Social needs of children and adolescents

¶ … social needs of children and adolescents. The writer examines skills that are needed to contribute to positive social development. There was one source used to complete this paper.

Watching children on a playground one is apt to see small children chasing each other and arguing over a toy, older children forming "clubs" in which some are allowed in and others are rejected and adolescents who stand shyly by the sidelines talking with their best friends all at once. Each stage of childhood brings different sets of social needs and skills. Children and adolescents who are nurtured at home and in school develop healthy and appropriate social skills while children who are given messages of distrust and dysfunction develop positive social skills.

There are many skills or personal capabilities that are important for the positive social development of a person's life. Three of those skills include the ability to communicate, the ability to empathize and the ability to reason. Each of these personal skills and attributes are vital contributors to positive social skills throughout life. As people go through the various stages of life the skills are developed dependent on the environment and messages that the person receives in life.

The family environment plays an important role in the development of a child or adolescent's social skills in life. The family is often the first and only provider of example that the child has during the first few years of life. If the child is exposed to positive and productive social interactions the child will learn how to contribute to social interactions in a positive manner (Learning Autonomy vs. Shame (Will) (http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erickson.shtml).

Two important qualities that a family environment can provide for the child to develop positive social skills are support and example. If a child is raised in a home in which he or she is given support for attempts to communicate positively socially that child will continue to grow and build on those areas with positive skills.

Example is what the child will observe in his or her family environment as he begins to study the world around him. A family that displays appropriate and positive social skills in a wide variety of settings provides a model that the child can begin to emulate as he or she begins to encounter social situations (Learning Autonomy vs. Shame (Will) (http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erickson.shtml).

One quality of family environment that can inhibit the development of skills or capabilities of social skills is substance abuse. Substance abuse causes the family to become dysfunctional in many areas including social interactions. The child of an alcoholic is sent messages of secrecy. Verbal abuse and other negative things that will inhibit his or her ability to develop positive social skills.

In a classroom it is important that the teacher understand his or her role in the social development of the students and how that is impacted by the classroom environment. Two qualities of the classroom environment that can contribute to the development of skills in the social arena include communication and teamwork. If a student is in a classroom setting in which open communication and sharing are a regular part of the day the student will begin to develop social skills that are positive in nature. If a student is asked to be part of a team and work on projects with others the student will begin to develop the ability to communicate with others and to accept the ideas, opinions and differences of others. Both are positive steps in the development of social skills.

One classroom quality that will inhibit the development of social skills is a classroom in which communication is discouraged. In a classroom setting where the teacher stands at the front of the class and lectures without ever giving the students an opportunity to respond or communicate in an open forum, the child may be inhibited in their social skills development because they will lack practice.

OBSERVATIONS

First

The first observation was in a park setting. The child was about two years old and appeared to be with her mother who looked to be in her mid-20's. The child looked happy and was smiling and laughing as she ran to her mother and asked her mother to play. The mother was talking to a friend and barely noticed the child's approach. She scolded the child for interrupting and told her to go back and play some more. The child's expression immediately changed to sadness as she sat in the sandbox and stopped playing. The interaction will most likely encourage the child to stop asking her mother to play if such interactions continue.