Child Socialization

Children are raised in many different cultures all over the world. As we know, cultures differ from place to place. They have different rules, values, roles, and even communication patterns. An example of this would be a French person greeting someone, and an American greeting someone else. The French say hello by kissing each other on both cheeks. As Americans, we tend to shake hands. These things are what determine how a child will turn out after being brought up in that culture. Children growing up with Anglo-European roots are taught to value their independence, boldness, equality, achievement, self-help, and self-directedness.

All of these values significantly affect the family. They believe in family privacy because it is said that families will be allowed to raise their children as they see fit. The only time that this is interfered with is when the parents neglect or mistreat their children. Individualism is also another highly valued trait. Those who subscribe to such thought believe that individual growth is essential to a well-balanced approach to life. It should be noted however, that equality amongst others is essential as well. Those who have come before us have worked extremely hard to gain equality in this country and it should be cherished.

Life as it was once known has changed due to the vast amount of modernization and blending of cultures that has occurred within the past 30 years. People talk, walk, and dress differently with a steady eye always toward the future. Success now based on power and resources, especially money. Each individual is expected to do his or her best and is often thrown into the arena of fierce competition in which he or she is encouraged to flourish.

Families communicate differently within themselves. For example, at dinnertime my whole family will sit together and talk about how the day was. All day long, everyone is out doing their own thing but at dinner the whole family comes together. This is the time of day that they set aside to communicate amongst each other. Other families might just see dinner as just another meal. Instead of sitting together around the table, they might all just come in, take their dinner, and go where they want to eat it. The kids might go in the family room and watch television while the parents sit in the kitchen. This differs for every family.