INFLUENCE OF PEERS AND FAMILY ON MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
In the initial years of childhood, the family usually has the foremost role in the socialization process of a child. However, as the child reaches school and enters a new phase of life, other factors come into play. The stage of middle childhood is full of new developments and discoveries for a child. A child undergoes considerable improvements and learns several new activities during this phase. The child learns to become independent as he or she learns to wear his or her own clothes, tie laces and fetch his or her own bag. Children then begin to seek new friends and start to come out of the shadow of their parents or family members. Physical, cognitive, and communication skills develop rapidly. This growing stage in the child’s life is marked by a growing influence from friends, instructors, trainers, as well other people from the outside as the child spends more time with them than with family members. This is a very crucial stage in life where children are able to build confidence in all spheres through friendship, school, and sporting activities. The influence of family on the child gives way to peers as well. Though friends form a significant part of this phase, peer pressure can create hindrances to the child’s growth too. Children with self-belief and confidence have far greater ability to withstand negativity, and sheer peer pressure and are able to make better choices. In this paper, the relative significance of the influence of peers and family upon the development of a child during middle childhood is explored. Additionally, I will also be comparing the strength and weaknesses of both the groups and try to assess which group holds a greater influence on a child during their middle childhood.
Family Influence on a child
The government has always tried to encourage positive parent-child rapport so as to facilitate the overall development of a child. However, as claimed by Judith Rich Harris, an American psychologist, there is very little impact of the family and the kind of home a child belongs to on their overall development.
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