bEHS RESPONSE

Mar

The first important challenge of middle and late childhood is education.  This week’s reading states, “Teachers often complain that they have difficulty getting parents/caregivers to participate in their child’s education.”  My mother is a middle school principal and we have discussed this topic many times throughout the years.  She has noticed that some parents of school-age children treat the facility like a daycare.  There were parents who would not apply themselves to helping their child improve their grades.  Some would even get upset when the school would shut down for various natural reasons.  Having these conversations with my mother allowed me to realize that my parents cared about my upbringing and that I was not just a burden to them.  The first step to mitigating this challenge is to be involved as a parent.  Attend the feedback sessions the school offers and go further to develop a plan to assist your child moving forward.  I have not experienced this type of situation personally.  I have only viewed the actions of other parents through my mother’s occupation.

The second challenge I feel is important is bullying.  According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, one out of every five (20.2%) students reports being bullied.  Bullying is a very serious problem amongst children.  The mean act leads to depression, embarrassment, hate, and sometimes suicide.  We have even witnessed the effects of bullying through national media outlets when they show coverage of various shootings that have occurred.  Mitigating bullying can be very challenging.  I think it starts with awareness in the form of seminars that discuss the topic with children and parents.  Taking action to stop bullying is increasingly important.  If a parent, teacher, or other adults see it happening, they should take action to stop it.  I experienced bullying as a child at my school.  There were kids who were picked on for different reasons.  There were fights that broke out because of the bullying. 

Bullying Statistics. (2020, November). National Bullying Prevention Center. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/stats.asp

Lally, M. (2020, May 18). Middle and Late Childhood – Parenting and Family Diversity Issues. Pressbooks. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/parentingfamilydiversity/chapter/middle-and-late-childhood/

COURTNEY

The two most important challenges to me for middle and late childhood are school and peers.

School because it expands your world outside of family. The family’s culture will depend on what the child’s school experience will be like. Factors that can mitigate these challenges for children are for parents to be more involved in the child’s education. It was found in a recent study that unfortunately parental involvement was seen to be increased when the parents had the same race and social class with the teachers (Lally et al, 2020). Parents who have a lower-level income or different occupational status’ than others who make more money, have more difficulty being involved in a child’s education.  

Peer acceptance influences children with perception of themselves and can have many consequences for emotional development. At this stage in life, bulling can be bad. Bullying can be verbal, social, or physical. Cyberbullying is one the most recent forms of bullying. Children who experience cyberbullying are often subjected to bullying in person making children want to skip school, get poor grades, lower their self-esteem, and even lead children to drugs and alcohol. It is often difficult to help mitigate peer acceptance and bullying because some children do not want to speak up because they either fear retaliation or they’re embarrassed. It is important for parents to know the warning signs of bullying. These signs are unexplained injuries, lost or destroyed possessions, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, lower school grades, not wanting to go to school, losing friends, and decreased self-esteem (Lally, 2020).

I chose these factors because early development and early challenges can affect someone’s whole life depending on the severity. Knowing the challenges and how to help mitigate them is important to me. I experienced bullying severely when I was in middle school and high school. Thankfully my parents saw the warning signs and we moved to Florida where I could get a fresh start. Unfortunately, not everyone has that ability to pack up and leave.

References

Lally, M., Valentine-French, S., & Lang, D. (2020, May 18). Middle and late childhood. Parenting and Family Diversity Issues. Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/parentingfamilydiversity/chapter/middle-and-late-childhood/