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C. Biological and emotional needs of infant and child beginning from the early development
Development is a chain of change where all stages are linked together. We are not developing just from the physical point of view, but from the social point too. We start by the development of the nervous system, the brain, and the spinal cord; then the way of talking and walking. Here, social development starts. When the child becomes independent of the family members, then he starts to perceive differently, to achieve, to approach, and to coordinate between colors, numbers and shapes. At such time, the ego of the child starts to emerge which is affected by the process of imitation and identification. In turn, imitation and identification are important because they lead to reinforcement and evaluation.
Pre-conditions for adequate socialization:
1) Children must have the requisite biological inheritance:
The first precondition for socialization is a biological inheritance that is adequate to permit learning processes to occur. Thus, a brain, a digestive system, and a beating heart are clearly pre-requisites for socialization. They are necessary but they are not sufficient conditions for socialization. Certain needs such as food, drink and sleep are basic to survival, but they can be satisfied in a wide variety of ways. And while temperament and intelligence may be basically biological, the development or direction that they take is influenced and modified by the society in which the infant exists. In brief, while biological requisites are necessary for adequate socialization, they are not alone the determinants of socialization.
2) There must be an ongoing society:
The second precondition for socialization is an existing society that has values, norms, statuses, roles, institutions, and a wide variety of social structure that are highly regular and patterned but in constant change. The unsocialized infant has no knowledge of these changes, structures, or processes. The patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting of that society are what the socializing agents must pass on the newcomer. This, in fact, the task of socialization.
Early development of infant and child:
Socialization begins the first time a mother holds her baby. that is the first step in the long process of teaching the baby to recognize oneself as an individual and mother as another individual, and to construct a patterned kind of relationship with her. From the first moments of life, biological and emotional needs are closely interwined. (ex: In nursing the infant or even when holding him against the mother's body-feeding, a mother provides three necessary things: warmth, food, and human contact (physical and emotional.)
The first signs of socialization in babies occur through the only means of communication available to them, such as crying. Later on, certain smiles and laughs occur which are a sort of mood communication. Step by step, the infant whose needs are adequately met with positive emotional overtones, begins to view the world as safe and comfortable, and its inhabitants as trustworthy and helpful. But when the care is inadequate, inconsistent, or emotionally rejective, the child may start to view the social environment as hostile and untrustworthy. If the child is deprived of loving care, he will grow up unable to offer love to others or even cope with it when offered. However, if these feelings are reinforced in the later periods of personality development, they may become a permanent part of the child's character as an adult. When the baby becomes three months old, he can recognize specific human faces. At this stage, the baby starts to know his own parents and begins to send and receive stronger communication of emotions.
First stage of communication: "non-verbal communication"
(ex: communication by body movements, communication by facial expressions.)
Second stage of communication: "language"
The major part of the process of socialization involves developing the child's use of language and encouraging language as a replacement for emotional expression. (N.B: At the same time, the baby must also be allowed and later encouraged to express his own emotions to his parents and these emotional relationship must flow in both directions if the process is to be truly socializing.)
The Development of the social self:
In the course of interaction between child and parents, another process is taking place which is the development of the "social self".
"Self" is a key concept in understanding socialization and personality.
"Self" although often seen in psychological and personal terms, is a social phenomenon. It is developed in interaction with others. The process of socialization, a primary concern of child rearing and that which make humans social beings is the development of a social self: the organization of internalized roles.
During the child development, the child is learning to define oneself as a person by developing a personality. It is clear that the sense of self can only come about as a result of social interaction. In fact, the newborn baby cannot differentiate himself from his mother. Gradually, in the next few months, he begins to see his mother as one person and himself as another. Step by step, as interaction with his mother becomes more complex, they also become more definitive.
He learns that: he is small, she is large ; he is male, she is female
he is a student, she is his teacher ; he is the son, she is the mother.
In other words, the need for social interaction to define the self continues through life. We start to learn new roles and gradually alter our self images by using the information we receive from interaction with others. A woman, for instance, may occupy the status of a wife, a sister, daughter, teacher, executive... Each status has expectations (role) assigned to it. A person must know how each role is related to the other. All these roles need to be organized and integrated into some reasonable and consistent unity.
Yet, it is important to mention that at each stage of development, certain people play important roles in the formation of the self-concept as well as they create major influence in the process of socialization from childhood development to old age.
In childhood, parents, siblings, peers, and the teacher play a role in the formation of the self-concept. Whereas, in adulthood the spouse, the employer, the children, the neighbors, and the friends play a very important role in forming the self-concept. While in the old age period, the spouse maintains his/her main role like the friends and the grown children, in addition to the grandchildren who majorly influence the process of socialization.
D. Factors maintaining positive adjustment and integration.
Last but not least, we can conclude that to achieve a successful socializing process throughout life span,
1- acquiring positive social interaction,
2- favorable home climate with the presence of loving and caring parents,
3- good choice of peer group,
all three factors should be present together for maintaining a positive adjustment and a positive integration for the individual in society.
Done by: Khawand Cristel.
Manal Lteif.