Socialisation of a child:

Teach them good social values

by A.M. Ahamed Deputy Director of Education

A child has natural instincts at birth. Then a social sense develops. The environment has an impact on the development of his social sense. People are regarded as social animals. The objective of socialisation is to help a child to behave in terms of social values and culture. Socialisation is a process through which we make the child an active member of society.

Socialisation is a process which starts from birth and continues till death. Many sub-processes are implied in this process. The speed of socialisation is fast during infancy, childhood and adolescence. During these stages children mould themself according to various social norms. After adolescence the individual picks up many social traits consciously. One society maybe different from another in many respects.

Factors influencing socialisation

The family plays a very important role in the socialisation of a child. The child depends on them and learns about social behaviour. It is important that the family must behave in a reasonable manner. So that children may not learn undesirable behaviour. Parents should take special responsibility because a child’s socialisation process begins first with parental behaviour. A child learns habits from parents.

The behaviour of a child to an extent represents the personality of his parents. Hence the parents must be good examples to children. They must evince control stability and appropriateness in their behaviour. Parents must balance the children to children relationship. Too much pampering will spoil a child, they will drift from the realities of life.

There is a close link with the development of the child and parents’ relationship. They are: Mother loves the father, but the father does not love her. The father loves the mother, but the mother does not love the father. None of them love each other and both love each other. The first three situations, are unfavourable for socialisation, because they impair the child's adjustment. There is no stability and control in the child’s behaviour. When parents are happy, they are able to take care of the child and socialisation goes on smoothly.

After the parents, the child comes into contact with other members of the family. In the case of children in a small family, socialisation of a child will take a particular shape. In the case of grandparents and uncles and aunts, socialisation will be different from others.

The child learns the virtues of love, sympathy, religiosity, rendering service to others, leadership quality, competition and other social traits through contact with grown-up members of the family. Sometimes a child may pick up some un-social elements from the family. These may disappear gradually when the child starts going to school.

Social and economic status

The social and economic status influences the process of socialisation. Children get ample opportunities to meet various types of people.

Hence socialisation goes on in a certain manner. Some people do not welcome meeting children of low or bad social and economic status, such children do not enjoy occasions to meet with various types of people.

Their socialisation takes a different turn. Such children may also develop inferiority complex.

Neighbours and companions play an important role in socialisation. Before beginning school life, the child spends much of his time with neighbours and companions. Even after school, he maintains contact with neighbours and companions.

If children do not find neighbours and companions they go astray and pick up undesirable modes of behaviour. That is why the nature of socialisation varies in children of the same family or the same class in a school.

Reward and punishment

The reward method is considered better than the punishment method. Rewards encourage the child to form good habits. It is a positive approach. It has a salutary effect on the child. The social and spiritual nature of reward is good. Praise and affection is a good social reward. The feeling of self-satisfaction after doing something good is a spiritual form of reward. All great people of the world perform good deeds only for self-satisfaction and not for any material gain.

The punishment method is not good for desirable socialisation. Bitter criticism, censure and withdrawal of conveniences may also be some forms of punishment.

The nature and form of punishment has to be determined according to the age and nature of the child who shows undesirable behaviour. Punishment should be such that the child understands propriety and justice. Punishment must never be to effect a undesirable change in behaviour. The parent and teacher will be saved from punishing a child in a fit of anger.

There should be a balance between rewards and punishment. Frequently giving rewards will block the natural motivation of the child to do a good thing on his own. So he will do good things only to obtain a reward.

This situation also will obstruct socialisation. Similarly, frequently resorting to punishment will make the life of the child uninteresting.

Therefore, we have to differentiate between reward and punishment and must use either, according to the demands of the situation!