed to prostitution to fend for themselves and their families. As a result, this makes them adapt to harmful situations in their home environments to increase their chances of survival. References Christensen, P & James, A 2000, Research with children: perspectives and practices, Falmer Press, London. Corsaro, WA 1997, The sociology of childhood, Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, CA. Hirokazu, Y, Aber ,JL & Beardslee, WR 2012, ‘The effects of poverty on the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children and youth: Implications for prevention’, American Psychologist, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 272-284. Kehily, M 2003, Children's cultural worlds, Wiley, New York. Magnusson,E & Marecek, J 2012, Gender and culture in psychology : theories and practices, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Mayall, B 2002, Towards a sociology for childhood, Open University Press, Buckingham. Smart, C, Neale, B & Wade, A 2001, The changing experience of childhood: families and divorce, Polity Press, Cambridge. Wyness, MG 2006, Childhood and society: an introduction to the sociology of childhood, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Read More