★ 2.5 GROWING UP IN VARIOUS CONTEXTS - 1 :-
There are various kinds of diversities which children face while growing up and which have a direct bearing on their personality development. There are various kinds of developmental risks to children which happen as a result of growing up in different types of diversities. Of course, there are certain benefits too. It is the role of society to ensure that children do not face much cognitive, behavioural, motivational and linguistic deficits.
♦ Diversity Conceptualized as at Risk
Children from migrant families are more at risk for developing delinquency, aggression, hyperactivity, attention deficits and poor academic performance. They also face discrimination based on caste, class, race, creed or colour. Experiences of such exclusions at various societal levels constitute insults to children’s healthy emotional, social, physical and emotional development. Segregation, which includes residential, economic, linguistic, social, and psychological—not only places the child at risk, but also spreads mistrust among populations of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Consider the following case:
Case 1: 10 year old Rohit, a migrant child wants to play in the park with his peers. Although his peers will not involve him directly in their game of cricket yet will use him as an extra who will run to get the ball for them whenever it goes out of the field. Rohit feels hurt at this segregation but is not able to do much about it.
★ 2.5 GROWING UP IN VARIOUS CONTEXTS - 2 :-
♦ Diversity conceptualized as an asset
Researches have shown that there are some positive influences of migrant families on children’s development like strong ethnic values, strong feelings of family cohesion, giving high value to education to enhance social status. Instilling of these values through the middle childhood to the next level ensures that the children will develop strong feelings of need for achievement.
For example, many families who migrated from UP, Bihar and Southern states to the Northern parts of the country especially in Delhi have imbibed culture of the two states. Their children also enjoy the benefits of dual cultural upbringing which was once thought of as a liability on children and have the potentials to hamper their proper social emotional growth.
In fact, studies show that bilingualism promotes cognitive growth and enhances coping skills in a person. Such children coming from these diverse backgrounds, merging with a new culture, actually are able to connect with people of different diverse backgrounds, which lead to their more personal and professional growth in future.
Check Your Progress 3
Notes: (a) Write your answers in the space given below.
(b) Compare your answers with the one given at the end of the unit.
i) What are the various issues concerning growing up in different contexts?
★ 2.5.1 Growing up in various types of family structures :-
Growing up in different types of family structures can be looked at from various dimensions like traditional families, non traditional families, low income families and affluent families. The family structures and child rearing practices play an important role in the socialization of the individual and her/his future personality is shaped accordingly.
The diversity of family structures in the present day world is definitely greater today than at any other point of time in its history. Infants are born into family types and structures, which were not even existing as many as fifty years ago. There are many new family types, which did not exist earlier, like, the children born through reproductive technologies, remarriage of divorcees, single mothers who never married. Adding to the confusion, single lesbian women and single gay men, married lesbian couples and married gay couples are also rearing children. Then there are substantial numbers of children who live only with grandparents and have never seen their biological parents.
The types of family structures can be generally divided into two- i) traditional family and ii) non-traditional family. In the next section, we discuss about the growing up experiences of children in such families.
★ 2.5.1.1 Traditional family :-
You know that in traditional families, there were two heterosexual parents who were married to one another and biologically related to the children they were rearing. Fathers in such families were expected to be working, while mothers stayed at home and were busy with child care and household upkeep. Sometimes both father and mother are working.
And this pattern of traditional family is the norm against which all other family rearing environment is measured. As per Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, children not raised in homes with both biological parents are at risk for psychosocial problems. But in the present day world, diversity of family structure is a growing reality. Now let us discuss about non- traditional family.
★ 2.5.1.2 Non-traditional family - 1 :-
Family that extends beyond the concept of traditional family is considered as nontraditional family. Today, great diversities are displayed in family forms such as single parent families, divorcing families, grandparents led families, cohabiting households, commuter families, families created by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. Each of these has separate consequences for children. Though there are different forms of traditional families, we will discuss some forms of non-traditional families in subsequent paragraphs.
♦ Single parent family
Single parent family is a family structure in which parents raise their children without a partner either due to divorce, death of a spouse or never been married but to have a child alone. Single parent in such family has to play the roles of both father and mother to her/his child. All of the tasks that would otherwise be shared by two parents must be accomplished by one which often led to stress. A single parent faces stress from many sources that include financial problems, strained relationships, the demands of parenting, and lack of time to care themselves.
One particular concern raised in these situations is called emotional parentification, in which children become more concerned by mediating between their parents. Children in such families have to take more responsibility in managing the household activities such as looking after siblings, cleaning house, shopping, etc. According to Amato (2006) children growing in single parenting due to divorce display not only behavioural problems at home but also strained relations with peers, low self-esteem, academic problems, and adjustment difficulties at school. If the custodial parent can continue to be warm, authoritative, and consistent, there is less chance of children to become depressed.
★ 2.5.1.2 Non-traditional family - 2 :-
♦ Commuter families
In commuter families, one parent is at home and takes care of household responsibilities and the other parent comes home for short periods such as at week ends or on holidays. The success of commuter families depends on the ability of spouses to adjust each other. Children should also be convinced about the reason of one parent staying away. Through phones and e-mails the parent can inquire the whereabouts and academic achievement of his/her child.
♦ Cohabitation
Cohabitation means living together before marriage. The number of children growing up in cohabiting households is increasing now-a-days. There is less stability in family structure of cohabitation when compared with nuclear families and single-parenting families. Two types of concerns arise on base of cohabitation-i) instability in partner relationships and ii) mounting financial problems.Children in cohabitation households are negatively impacted on cognitive, behavioural and health outcomes.
Children living in non-traditional families have to face social challenges. Sometimes they feel strange in growing up in such families when compared with traditional families. Parents should help children to understand that it is not family structure that matters but the bond created among themselves. It is necessary for parents and teachers to develop strong bond with their children so that they feel secure. From the above discussions, you come to know that family practices reflect and transmit the culture and values of society. Parents do not develop their own parenting practices but it is due to the process of socialization.
★ 2.5.1.3 Family structure based on income :-
The impact of family diversity on human development needs to be considered with particular focus on process of socialization. Many researches have been conducted around the study of single parent families , step families and dual career two parent families and results have consistently revealed that family resources, processes and relationships are more important predictors of successful socializations than are assessment of family structures .
Let’s have a look on the impact that low income families and affluent families have in the socialization process of the child.
♦ Low income family
Children from low income families are less likely to receive adequate nutrition and appropriate health care than affluent families. Also low income families are at great risk for exposure to environmental harms, witness to community/family violence, domestic violence, and direct victim of physical abuse and neglect.
Parents with less economic resources have been found to be less confident in their parenting, show less warmth towards their children. Researches have found that parents with lesser economic resources have been more verbally and physically abusive to their children and showed lesser warmth to their children as compared to parents with greater financial resources.
♦ Affluent families
Children from affluent families are lesser at risk than children from poor families for developing sociopathic tendencies. From the above discussions it is clear that the family plays a very important role in shaping the values and goals of a person which is essential for socialization.
Check Your Progress 4
Notes: (a) Write your answers in the space given below.
(b) Compare your answers with the one given at the end of the unit.
i) Explain with examples, how single parent families affect socialization.
ii) How do family structures based on income affect socialization? Explain with examples.
★ 2.5.2 Parent-Children Relationship :-
The child’s exposure to human interaction is the family setting. S/he learns to respond to his mother and other family members. Depending upon the quality of these early interactions, s/he relates to people outside the homes with expectation or uncertainty. If the family members enjoy each other’s company, spend a lot of time doing things together and have a positive attitude towards people at home and outside, the child imbibes similar attitudes.
Conversely, if the family interactions are restricted to the mundane business of dayto-day living or interaction takes place only when there is a conflicting situation, the child does not learn to look forward to interaction with others with a positive frame of mind. The influence of sensitive and responsive parenting affects the quality of parent-child relationship.
Read the following case:
Case 2: Sonia is a 10-year-old girl who is very fearful of all males. She becomes very dull in front of male teachers but is otherwise very active with her friends and other female staff. A detailed interview with her revealed that she had an abusive alcoholic father who would shout at her every time. She had become a withdrawn personality who rarely ever spoke her mind.
Activity 1
Discuss with your friends about Sonia’s case and suggest some ways to improve her social interaction.
★ 2.5.2.1 Impact of different parenting styles on child development - :-
Parenting style refers to the way in which parents raise their children, The way people do parenting affects their child’s socio-economic growth and development. These parenting styles correspond with the type of discipline a parent generally uses with his/her children.
♦ Authoritative
Many people think that authoritative parenting is more successful approach to parenting due to its high level of involvement and balanced control. Such parents set realistic expectations and consistent patterns of interactions for their children and also provide them with a fair / natural consequence. Natural consequences occur as a natural result of a child’s behaviour with no intervention required.
Eg., if a child touches a hot stove and is burnt by the heat, the burn is a natural consequence. Authoritative parents always express warmth and affection. They are patient to listen to the child’s view and also give freedom adequately. They fix rules of behaviour in consultation with children, explain the reason for rules and regulations and make the children feel that it is their own decision and allow flexibility with mutual consensus.
Researches have shown that parents following authoritative style raise children who are high on self esteem, have better social skills as compared to others and become more socially mature as adults. But parenting styles vary from culture to culture and authoritative style may not be appropriate in many cultural settings.
♦ Authoritarian
In the authoritarian style, parents are strict and seek conformity and obedience with unquestionable compliance from their children. Such parents exercise a large amount of control over their children’s behaviour and decisions. They will set rigid rules to follow, for their children and if they dare raise a rebellious voice, consequences can be very severe. Children growing up in such homes suffer from low self-esteem, get anxious easily and are generally withdrawn in personality. They may not engage in anti-social behaviour for fear of their parent’s disapproval.
★ 2.5.2.1 Impact of different parenting styles on child development - 2 :-
♦ Permissive
It is said that extreme of anything is not good and it is reflected in permissive parenting. Permissive parents tend to be over protective, over indulgent, warm, loving and nurturing towards their children. Children of such parents are more likely to be impulsive with a complete disregard for consequences. However, they may have high self-esteem, confident and good social skills.
♦ Neglectful
Such parents do not respond to their child’s needs and are less demanding of their children. However, this could be due to their own over involvement with their work or alcoholism or depression, etc. Such parents tend to look at their children for emotional support and their children often have to do their “parenting”. Children of such parents more often are fearful, anxious, socially withdrawn, perform poorly in school and are at risk for substance abuse.
Check Your Progress 5
Notes: (a) Write your answer in the space given below.
(b) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of the unit.
i) How does style of parenting shape the self concept of an individual?
★ 2.5.3 Growing in Adverse Situations :-
There are varied adverse situations such as children reared in malnourished environment, in the war zone, in orphanages and even growing up as children of migrant workers. Let’s examine them one by one which affects a child’s social and emotional development.
* 2.5.3.1 Children and poverty :- Many researches have shown that poverty impairs children's cognitive skills and reduces their chances of advancement beyond their parents. In fact, a bad environment can worsen the life chances not only of the child but also the future of the child. Children growing up in a community with gangs, dangerous streets where violence and robbery are natural side effects, discouraging role models, confused social expectations will end up himself/herself as a psychopath or a sociopath. Researches have shown that living in a neighbourhood where 20% or more of the residents are poor with other things being held constant, like parental education, income, health, etc - the test scores of the children are lowered. Think of the ways how the immediate environment impact upon the child's development. Noise, air, soil pollution and even traffic do affect the child's emotional, social and cognitive development. The locality they belong to, the community resources, availability of school and health services - all contribute to the child's shaping of personality and development. Social milieu also plays its own role in shaping a child's development. It is also seen that children of two generations who lived in slum areas actually do worse than the one generation that could move out of this slum neighbourhood.And how does this happen? It is also a result of socialization. Children reared in poor neighbourhood, on an average get less education and low income jobs and were at risk for more physical, social and emotional problems. And thus they end up in poor neighbourhoods as adults, themselves. When they became parents, they commonly passed on some of their personal disadvantages to their own children which further hampered their own psycho-social behavioural pattern.
★ 2.5.3.2 Children in the war zone :-
In every war/conflict, women and children are the most vulnerable members of the society who suffer the most. For children, war threatens the security of a stable home, crushes dreams of a playful innocent childhood, mars opportunities and put family members’ life at stake.
Read the following cases:
Case 3: Ammar, a 10-year-old boy, who lives on a construction site which was left incomplete when war ravaged Syria. Like thousands of Syrian children, he does not go to school and picks litters to help his family survive. His family works from six in the morning to six in the evening and earns 600 Syrian pounds in a day which is less than 2.50 dollars.
There is no water tap nearby so he washes once a month because the nearest tap is miles away and one has to stand in sun waiting for hours to get his/ her turn. Everyday fetching water for cooking and drinking takes its toll and he faints many times a month. There are only 6 taps for 100 buildings with 50 families in each.
Case 4: Nahida , a little girl of 9 years looks wistfully at a distance, '' That is where we used to love. I would go to school.’ My mother would sing lullabies to us. She would pack us delicious tiffins.I had lots of friends…..'' She sighs,
''Now my mother is dead. I couldn’t trace my father and brother. We had to flee the place due to bombing. All my friends are either dead or have left for some place – I do not know where to go.''
It is pathetic but today thousands of children like Ammar and Nahida have seen their homes destroyed, family members killed and their lives plunged from comfortable lives into abject poverty. The early years of life are very vital for success and stability.
★ 2.5.3.3 Children in orphanages :-
Millions of children today are living in orphanages without the love and care of a family. In “good” cases the children do receive food, clothes, education and shelter. In “worst” cases they are starved, abused, isolated and many die or become juvenile delinquents. In all cases, they never get the love, support and sense of identity that only a loving family can give.
Evidence shows that children growing up in institutional care experience various developmental delays and emotional attachment disorders. As a result they have lower intellectual, social and behavioural capabilities and are at risk for delinquent behaviours as a result of being branded as social outcasts all their lives. It is pathetic as theirs is a traumatized life of loneliness, homelessness and once they grow up it will be difficult for them to trust anyone or develop permanent relationships.
Such children love a deep sense of abandonment and naturally tend to develop strong bonds with volunteers who come to meet them for some time. Their wounds reopen after the volunteers leave after several weeks or months and when this pattern happens year after year, many children learn to protect themselves emotionally by castrating themselves from all love and hope.
★ 2.5.3.4 Growing up as children of migrant workers :-
Consider the following case:
Case 5: Savitri at the age of 17 migrated from Bihar to Hissar in Haryana, as a domestic help. She was in for a big shock. First the agency fellow, who had lured her from home, abused her physically for several days along with his friends. One day she managed to run away and went to a police station. They sent her to a women shelter from where she finally got stabilized and now work as a domestic help. But the trauma is still there and her children aged 4 and 6 have never seen any school for lack of money. They just loiter on the streets while she goes for work. She has called her 12 year old sister from her hometown who does babysitting and has never been to a school either. “This is the only life I know”, the sister shrugs her shoulders when asked if she would like to go to a school.
Migrant workers face discrimination and assault everywhere in society. Whether one talks about people in the same country, migrating to another state or people migrating to another country for various reasons, discrimination and harassment is the common pattern everywhere.
★ 2.5.3.5 Growing up with disability :-
For the disabled children, the experience of transition from childhood to adolescence will be different from that of non-disabled peers. Disabled children in their childhood feel more isolated from peer influences, less likely to engage in risky behaviours, and have smaller social networks. It is the duty of care takers and teachers to make the growing up experience of disabled children as a learning experience for the child. The stereotype attitude that disabled children cannot do anything on their own is a wrong notion. They can do anything like others, but in a different way.
Check Your Progress 6
Notes: (a) Write your answers in the space given below.
(b) Compare your answers with the one given at the end of the unit.
i) Discuss how child’s personality gets affected while living in orphanages.
ii) Discuss the effects of trauma faced by children living in war zones.
★ 2.5.4 Growing up as a girl :-
Jawaharlal Nehru, leader of India’s Independence movement, and India’s first Prime Minister once said, “You can tell the condition of a Nation by looking at the status of its Women.” So what is the status of the women in India, today? Well, overall, things are changing for women and they have a voice in everyday life, in the business world as well as in politics too. But the fact remains that India is still a male dominated society and women are seen as subordinate, inferior to men. The qualities which a girl is expected to imbibe are to be patient, giving and soft spoken. However, the situation varies from place to place and in various habitations.
Let’s examine the state of a girl child growing up in various habitations.
★ 2.5.4.1 Growing up in cities and rural areas :-
In cities, girls are getting access to education with more or less equal opportunities. They are seen working in various walks of life as teachers, receptionists, nurses, doctors, engineers, corporate etc. Yet they face social discrimination in terms of sexual harassment/ eve teasing , dowry issues and “women social role” issues. The responsibility of the household tasks is still hers along with rearing of children even if she is earning equal to her husband . Her parents may not be welcome in her marital home and related social issues.
According to the report ‘Human Development in South Asia 2000 – The Gender Question”, women in South Asia face severe discrimination and disparities in economic opportunities, legal status and protection, education, health care and political governance. In developing countries the lack of educational opportunities for girls from the marginalized masses has become a major issue in public policy discourse in recent years. The literacy rate for women worldwide is 71.4 % compared with 82.7% for men. Of the 960 million illiterate adults, two thirds are women.
In most of the feudal set-ups of rural India, girls are married early for fear of sexual harassment. The early marriage of girls is a matter of social prestige in many communities. Social fear of girls getting alienated from their environment is yet another factor for low literacy level among girls.
★ 2.5.4.2 Growing up in a tribal community :-
Gender inequality continues to remain a serious problem in India. The literacy rate of females among the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes is below national average. Their mobility is limited due to socio cultural constraints and normally they engaged in low paid, high labour intensive and unskilled jobs.
In most tribal hamlets, girls are expected to get accustomed to the role played by their mothers, hence they start participating in work quite early. The Government and a lot of NGO’s are working to improve the conditions of girls. For example, in Odisha, People’s Rural Education Movement (PREM) has helped the setting up of residential hostels so that the tribal girls are able to attend schools. A lot of tribal girls who were otherwise not able to go to school earlier are now doing so. Many are now studying in English medium schools which are further an achievement for them.
★ 2.5.4.3 Growing up in slum area :-
In slum areas, the situation for girls is still more complex as due to the role identity and the socialization processes, they do not find themselves in the negotiation terms. The life situations where the personality of these girls gets shaped are most often devoid of human rights aspects and hence they “live” life but do not grow and bloom.
From their pressing background when these girls go to schools, they do not find relief. Besides the physical isolation, the discriminatory practices like asking them to sweep, clean the room, make tea for teachers, set pre-conceived notions that girls have low intelligence or that they can learn only by scolding and beatings. Many NGO’s in the slum areas are working towards the education of girls and their families in the country but clearly that is not enough. The community has to come forward and change its mindset. In addition to financial constraints, a variety of cultural factors influence gender inequalities in school enrollment.
Check Your Progress 7
Notes: (a) Write your answers in the space given below.
(b) Compare your answers with the one given at the end of the unit.
i) Explain with some examples how socialization affects our attitudes towards girl child.
ii) Do girls face gender bias in slum areas? Elaborate.
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