Childhood and Adolescent Development

Middle Childhood and Adolescence Development

Alicia Wolver

PSY/375

How a child interacts and accepts their peer's changes during the middle childhood and adolescence years. During the middle childhood years developing friendships are an important stepping stone in how people develop. Children learn from one another. What is socially acceptable within a group of peer's may not be at home and some of the things that children learn during these years can only be taught by their peers. The social interactions, peer relationships, adolescent egocentrism, and common pressures throughout middle childhood and adolescence become an integral role in every person's life.

Changes in Peer Relationships

In middle childhood, peers become important because each child learns from one another. Children learn social lessons that adults cannot teach. Unlike the adult-child relationship, where the adult commands obedience, the peer relationship permits partners to compromise, negotiate, share, and defend him or herself as equal (Berger, 2011). These peer relationships allow children to grow into individuals either outside of a group or within a group. Changes in peer relationships include the culture of children; particular rules and behaviors passed down to younger children from slightly older children. Friendships in middle childhood and adolescence have more value than popularity. These customs encourage loyalty to one another because of the need for social acceptance and close, mutual friendships to protect themselves from loneliness and depression (Berger, 2011). Children find commonalities among each other to bring one another closer by forming little play groups. These groups can be positive or negative as bullying can become a problem if parents do not keep interested in what their children's activities are. Most of the time, friendships that start while children are younger will usually continue through the middle childhood and adolescent years, but due to pressures and changes in the middle childhood years these friendships can also break apart allowing both parties to grow and make new friends. Although bullying is common among school-aged children, it is unacceptable, and should never be permitted. It "is hard to stop without a multi-faceted, long-term, whole-school approach (Berger, 2011, p. 375)".

During adolescence the need to belong becomes even greater. The influence that peers have on one another during this phase of life is of critical importance whether positive or negative. A negative influence could potentially change or end a friendship while a positive influence could make the friendship stronger. A teen's ability to develop and maintain positive friendships depends on their self-esteem, self-reliance, and self-identity (Focus, 2008). At best, peer pressure can help create motivation for success encouraging an adolescent to conform to healthy behavior. Peers can demonstrate appropriate social behaviors often listening, accepting, and understanding the frustrations associated with adolescence (Focus, 2008). On the other hand, negative peer pressure can encourage risk-taking behaviors and reject his or her values. For example, girls enter into sexual relationships when the need for acceptance, approval, and love takes precedence over everything else. Teens will try to fit in by changing the way they dress, changing friends, give up their values or create new values depending on whom they choose to be around (Focus, 2008).

Just as it is important to take a long-term, whole school stance against bullying, it is important for parents to show positive support of peer relationships by having positive parent teen interactions meaning that these interactions have characterizations of warmth, kindness, constancy, respect, and love (FOCUS, 2008). Parents need to have a genuine interest in their teen's activities as mentioned above, and encourage independent thought and expression. When parents don't have a genuine interest, their children are the ones who suffer by turning to drugs, bad behavior, or taking less interest in their school work.

Adolescent Egocentrism

As children mature into adolescents the brain heightens awareness and turns this awareness into self consciousness. Young adults think intensely about themselves and try to make sense of