The Importance of Peer Relationships for Children Social Development - Essay Example

?Running head: THE IMPORTANCE OF PEER RELATIONSHIPS FOR CHILDREN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT The importance of peer relationships for children social development Insert name Insert grade course Insert instructor’s name April 14, 2011. Outline Introduction Key elements of peer relationships How practitioners support peer relationship development Activation and strategies available to promote peer relationships Barriers / difficulties in which children find it hard to communicate with other children Why children withdraw themselves form peer interactions How peer relationships help children in the future Conclusion The importance of peer relationships for children social development Introduction Peer relationships play a pivotal role in the promotion of social development in children. Peer relationships represent the interactions among people of the same age and their interactionist activities. Although these relationships have been viewed as hazards over the years, their benefits surpass the limitations whenever appropriately applied and utilized. Social development entails continued enhancement of skills relevant to help ones interact with the immediate social environment consisting of people and prevailing conditions and situations. The peer relationships development in children is aided by the combined role played by parents, practitioners as well as the attitudes of the children being taught. Moreover, peer relationships create a sense of responsibility in children, eradication of loneliness caused by family troubles, as well as the enhancement of social competence. These are rationales to the development of social development in an individual. Many problems in children are as a result of poor social upbringing, which ultimately leads to the withdrawal of some children from their peers. However, the recent years have seen researchers, scholars, as well as academicians getting actively involved in the study of the effects of peer relationships in human life (Ford and Harris, 1999). The discussion in this paper aims at investigating into the importance of peer relationships in social development. The role of practitioners is crucial to establish at this juncture, as well as the key elements of peer relationships to enhance a better understanding. The reasons as to why children withdraw from their peers as well as the rationale of peer relationships in the future life of children will also be established. Key elements of peer relationships Peer relationships are attributed to a number of significant elements, which include self/irritability, family, school and peers as well as work. Self/ irritability element determines the response of distinct individuals to occurrences/ phenomenon. Some children who are faced with difficulties resulting from physical, family troubles, abandonment, resiliency, and exceptionality respond slowly to peer-relationships. In contrast, those in the relevant contexts often demonstrate a quick response to the peer relationships. Secondly, family context plays a pivotal role in the performance of a child in the social realms. Bronfenbrenner’s systems refer this as the main micro-system influence (Siegel, 2008). Mesosystems explain the influence that occurs as a result of how children respond to the immediate environments, which are composed of a connection between any of the two micro-systems. For instance, a connection between family and school, a child who has difficulties in family life will definitely have difficulties interacting with teachers as well as other children. Recent research has indicated teachers as contributors of poor peer relationships due to their utilization of favoritism on some children. The same is impacted in the societal set up since the child has already developed a negative attitude. Peers are also long-term rationales for the extents of peer relationships and finally social development. These are the friends that one has to interact with in all contexts. Harsh treatment by some peers is also a major cause of withdrawal. Some peers also result in poor influence due to their involvement in drug abuse, alcoholism etc, and leading to other peers fearing the involvement in similar awful activities. Non-standard jobs have also seen many youths avoid peer relationships and tend to live alone (Siegel, 2008). How practitioners support peer relationship development Practitioner’s role in the activation of peer relationship is very vital in as a driver to the development of social awareness. Their application of best strategies and human practices that rationalize the enhancement of peer relationships requires willingness as well as readiness to cope with emerging challenges in the change processes. Activation is spearheaded by the desire for transition by practitioners as well as the people charged with children development responsibility. Practitioners can apply a vast cluster of methodologies to help in the development of peer relationships. Social skills nurturing is a long-term methodology that has worked in the lives of many individuals to foster social development. The practitioners, parents, teachers, and other entities entrusted with children should nurture their sensitivity, management of anger as well as fairness virtues. Companionship skills in youth and children should be allowed to develop by fostering their participation in activities like sports, games, literature, as well as music. The enhancement of children thoughts and emotions expression skills is a model that enables them acquires skills that are socially acceptable (Yu, Hoffman and Russell, 2009). Additionally, practitioners should teach children to take their colleagues perspectives. Their concern about other people’s lives should be allowed to grow to improve their participation in the socially acceptable affairs in addition to group activities. Self-disclosure plays a vital role in the enhancement of social responsibility, thus is a strategy that need be applied by practitioners at schools, homes as well as all social places. This should then be enhanced by the teaching of listening skills that are responsive to young children. Responsive skills of listening are crucial in the life of human beings since every human activity’s success is facilitated through communication, which is the art of listening and responding correctively. Moreover, the practitioners should provide opportunities that help children to develop empathy characteristics; help youths to develop the skills to resolve conflict and disagreements effectively; provide opportunities meant for tutoring of peers should be let to the children to enhance their communication and interaction skills; and above all, be prepared to converse with children concerning their acquaintances in case they develop trouble from their interactions. Thus, conflict resolution by careful listening and making appropriate judgments is a long-term role of practitioners in the development of peer relationship for social development (Kuhaneck, Spitzer, and Miller, 2009). Activation and strategies available to promote peer relationships The activation of peer relationships entails the interplay of the various contexts available in children development realms. Dead relationships can as well be activated with the utilization of various strategies that are considered vital in the promotion of social development. Youth and children forums development by national entities provides room for practitioners in the psychology fields to identify with the challenges associated with social development in children. Practitioners need also familiarize themselves with the various barriers that hinder essential communication between peers and address on them in an ample manner. Additionally, the curriculum utilized for fostering the academic excellence should be improved to include social education to provide room for all children to attain equal treatment (Mize, Ladd and Price, 1985). Parents are an important rationale to children development and are crucial if they lay strategies to enable them interact with their children more often. The family environment should be appropriately addressed to create a humane attitude on children to eradicate their withdrawal from their peers. Family conflicts are also an area of concern and should be duly addressed to avoid children subjection to mental troubles that may lead to loneliness. Contemporary societal issues should be addressed, including abuse of drugs, resiliency, as well as children abandonment, which are sometimes the major causes of withdrawal from peers by some children. In addition, room should be created in the society where the youth and young children are able to address their social difficulties and emotions as a tool for promotion of social development. Peer counseling of children is also a vital instrument that aids in the promotion of peer relationships (Mize, Ladd and Price, 1985). Barriers / difficulties in which children find it hard to communicate with other children Children development under normal conditions should yield positive peer relationships in their lives in order to eradicate their exposure to societal vices, which impact negatively in their lives. However, the recent years have been marked by rampant children abandonment issues, resilience, depression in youth, delinquency, drug abuse and others problems that are more critical. Bronfenbrenner's theory provides crucial tools that help address the child’s context in relation to these issues. More over, distinct effects are felt differently in the different developmental stages, thus the social development in the adolescent and adult stages is dependent upon the peer relationships experienced at a tender age (Meece and Eccles, 2009). According to Bronfenbrenner’s, a child who has been abandoned develops poor mental characteristics. Thus, this affects their responsiveness even to the school, friends and environment during their orientation. Family troubles are a source of loneliness in many children, a factor that makes most find it hard to communicate with others. Exceptionality in children is also an issue of concern, since disabled children always lower their esteem and fail to recognize their importance in groups - this impacts negatively on their peer relationships and ultimately, their social development. In addition, children who suffer rejection at such an early age are always prone to risks of drug abuse and other habits, hence developing negativity in their lives. This kind of negativity renders them develop poor peer relationships, thus their communication with other children is difficult as well as their social development (Meece and Eccles, 2009). Why children withdraw themselves form peer interactions Rubin, Bukowski and Laursen, (2011) argue that children who withdraw from peer relationships often fear to form and maintain these close relationships. They explain that withdrawal is not actually a clinical challenge, though may sometimes be attributed to depression, anxiety, as well as psychosis disorders. Some children may be regarded as essential loners due to their preference of staying isolated from their peers. This occurs as a result of anxiety on how their pals perceive them in fear of negative evaluation and perception. Anxiety makes children become unresponsive, poor communicators as well as passive the peer relations. The contexts of development also make many children withdraw from their peers. Developmental patterns in children are adversely influenced by the contexts around the child’s development environment. Bronfenbrenner’s systems identify these contexts to include family life, the immediate community, work and school in addition friends and the societal set up within a child’s environment. For instance, a connection between family and school, a child who has difficulties in family life will definitely have difficulties interacting with teachers as well as other children. Rejection and victimization by the surrounding people may also result in children social failures and finally lead to their withdrawal from their peers. Early children abandonment may influence their take on other people, and this has led to the development of rampant loners in the society. Furthermore, exceptional children have long been underestimated, making their exceptionality problem contribute adversely to their withdrawal from their peers (Rubin and Coplan, 2010) How peer relationships help children in the future Peer relationships have a very strong influence on the future of children’s interactions and ways of coping with their immediate environment. Conceptual research and child development theory indicate that the interaction of individuals with their environment depend upon their development background. Also, as children grow from childhood to early adolescents, their friendships and peer relationships determine the interaction in such destinies. The adoption of peer relationships that are of quality plays a very crucial role in the prevention of youth engagement in awful behaviors. For instance, aggression, low academic performances and future unemployment as well as depressions and loneliness of high orders result from poor peer relationships in childhood stages of development (Leathard, 2003). Development of self-esteem is associated with ample children peer relationships. Peer relationships are a suitable ground to learn the practice of self-esteem, ultimately leading to the formation of one’s self image. This image is also vital in the presentation of an individual in the social realms where one has to interact with people. The development of social competence is also associated with development of peer relationships. Social competence enables an individual to survive in the volatile environment that requires enthusiastic and aggressive individuals in regard to education acquirement as well as social market fitness. Family troubles have long been known to act as instruments of children withdrawal from peer relationships. However, the development of appropriate social relationships aids in buffering children from their earlier developed consequence of family predicaments. It is also possible for one to cope with situations of victimization due to participation in peer relationships, due to acquirement of interactionist wisdom and knowledge as a child interacts with others. Academic performance is also much attributed to the grounds of peer relationships. Those subjected to appropriate social and peer relationship grounds are likely to perform well, and work competitively in their future employments. A sense of responsibility is also boosted by the enhancement of early childhood peer relationships (Keeler, 2006). Conclusion Peer relationships play a pivotal role in the promotion of social development in children. Peer relationships represent the interactions among people of the same age and their interactionist activities. Youth and children forums development and curriculum enhancement in addition to parents as well as community participation are some of the strategies that would foster peer relationships. Peer relations are an instrument that paves for positive peer responsiveness, and ultimately to social development. Reference List Ford, D and Harris, J., 1999. Multicultural gifted education. NY: Teachers College Press. Keeler, S., 2006. Children's peer relationships have enormous influence. Arizona University press, Eurekalert. (Online). Available from: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/asu-cpr012406.php (Accessed April 14, 2011). Kuhaneck, H., Spitzer, S. and Miller, E., 2009. Activity Analysis, Creativity and Playfulness in Pediatric Occupational Therapy: Making Play Just Right. NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Leathard, A., 2003. Interprofessional collaboration: from policy to practice in health and social care. NY: Psychology Press. Meece, J. and Eccles, J., 2009. 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