Family Peer and Media Influence MTE-506 Dawn Hoffman January 30, 2017
Being a parent is hard enough, but when you add in outside influences, the job gets even tougher. What kinds of external influences affect the way a child develops, the way they behave, or the way they learn? This pamphlet will give some information about those influences, and how they can change a child’s development, behavior and the way they form relationships. It will also assist in equipping parents with an understanding of what to watch for and what they can do to help.
Family Influences Childrearing Styles
Different parenting styles can promote different outcomes in the way a child develops and how they cope with life. According to Sol, "The child rearing styles of the parents' is crucial for the child's health, growth and for being able to develop positive personality structure.".
Different Styles = Different Possible Effects Authoritative (Positive) Parenting
Authoritarian Parenting
There are clear rules and expectations established through verbal communication. The hope is for proper behavior inside and outside the home by being polite and kind. The outcome is that the child feels "free and safe and finds the opportunity to develop self-control.". (Sol, 2016).
Typical parents have high expectations of their children. Rules are set by the parents, with no communication with the children regarding them. Children are just to do as they are told. The outcome "generally leads to children who are obedient and proficient, but they rank lower in happiness, social competence, and self-esteem.". (Cherry, 2016).
Permissive Parenting
Attachment Parenting
Parents tend to act more like a friend to the child. There are few demands and rules placed on the child. The parent avoids confrontation.
The parent attends to the child's needs and wants The goal is to create a bond with the child to gain their respect and confidence. Limits are set by the parents in a nurturing way. There seem to be opposing opinions on According to Cherry, children from this permissive parenting style tend to “rank the outcome of attachment parenting from children who cope better emotionally, have low in happiness and self-regulation. They are more likely to experience prob- better moral development, better behavior, lems with authority and tend to perform and higher IQ (Dewar, 2014). To children who miss out on things, they want to try and do poorly in school.� (Cherry, 2016). because their parent is still coddling them. (Markham, 2017).
Family Influences Family Structure The definition of family is, "Any two or more individuals living together who are related by birth, marriage or adoption.". (Levine, Munsch, 2014.) This definition is broad and includes many family living scenarios. Each scenario can influence behavior and function in children and adolescents differently.
Living Arrangements and the Effects on Children/ Adolescents Children
Adolescent
Higher levels of stress and anxiety
Single Parent
Divorce
Lower academic achievement Is typically overwhelming and difficult for the younger child to deal with.
Can lead to higher competence and a higher level of maturity.
Infants do not understand. They react to what is surrounding them. Stress and disruption of routine can cause sleeping issues, separation anxiety and retraction of recent development.
School age children become sad or depressed. They have fantasies that the divorce is not really happening and things will return to normal. They avoid the reality. They have issues with loyalties between their parents.
Preschoolers are in an egocentric stage and tend to feel they are the cause of the problems.
Step families and Blended Families
Adolescents can strike up problem behaviors, have issues with substance abuse, promiscuous sexual activity.
Children act out and display challenging behaviors toward their step parents. There is a loyalty conflict between parents. Young adolescents' can experience issues in developing their own identities. (American Psychological Association, n.d.).
Peer Relationships Peer relationships are important to the development of a child. These relationships provide a way to use different social skills such as “negotiation, persuasion, cooperation, compromise, emotional control, and conflict resolution. (Ormrod, 2010). Peer friendships also create a platform for children and adolescents to experience, “offering consensual validation, bolstering feelings of self-worth, providing affection and a context for intimate disclosure, promoting interpersonal sensitivity and setting the foundation for romantic and parental relationships.” (Anderman, 2009).
Media and Technology Physical Development Media such as television keeps kids from physical activities and can have an effect on health body weight. Television not only creates a more sedentary lifestyle, but it also encourages unhealthy eating through advertisements for food products. Not all television watching is bad, but it should be limited. Cognitive Development Children under two should be “discouraged from television-viewing and encouraged to do more interactive activities to promote proper brain development, such as talking, playing, singing and reading together” (Levine & Muensch, 2014). Watching educational television after age two can promote learning of skills that will help them as they grow.
Media and Technology Cognitive Development Younger children who are learning to read tend to have lower performance depending on the amount of entertainment television they watch. The lower performance is due in part to more time spent watching television or playing video games keeps kids away from their homework, extra reading and studying that they could be doing. Although educational television still promotes a positive influence on cognitive development. According to Levine and Munsch, "heavier media users had lower grades and were also less happy, more likely to be bored, and more likely to get into trouble than medium or light media users. Older children and adolescents often try to multi-task and do homework while using electronic media which causes a distraction in the learning process, thus affecting their academic performance. Social Development Studies have shown that viewing violence on television or in video gaming can lead to more aggression as the child develops. A study in 2011, "found that third through fifth-grade children who were exposed to more violent media early in the school year showed higher levels of physical, verbal, and relationship aggression five months later." (Levine & Munsch, 2014). The studies
showed that the opposite could take effect as well. If there is a reduced usage of violent media, aggression level seems to follow.
Alcohol, Narcotics, Drugs and Tobacco The usage of alcohol, narcotics, drugs and cigarettes and the effects on children and adolescents can be devastating. Cigarettes/ Tobacco Usage The rate of young smokers has declined in recent years; however, smoking is still a danger for children and adolescents. "One out of every high school seniors is a regular smoker." (Levine and Munsch, 2014). “Tobacco use harms nearly every organ in the body. (Office Of Adolescent Health�, 2016). According to Levine and Munsch, while death isn't an immediate effect of smoking, those who continue smoking into adulthood are reported to die 13 years sooner than those who did not smoke. Once a person begins to smoke it is a very hard habit to break. Discussions about cigarette use should start early to help prevent the habit from starting. Alcohol Usage Alcohol Usage Alcohol usage in adolescence can lead to many health issues. Even use in the short term, alcohol consumption can "harm the liver, bones, endocrine system, the brain and interfere with growth." ("National Institute Of Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism", n.d.) . Alcohol gives a false sense of confidence. It can lead
to fighting with others or even taking the chance of driving a vehicle under the influence causing risk of harm not only to the impaired youth but also to other innocent bystanders.
Alcohol, Narcotics, Drugs and Tobacco Narcotics and Drug Usage Substance abuse is detrimental to adolescents as they are still growing. Not only to drugs impair the brain during usage, but, also can also keep the brain from continuing to develop properly. The effects of substance abuse on the teen brain can include: "interfering with neurotransmitters and damaging connections within the brain, reducing the ability to experience pleasure, creating memory problems, causing missed opportunities, and inhibit the development of perceptual abilities." (Smith, 2015). Substance abuse is also addicting and can be difficult to stop. Other social risks of substance and alcohol abuse can include: "criminal records, car accidents, assaults, sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancies, wasted academic opportunities, and damaged relationships." (Smith, 2015)
References Kol, S. (2016). The Effects of the Parenting Styles on Social Skills of Children Aged 5-6. Malaysi an Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 4(2), 49-58. (2017). What’s your parenting style? [Video file]. Retrieved from Parents.com website: http:// www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/style/whats-your-parenting-style/
Cherry, K. (2016, September 5). Psychology: Parenting Styles� What they are and why they matter [Video file]. Retrieved form Very Well Website: https://www.verywell.com/parenting -styles-2795072 Levine, L. E., & Munsch, J. A. (2014). Child Development: An Active Learning Appproach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing. American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/ stepfamily.aspx Peer Relationships, (2009). In E.M. Anderman & L:.H. Anderman (Eds.), Psychology of Class room Learning: An Encyclopedia (Vol. 2, pp. 675-689). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from http://go..galegroup.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/ps/i.do? p=GVRL&sw=w&uphoenix_uopx&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%
7CCX3027800195&asid=d4330cfc9e973a7a6516d774b01a324 Development of Peer Relationships and Interpersonal Understandings. (2010, July). Educational Psychology Developing Learners,,(), 76-79. Retrieved from https:www.education.com/ reference/article/development-peer-relationshipsNational institute of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. (n.d.). Retrieved from https:// pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh283/125-132.htm Smith, K. (2015). Addiction Center, Retrieved from https://www.addictioncenter.com/teenagedrug-abuse-health-effects-teen-substance-abuse/
References Dewar, G. (2014). Parenting Science. Retrieved from http://www.parentingscience.com/ attach ment-parenting.html Markham, L. (2017). Aha! Parenting.com. Retrieved from http://www.ahaparenting.com/ parent ing-tools/attachment-parenting/Pros-and-cons