Creator
Complex and mega rich, full of quest and challenge, a human life is the product of many strands.
The person you are and the many influences that have combined to shape your life thus far are many.
The genes you inherited from your parents, your relationships with your family and your friends, your personal experiences, ideas and dreams have all played an important role in shaping your unique self.
Research suggests from a psychological perspective that development refers to the changes over time in a person’s physical structure, thought, and behavior due both to biology and to experience. This encompasses a person’s entire life and all the events that shape their direction.
See my previous article:
Infancy: Birth to 18-24 months
Toddler-hood: 12-15 months to 2-3 years of age
Early Childhood: 2-3 years to 5-6 years of age
Middle Childhood: 6 years to approximately 12 years of age
Adolescence: Approximately 12 years to 18-21 years of age
Young Adulthood: 18-21 years to 40 years of age
Middle Adulthood: 40 years to 60-65 years of age
Older Adulthood: 60-65 years of age to death
Human development is not simply a “program” that is set in place at birth and plays its way out as an individual moves through their lifespan. Rather, the development of an individual is best seen as a dynamic exchange or interplay of biological potentials, social and environmental forces, and the individual’s own responses to these circumstances.
Historical views of Childhood
The conceptualization (love that word!) of childhood and attitudes toward children have varied a great deal throughout recorded history and beyond.
Although relatively little is known about the attitudes of prehistoric civilizations towards children, the agriculture-based societies of today’s poorer countries help to provide some likely parallels. Unfortunately such societies typically view children as coworkers and contributors.
Children are assigned household chores and errands at an early age, with their workload increasing as they get older.
However, more is known and recorded about childhood in ancient western civilizations, where children typically were viewed as material possessions and little more.
In parts of ancient Greece, strict obedience and harsh physical punishment were the norm, in ancient Rome, killing undesirable children or otherwise unwanted children, or selling them into servitude was common.
Parents were free to exploit their children in whatever ways they wished, child sexual abuse was rampant, and children tended to have no rights.
Thankfully, child killing was finally outlawed in Christian Europe in the 12th century AD, and it was not until the end of the Middle Ages (about 1500 AD) that general attitudes towards children began to change significantly.
Nevertheless, even in modern times, we still have some cultures who still consider children as “economic assets” who are to be exploited, made to work in factories and are often subjected to severe corporal (physical) punishment.
In places like the United States, it was not until the late 19th century that children achieved special rights through the advent of child labor laws and compulsory schooling.
Laws defining child abuse and limiting the use of corporal punishment came even later.
Exploring attitudes about Child Rearing Practices
As a multicultural society, many of us have our own opinion about Child Rearing practices. The concept of what is appropriate varies considerably across cultures.
For example, I have learnt that Japanese children up to 3 years of age tend to sleep with their parents, grandparents, or siblings.
Apparently, this sleeping arrangement is a socialization practice that fosters a close relationship between children and their parents as well as others. These types of practices reflect a culture that values collective harmony. Cool!
Popular Questions
-
Do you think it’s a good idea for babies to sleep in the same bed with their parents?
-
Would you ever spank your child? If yes, under what conditions?
-
What would you do if your child told you they were attracted to the same sex or they felt transgender?
-
What would you do if your child was caught shoplifting from a supermarket?
Social and Political Factors
Social and Political factors can also affect our attitudes towards childhood in different cultures.
The hundred of thousands of children who were forced to fight in the brutal ethnic wars that have raged in parts of Africa and many other regions of the world illustrates a view of childhood, where children were not considered special nor were they protected.
Children and War
Events as traumatic as war often have profound and permanent effects on those involved, and children may be the most vulnerable of all.
Before the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Iraq, for example, had one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the developing world.
By 2003, it had one of the highest infant mortality rates, with many children dying of hungry, malnutrition, dysentery and cancer.
War usually has a devastating impact on all concerned, but its effects on children are especially tragic.
Many children are killed as innocent bystanders, others are orphaned and may end up starving, sick, alone or in ill-equipped refugee camps. Many are also subjected to sexual abuse.
According to an extensive study funded by the United Nations, as of the Middle 1990s there were 27.4 million refuges and 30 million displaced persons, half were children.
The effects of War on Children
Some of war’s impact is immediate and obvious: demoralization, depression and a chronic sense of fear and uncertainty. Numerous researchers also have found high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children who survived.
In a study of Palestinian children who had experience war, it was found that almost 3/4th had at least mild PTSD symptoms, and over 1/3rd had moderate to severe symptoms.
These symptoms include high rates of sleep disturbances,
complaints of physical pain or infirmity, the inability to feel normal emotions, problems in controlling their impulses, and difficulty concentrating.
Sometimes the symptoms of PTSD occur immediately, but in other cases they emerge later, sometimes months or even years after the traumatic episode. Although PTSD can persist for years, fortunately for most children its effects subside once a more stable life is regained.
When children grow up in dangerous, disrupted, and insecure environments, they face many challenges. War will always leave an imprint on all those who are affected by it; for some, those scars are deep and permanent. Yet, believe or not, children are remarkably resilient.
Even children growing up in war-torn regions of the world are still able to master the developmental tasks of childhood and adolescence and move on towards establishing meaningful adult lives.
Economic Factors
Economic factors often influence attitudes towards the treatment of children. For example, families that are more affluent tend to have fewer children. With fewer children, parents are under less pressure to provide for the basics, therefore, they have more time to enjoy and educate their children.
In addition, children from affluent families have less need to undertake adult responsibilities at an early age. Therefore they can enjoy their childhood a lot longer. Yeah!!!
