I actually agree with the chinese mother's approach to socializing kids. I agree because today parents are more focused on their children's self confidence and to ensure that they don't get hurt they try to keep them from hurtful situations, like feeling bad about failing. Although I do think it is important for kids to have a good self esteem and image of themselves, it is more important to teach children that they have the potential to be amazing if they work hard at something, rather than giving up when the going gets rough.
I don't think that raising children in this fashion will mess them up, I think it will help kids form a solid foundation as to how to act in life. Then in most situations parents do know what is best for their kids because they have had more life experience than them and have a better capacity to tell whether or not something is good or bad. Then in the end children do grow up and find their own paths, so even with the "medling" of parents, kids will make their own choices as to how they will spend their lives.
The way "chinese" mother's raise their children is the perfect example of Charle's Cooley's looking glass self. This method of raising children fits well into this category because parents expect a lot from their children and make it clear that they believe they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. So, because children have this support system of belief behind them, they too grow to believe they can excel if they try their hardest. Then according to Sigmond Freud, children develop their personalities from their parents, so because "chinese" mother's are so strict and demanding from their children, their children grow up expecting and demanding a lot from themselves as well. Then as for Jean Piaget, kids who have been raised under the influence of chinese mother's learn to do things in a differnt manner compared to "western" kids. Because the way they learn things is different, they are able to accomplish more whether it be for themselves or for their mothers.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Socialization
My cousin just had her third baby, a boy. Before sociology I never realized how much we teach little kids about society. When I went over to her house to see the baby I noticed that all his clothes were colors associated with boys like blue, red, yellow, and white. Then because in class we are discussing socialization I noticed that the choice of color for my nephew's clothes was a way to socialize him into his gender role. Because all of his clothes were boy colors, Angel will grow up to identify those colors as ok to wear since he is a boy. The same goes for his toys. All my aunts and uncles bought Angel little toys like teddy bears and other assorted animals. Although he did recieve stuffed animals, no one bought him a doll or "girly toys." Not only was Angel being socialized to his gender role, he was getting a lesson of human interaction. Usually, when people see a baby they want to hold it. The fact that a lot of people came to see him, Angel learned to be more comfortable with people and not freak out when someone other than his mom and dad held him.
Little Kids
Sometimes I help tutor some kids that live down the street from me, but lately I haven't had a chance to see them because I am busy with school and badminton, so instead of tutoring them, I have been helping my little sisters out more. My little sister Nahomi is 9 years old and she is learning her multiplicatioin tables and when I was trying to explain to her how to do the 6 tables I found myself getting extremely frustrated with her because she just couldn't get the hang of it. Then the kids that I tutor are around the same age as Nahomi and in the midst of my frustration I realized "man I really need to calm down, and if she weren't my sister I probably wouldn't react this way." Then another thought popped into my head, "hmmm so this is what moms feel like" throughout my days going to school I have met some really crazy moms that expect so much from the kids and I always thought, why can't they just be happy with what their kids can do what more do they want from them. And during my time with my sister I realized they want perfection. The closer you are to someone the more you expect from them. Although this seems like a good thing it can actually be harmful for kids like the article we read in class about how parents who want genius babies actually cause harm to their children's learning development by sitting them in front of those "interactive" videos.
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