Author: Andre Coleman

The purpose of writing this research report is to discuss on the question that single parenthood does not benefits the society and it brings negative effects to the society. There will be a full explanation with some evidences to support the idea that single parenthood brings many negative effects to the society. Furthermore, this report will also have three main ideas on the negative effects as well as how they are likely to affect the single parents, children and society. At the same time, there will also include the weaknesses of arguments from the opponents. After a brief explanation of the three main ideas, there will also have some recommendations for this report. Understandably, most of the problems are come from the single parents towards the children, thus, single parents have to show some responsibilities towards this problem, several recommendations are needed to take into actions. However, before actions, it is necessary for us to have certain knowledge on the negative effects. Hope that this research report will pave the way to overcome the problems of single parenthood.

1.0 Introduction

A family in society is often seen as a father, mother and their children. Nowadays this is not always the case. In this modern age, single parenthood is now acceptable in our society. It is a person who builds a family and cares for one or more children without marriage or without the presence of a husband or wife. According to information from the United States Census Bureau, in 2002 there are about 20 million children lived in a household with only their mother or their father. (Single Parent Central, 2004). Single parent families are families with children under age 18 headed by a parent who is widowed or divorced, not remarried, adoption, artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood, or by a parent who has never married. It also may be the result of an unforeseeable occurrence, such as death, child abuse, child neglect, or abandonment by biological parents.

In this day and age, single parenting caused by adoption of a child are widely accepted. Adoption by single individuals has also soared. In 1970 only 0.5 to 4 percent of adoptive parents were single. In the 1980s this rate increased from 8 to 34 percent. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 33 percent of children adopted from foster care are adopted by single parents. (Single Parent Central, 2004). A single parent who has chosen to adopt generally feel as though their life is incomplete without a child, they feel there is a loneliness which money or a social friend network cannot cure in their life.

As a result of that, it has brought up an ultimate question which remains debatable among the society is, single parenthood does not benefits the society and it brings negative effects to the society. Do you agree?

In the end, the answer for this question is yes. Single parenthood does not benefits us, besides, it brings many negative effects to the society. So, single parenthood is not encouraged by the society because it will bring impacts for the children of single parent and they are not growth in a complete and healthy family. According to a study conducted in the United States, children from a single parent background had a 77 percent chance of being physically abused, 87 percent risk of being harmed by neglect and overall 120 percent of being endangered by some form of child abuse. (National Service Personnel, 2010)

Therefore, this report will mainly focus on the negative effects of single parenthood to the society. It will indicate that the single parents have financial problems, they cannot handle the pressure of raising the children alone. Furthermore, most of the children may have psychological problems due to lack of supervision and they may involve in social problems. It also include the weaknesses of the arguments from the opponents. Overall, this research results are related to the global range, including United States and some other European countries.

The percentage of children of all races living in single parent homes has been steadily increasing since 1970.
Percentage of Children in Single Parent Homes: 1970-2005

http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/prevention/images/singleparentchart.gif

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Survey – Families and Living Arrangements, Historical Tables. Table CH-1: “Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present.”

The proportion of children living in single-parent homes more than doubled between 1970 and 2006 from 12% to 28%, according to the Current Population Survey (CPS). Over the 36-year period, the share of children living with only their mother rose from 10 percent to 24 percent while the share living with only their father grew from less than 2 percent to 5 percent. A never-married parent is becoming more common in single-parent homes. Between 1970 and 2006, the proportion of children living with a never-married parent increased from 7% to 42%. In 2006, almost 4 percent of children lived with other relatives (including foster parents) and fewer than 1 percent lived with non relatives. Although there may be no direct, causal link between single parent families and youth violence, poor parenting is often identified as one of the most serious risk factors for unhealthy youth development.

2.0 Body of Content
2.1 Single parents cannot handle the pressure of raising the child alone.

As a single parent, raising a child is challenging. It is like having two jobs at once. Psychologists believe that raising a child is a very stressful task that single parent will require to be a sympathetic mother plus a strict and providing father at the same time. Without proper guidance from counselors, a single parent will deteriorate emotionally due to stress. Psychologists suggest that in order for a single parent to manage both stress and take care of their child, they should enumerate things that brings them the stressors. (Maxx Family Life, 2010).

Another important thing to regard is single parent have to struggle to do everything by themselves with no one else to blame if it does not get done. They have to learn that if something has to be done, then they are the one has to do it. Even if they have developed a network of friends which helps each other, they also may find that there are some jobs have to be done by themselves when no one is capable of or have time to do.

According to The Single Mother’s Survival Guide, the most common challenge for a single parent will be the financial problems. Opponents argued that single parents will have total control over expenditures than a two parents. They will have to plan on a specific date and set money aside to cover the expenses for their living that a two parents may not have. As single parents are handling the family finances, medically dental care, transportation, household tasks such as repairs and moving, so they must have a wise plan on their expenses. However, to oppose this, in 2002, as twice as many single parent families earned less than $30,000 per year compared to families with two parents present. At the opposite end of the spectrum, 39 percent of two-parent families earned more than $75,000 compared to 6 percent of single mother families and 11 percent of single father families. (Single Parent Central, 2004). Single parents are low income earners. They usually survive on only one income, whereas other families usually have two parents working providing double income. Kristen Anderson Moore from the Child Trends claims that children living in households with single parents were five times as likely to be poor as the children in households where both parents were present. (Child Trends Research Brief, 2007).

Child Poverty by Family Type. Children Age 0-11, 1994-1995

Note: Poverty is measured using Statistics Canada’s Low-Income Cut-Off Lines.

Source: NLSCY

17 percent of children in two-parent families and 68 percent of children in single-parent families were living in poverty, based on Statistics Canada’s 1994 Low-Income Cut-Off Lines (LICO). Infants were over 20 percent more likely than 11-year-olds to be living in poverty, primarily because younger families have higher poverty rates. One in ten Canadian children live in households that are supported primarily by social assistance.

17% of children in two-parent and 68% in single-parent families live in poverty.

Only 0.4 percent of children live with teen mothers. However, the overview report stated, even though the numbers were relatively small, this group of children demands particular attention because of the heightened risk of growing up in a poor household and having poor child outcomes.

Child outcomes were examined in the areas of emotional and behavioral functioning, academic functioning and social functioning. Most children had no problems in these areas – only 26 percent had one or more problems.

About 10 percent of Canadian babies are born prematurely, and 5.7 percent had a low birth weight. There is a well established link between important indicators of health at birth, such as low birth weight and prematurity, health and social problems later in life, the authors of the report stated. Also, the NLSCY corroborated past research linking low household income and mothers who smoked during pregnancy with a higher incidence of low birth weight.

2.2 Children may have psychological problems due to lack of communication and attention from their parents.

Children from single parent families are more likely to suffer emotional problems than those who are living with both parents. According to the survey carried out by National Statistics, children from the age of 5 to 18, the result showed that 3 percent had developed problems, 30 percent had emotional issues and 43 percent had behavior problems. They stressed that they had not found any direct causes of the problems in children but sure that will be a link to living in a not complete family. (National Statistics, 2008). Children who experienced the stressful events such as seeing their lovely parents divorce, appear in court, being tortured or serious injured by one’s parent, they were likely to develop emotional problems. Others emotional issues includes anxiety, depression or become aggressive and antisocial behavior because they think that their parents divorce because they do not want to take care of them. Based on another survey, children whose parents had break up were 4.53 times more likely to develop emotional problems than those children in two parent family and were 2.87 times to show the onset of behavior disorders. (National Statistics, 2008). As a fact, children in single parent families have psychological problems or abnormal behaviors due to the lack of family care. Consequently, these children suffer a lot from mental strain and stress, therefore they may change their moods very easily and frequently, sometimes they are not willing to listen to their parents.

Another important thing to regard is single parents are the sole breadwinners for the family, so they cannot always spend so much time with their kids, this will lead to a poor relationship between them and single parents also may have less parental control over the children. In fact, the children are lack of supervision and they do not receive guidance or attention when they are desperately seeking for. As a result, the gap between the single parent and the children may widen, children might feel that friends are more important than their parents. Hence, communication is an important role in the developing and growth of a child. Parents who communicate and supervise their children will enhance their well-being. (Maccoby and Martin, 1983). Single parents should work to the best on doing everythings to make their children feel love, respect and secure.

Opponents argued that in a single parent household with sufficient income, the parent will actually have more free time to allocate for the kids that a married parent would have. They can give much attention that a single parent will often bestow in the absence of a spouse and concentrate on their children’s studies in order to have a high level of academic achievement. Children who have that kind of support, even if it is only from one parent, are much better equipped to deal with the intellectual. On top of that, African American children in elementary school actually do better in school when their parents work outside of the house. The fact that children from low income, single parent families actually can have higher grades than children from two parent homes. (One-parent households and achievement, 1992). However, to oppose this, single parents who have less time overseeing their children’s study habits and helping them with their homework, therefore, the children may have discipline problems and do poorly in school, all these will lead to the lower of academic achievement. Thus, two parent household is “better” for a child, it is really not surprising. (Matt Garrett, 2007).

2.3 Children who involve in social problems like crime, alcohol and drug abuse are they face family problems.

Children of single parents are more likely to involve in dangerous behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, drug abuse, crime, delinquency, violence, sexual activity, suicide attempts, etc. This would link on logically from the psychological problems mentioned above. If a child is unhappy and dissatisfied, they need someone to share with their problems and they can’t find their own parents to talk with, so they will most probably want to smoke and drink to release out their stress. Often, children left alone at home for long periods when their parents get outside to work, they may be unduly influenced by peers that can lead to unwanted behavior. While most parents will want to respect their children’s privacy, watching for early tell tale signs of drug use or other harmful behavior will save everyone much grief later. (David Richardson, 2007). Furthermore, in The Lancet’s Jan. 25 issue, the research showed among other things, that 2.5 percent of boys and 1.5 percent of girls in single parent families were hospitalized with alcohol problems and the increased risk for drug addiction, compared to just 1 percent of boys and 0.5 percent of girls in two parent homes. (Bootie Cosgrove-Mather, 2003).

Another important thing to consider is adolescents are more negatively affected by parental discord prior to divorce . Later, as they from single parents families become adult, they are more likely to marry early, have children early and divorce too, follow their own parents footstep. (Demo and Acock, 1991). Understandably, children need to feel love and secure from their parents in the developing and growth, this may be difficult following a divorce, especially if it was an acrimonious divorce. Family and home are fundamental to a child’s sense of self and if children lose confidence on this safe and loving place, they might lose their belief to the world.

Opponents claim that in single parenthood, children prior two parents household included frequent fighting and discord between the adults, the absence of a partner means the absence of sometimes irrational and vehement arguments that the children would observe. Consequently, children can be benefit from living in a one parent home provided that the conflict is stopped. At the same time, children being raised in a single parent families can learn to be self reliant, they solve problems themselves. They also can learn to help with household chores and care for younger siblings, which makes them become more mature and gain in more responsibilities than other children in their age group as a result of altered family routines (Demo and Acock, 1991). However, to oppose this, in fact, having two parents is usually better than one. Children are actually learn by example, if their parents didn’t have any fighting and discord, on the contrary, they are loving and caring to their children, then it will lead to a happy and well being family. So, be a good role model for the children to follow by setting a good example.

3.0 Conclusion

Above all, it can be states that single parenthood does not benefits the society and it indeed brings many negative effects to the society. In this day and age, people pursue a high quality life and happy marriage, but their hopes will usually end up in a higher rate of divorce and greater hurt to the children than before. It will be better if divorced parents establish a new family life with their children, they should spend more time, patience, care and love to their kids. Single parents will have a unique opportunity to influence their children for good or ill, without the counterbalance of another partner.

Therefore, based on the three arguments that are mentioned and with the aids of examples and supporting arguments, we could conclude that it is really important to give children a peaceful and stable home environment in the developing and growth of them.

4.0 Recommendations

It is highly recommended that the society take steps to help in overcoming the problems of single parenthood whether is the single parents or the children. We should keep in mind that we want to live in a peaceful life and to look forward to a progressive society.

Statistics indicate that single parents cannot handle the pressure of raising the child alone, so the government sector should provide some subsidies for single parents in order to reduce the expenses of single parents, instead they can also save the money for being used by future. Besides, some of the children may have psychological problems due to lack of communication and attention from their parents, therefore, single parents should spend more time with their children like have some family day events on holidays, always have a talk with them, do not let them feels that they are left out. Other than that, as a matter of fact, children who involve in social problems like crime, alcohol and drug abuse are they face family problems, the single parents and the society should avoid the happenings of such social problems because children who are still young, they do not know how to differentiate that what should do and what should not do. Hence, adults like us have the responsibilities to help and protect the children, especially their parents.

Abortion is a process of termination of pregnancy. The classic definition of abortion is the expulsion of the fetus before it is viable. This could include spontaneous abortion, which is a miscarriage, or induced abortion such as a doctor, the woman herself, or a layperson causes the abortion. Before modern methods of abortion, this sometimes meant the introduction of foreign objects like catheters into the uterus to disrupt the placenta and embryo (or fetus) so that a miscarriage would result (Family Jrank 2002). Abortion can be carried out by few ways such as taking pills and operation.

Statistical information and cases.

According to the report prepared by the Better Health Channel, in the year 1990, ’23 percent of all pregnancies in Australia were terminated. This makes abortion become one of the most common surgical in the country with around 80,000 women undergoing abortion every year. Our current ratio of one abortion in every four pregnancies is an improvement over the estimated one in three recorded in Australia in the 1930s. Australia’s abortion rate is reasonably low by international standards compare to the United States of America has a 30 percent abortion rate.’ The majority of the Australians support the idea of the safe and legal abortion. The typical profile of a woman who is seeking abortion includes the ages in the 20s, single, educated and childless.

Thesis statement

This study has been carried out to determine whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study investigates the advantages and the disadvantages of the abortion to conclude that whether abortion should be encouraged to the public. This study draws on information gathered from International articles, World Wide Web sites, books and a survey.

Abortion should be encouraged.

First, abortion should be encouraged because an unwanted child’s future will be affected.

The young parent such as the teenager who has the unplanned pregnancy, they are unable to provide a good environment for the child. The teenager which is still studying and they do not have a job which causing them could not give a good environment to the child. Most of the juvenile crime happened is because of the children did not grow up in a good environment. ‘Children who not grow in a good environment will cause them to do illegal things for getting attention from the others’ (Associated Content 2006). An unwilling parent is unlikely to be a good parent so the unwanted child is far more likely to drop out of school or commit acts of violence than children who are wanted, nurtured and well parent. The young parents are unable to take care of the child because they are immature. Parents play an important role in the child’s education but the young parents have an immature mind so they can not give a good example for their child. When the young parents did something that is immature would affect the child do to the same mistake too. The young parents can not give accurate information that parents should give because their immature mind can not differentiate the rights and wrongs. If their children had done some mistake, the young parent could not give the right punishment and guide the child to the right pathway.

In an addition, abortion should be encouraged because the future of the young parent would be affected if there is an unplanned pregnancy.

According to the book, ‘Should abortion rights be restricted?’ (2003), when a teenager is pregnant she has to face social problems, such as reduced education and employment opportunities. They are forced to stop their education because they have to spend more time on the child. For example, the young parent has to work hard to earn money for feeding the child. And due to the low education of the young parent, jobs with higher salaries may not want to hire them. There are only low salary jobs that would hire the low education teenager, which are typically hard-working employment types. The teenager could not afford to that job which is too heavy work. This will cause them to do illegal things to earn more money for their family such as become a robber, a thief, drug dealer and so on. And they will have to take the risk of getting caught by the police and going to jail. They also may be influenced by criminal associates and addicted to bad habits, such as smoking and gambling. So if they have an abortion, their future might include a high standard of education, working with a high salary job and live happily.

Furthermore, abortion should be encouraged because it can prevent the unwanted child.

There are some cases such as rape or the incest pregnancy which is an unwanted pregnancy. The trauma will follow all of her life after the raping case, therefore, abortion is the right way to solve this problem or else an unwanted child would be the nightmare for the mother. We can not force a girl in her early age to become a mother after being raped. Abortion should be done toward the mother whom she does not know who is the father of the child. It will be a very hard life for the mother and the child which without a father. The mother is not ready to enter the parenthood yet. It is not easy to bring up a child by a single mother. The mother has to work hard for the child and have to spend time on taking care of the child at the same time. ‘If a child grew up as a homely and because of it an unloved child, he or she will remember those painful experiences for the rest of your life’ (Associated Content 2007).

Abortion should not be encouraged.

On the other hand, abortion should not be encouraged because of the human’s right.

It is a process that is too cruel to a baby. The most basic human right of the human is the right to life there is no doubt which everyone knows it. The Catholic Bishop of the United States stated that since human life is sacred from conception until natural death, they contend, abortion is immoral. A person who did abortion is a murder because this action is taking away a human person’s life. It is so unfair for a child who does not have a chance to enter this world. It is no different between abortion and infanticide. The parent should think about the rights of the child and not just make such selfish decide by their own opinion. We should appreciate the life that the god gives. It is the fate that the parent who get an unplanned pregnancy. God give them a chance to have a baby and guide them to another stage of life. ‘All people, regardless of the circumstances of their conception, or whether they are healthy or handicapped, have been personally knit together by God’s fingers. He has planned out all the days of the unborn child’s life before one of them has happened’ (Leadership U 1992).Some of the people might think that the embryo is just a bunch of cells but it actually a soul is inside the embryo. We have human rights because we are human beings. Therefore, direct abortion is never a morally tolerable option.

Moreover, abortion should not be encouraged because a woman’s health would be affected badly by abortion.

Abortion brings both physically and mentally harms to women. A woman who done the process of abortion has to face some physical health problem. Abortion is linked to the breast cancer due to the hormone changed after the abortion and resulting in an increase in a number of new breast cells. Infertility also one of the health problems that have to face by whom had done the process of abortion. As everyone knows that infertility which means being unable to have a child is a high risk of the abortion procedure. This health problem occurs is because, during the process of abortion, it damaged our uterus. Abortion brings mentally disturb to a woman too. At the early emotional effects, many women will experience the feelings of relief and numbness. In the later emotional effects, they have to face the complex feelings. They will have some complex feelings such as depression, tearfulness, guilt, anger, shame and so on. The mother who done the process of abortion may find difficult to face the others who are pregnant or have babies. Flashbacks to the abortion experience also one of the mentally disturb to those who done abortion procedure. In a study report, 92 percent of women who have had an abortion will also feel guilt on that. As stated in Leadership U(1992), the mother would hear this little voice in her head says she is a terrible, awful person because she had done abortion. Due to the guilty feelings on taking away the child’s life, they will feel very regret on it and causing they have an illusion that there is a ghost child following them.

Lastly, abortion should not be encouraged because the parents have to take their responsibilities seriously towards the child.

The parents behave badly so they have to pay the price. As a parent, they should know the values of a child’s life and not just take abortion as an easy way to solve problems. Once they get pregnant, they have to do what a parent should do which they have to put afford on the baby and being a good example for the child. To prevent the same mistake again, they should give birth to the child and take care of the child. ‘Whether or not a baby is “unwanted” is irrelevant. Just because a human being is not wanted does not mean that the human being has no value or should be killed. In addition, there are huge numbers of families who are willing to adopt those “unwanted” babies. So, those babies are wanted, not unwanted’ (CARM 2001).

Conclusion

Based on the evidence above, I strongly disagree abortion should be encouraged. It can not be a smart choice for the parent to do abortion. Abortion brings many disadvantages to the mother such as health problem as stated above. It brings both physically and mentally side effect. Abortion also is an immoral activity which is killing an innocent baby. Besides, if abortion is encouraged, it might cause the citizen to get involve in sexual activities easily because once they get pregnant and abortion could help them to solve the problem. There are many ways to solve the problems of unplanned pregnancy such as adoption, not just abortion. In the 50 sets of the personal survey, 44% of the public thinks that if one of their friends gets an unplanned pregnancy; continue the pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption is the best way for the mother.

If the parent does not prepare to have a child yet then they should take action to prevent it before they get pregnant such as a condom. Besides, the government can help to prevent the unplanned pregnancy through education too. For an example, the Minister of Education has to implement sex education in schools to give students a better idea of sexual intercourse. When they get to know more about the sex knowledge, they would know the importance of preventing unplanned pregnancy. Therefore, it helps to prevent it. At the end of the essay, the 50 sets of the personal survey show that 84% of the public do not agree that abortion should be encouraged. The personal survey will be shown in the pie chart below:

The purpose of this report presents the findings of that sex education should be implemented in schools due to its many benefits to teenagers. The implementation of sex education in schools will provide teenagers with the correct information to enable them to make the right choices in life. On the other hand, some have claimed that implementing sex education in schools actually promotes the risk of sex and is ineffective. However, based on various research findings, it is shown that sex education is effective by reducing the rate of teen pregnancy, providing correct information and also decreasing the number of HIV, AIDS and STDs cases among teenagers. Hence, sex education encourages healthy teen sexuality.

Introduction

“This is the real world, and in the real world, you need protection,” – Cherie Richards, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. (Antonuk, 2006)

In the simplest form, sex education is basically education about sexuality, contraceptive methods (condoms, drugs or surgery), how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, the importance of protection and last but not least, attitudes and principles about sex. There are also two kinds of sex education which are abstinence-only programs and comprehensive education. However, both of them also teach about the process of sex education which can lead to teenagers understanding about how to make their choices and making them right. Teenagers need information and the right sources to help and protect themselves. This is because when they have no knowledge or whatsoever, they turned to media or even sometimes pornography to get information as their parents are not open enough about sex.

Take this for example, at present time in the United States; the rate of teen birth and abortions is the highest among other western countries with teenagers over a number of one million going through pregnancy every year. The highest number of those having sexually transmitted diseases is also proven in past surveys and reports with teenagers being the apparent source. Meanwhile, Sub-Saharan Africa also has the highest number of teen pregnancy in the world. In Asian countries however, Thailand has reported that a noteworthy sum of unmarried teenagers are sexually active with 25% of students admitted to hospitals to undergo abortions. And even though the rate of teen marriage and pregnancy has dwindled in Malaysia and Indonesia, it doesn’t change the fact that it is still considered quite high compared to the others. For more developed countries like Japan and South Korea, their teen pregnancy rates are at 4.6 and 2.9 respectively, which are the lowest in the world. (UNICEF, 2005)

And therefore, the question is – should sex education be implemented in schools?

Most definitely, sex education should be implemented in schools because sex education can reduce teen pregnancy, it’s better for the teenagers to get information about sex and sexual protection methods from right sources (schools) rather than from the media and sex education in schools can also protect children and teenagers.

This report will show convincing and undeniable evidence of why sex education should be implemented in schools. The majority of these research findings will be limited to the United States of America, because the rate of teen sex and pregnancy is found to be the highest in this region.

2.0 Reduce Rate of Teen Pregnancy

Some had claimed that sex education does not have any effect on the rate of teen pregnancy. They said that those who took up the virginity pledges denied the oaths five years later and had had sex during that time. They argued that those who did take the pledges and those who didn’t did not have much difference in not having sex. They felt that the information provided from the education was unable to help the teenagers and could not prevent teen pregnancy. (Ostrow & Randall, 2008).

However, it is indeed proven to be true that sex education can reduce teen pregnancy and teen births. Firstly, sex education has caused a plunge in the United States’ teen birth rate based on a report done in California and Ventura County. The recently released statistics showed that the birth rate went from 36.2 to 34.1 per 1,000 births to adolescent mothers. (Ventura County Star, 2010). According to the California Department of Public Health, the rate of teen births which was previously 37.1 in the year 2007 decreased by 1.9 per 1000 in 2008. Secondly, an epidemiologist with the CDC – Trisha Mueller, found that sex education does work and it also delays teen having sex which inevitably leads to teen pregnancy being reduced. Based on a national survey of 2,019 teens aged 15 to 19 in 2002, her team found that teen boys were three times more likely to used contraceptive methods compared to those who did not went through sex education. (Vann, 2007). Thirdly, for teenage girls who took sex education, the risk of having sex before the age of 15 is reduced 59% while for boys’ are 71%, compared to those who didn’t take sex education. (Doheny, 2007).

The evidences collected have pointed out that sex education indeed can reduce teen pregnancy. Therefore, in conclusion, again it is emphasized that sex education should be implemented in schools.

3.0 Information about Sex from the Right Sources (schools)

Nowadays, sex scenes are heavily portrayed in some movies and TV shows which teenagers are watching. Even on the Internet, when one clicks on a certain link to a website, adverts containing sexual messages and pictures are posted to the side of the pages as if they were normal. Teenagers could have strayed easily to such websites and unknowingly received incorrect information about sex. In movies and TV shows however, though there is a limit to underage children, the older teenagers are accessible to demonstration of sex scenes in this media. Sex scenes in the media are portrayed as casual and harmless and seemed to bring no serious consequences, causing the teenagers to view such media to be fooled by the producers who are using sex to promote their production. (Why Do Teens Have Sex n.d) It should be noted that without truly knowing about it, sex can be dangerous. Parents’ discomfort about discussing sex related issues with their children drives them to the Internet and other unreliable media sources to find out more about the topic, as they have no other means to get more information. Hence, it is important that sex education is implemented in schools so that teenagers can receive the information they need from the right sources; namely, teachers who are well informed about the topic.

On the other hand, some claimed that sex education is ineffective and does not give out the right information to help teenagers in making the right decisions for their sexuality. (Parents, teachers still embarrassed about sex, 2010). A survey made showed that 26.4 percent of the students complained that the sex education taught was not enough and the teachers who were responsible hardly discussed about sex at all.

However, research has proven that sex education does indeed provide the much needed information and reduces sexual activity as teenagers received correct information from the classes. Firstly, there is much difference between those who took sex education and those who did not. (Moore, Furstenberg & Peterson, n.d). Figure 1 below (National Survey of Children) shows the difference in percentage between teenagers who are exposed to sex education and those who are not.

This is because when teenagers are exposed to the lie that sex is harmless, their sexual activity increases as they have not covered sex education yet.

Secondly, getting the right information about sex can also reduce the number of HIV, AIDS, and STDs cases among the teens. Teenagers can learn that one of the major causes of STDs is through sexual activity. Even oral sex can be a pathway for the transmission of such diseases. (Williams, 2010) Sex education teaches teenagers about the prevention of HIV/AIDS and that one should get their partner tested for sexual transmitted diseases before undergoing any sexual activity with them. Sex and AIDS education have been proven by research done that they delay sexual activity as well as they teach students who are more sexually active to have safer sex. (School Health Education to Prevent AIDS and STD, 1994)

4.0 Protecting Children and Teenagers

There are many sexually abused children who did not come to light or the attention of government authority on what have been cruelly done to them. The wrongly placed shame, the guilt and the fear of being blamed on have shied them away from confessions to parents or authority figures. This is mainly because the victims’ incomprehension of ‘sexual abuse’ and their rights to reject such treatment. Sex education has only recently become important in these past few years but child sexual abuse has existed throughout human history. Thus, implementing sex education into schools can decrease the rate of child sexual abuse and thus providing a way out for children and teenagers. (Carroll, 2010) Besides that, the availability of sex education can also offer help and guidance to children with learning disabilities as they go through puberty.

Child sexual abuse is defined as any form of sexual activity forced onto a child whether by a person younger or older than the child. (Munro, 2000) Munro claimed that children and teenagers are vulnerable and often can be exposed to sexual abuse without anyone knowing. And as they did not receive any counseling or teaching, they do not have full understanding of being taken advantage of. It also leaves them in a defenseless situation which they might be preyed on again. In America, there are 39 million of survivors from child sexual abuse at present. By their 18th celebration, one in four females and one in six males are sexually abused. (Mish, cited in Mail Tribune) But sex education gives children and teenagers information about how to prevent sex abuse, that sexual abuse do not occur to every child and that they must seek help if they were victimized. It teaches children and teenagers to be well aware of sexual abuse. There’s also have been one program that was organized in classes of sex education in which students learned to say “NO” to such inappropriate acts committed by the other. (Carroll, 2010)

It can be concluded that in order to decrease the rate of child sexual abuse, the implementation of sex education in schools is practical as children and teenagers would learn about child abusers and sex abuse and they could reject such offences upon them. Children and teenagers would be more aware of the current situation in this modern society and they would know the actions to be taken if necessary. Not only that, the victimized would be able to understand that they are not alone and many are willing to lend a hand to their plight.

A child with learning disabilities received and processed data and information with a slower speed due to some difficulties in the brain as well as the nervous system. (Kemp, Segal, & Cutter, 2010) Still, teenagers with learning disabilities may be different from their counterparts but they still go through growth and puberty. As they need help when studying or paying closer attention to lessons, these children also need help in controlling their sex drives when they reach puberty in their teenage years. However, the topic of sex and children with learning disabilities always seemed to be swept under the carpet, ignored for fear that it would promote sex risks. According to Stephen Simpson (cited in “Teaching sex education to children with learning disabilities”, 2007), those that have learning difficulties are at a higher risk of getting sexually abused. Besides that, there is also evidence proving that the implementation of sex education is desperately needed for children and teenagers with learning disabilities. In reference to Leeds’ youth offending team, the 40% who committed any sexual offence are teens with learning disorders. (Teaching sex education to children with learning disabilities, 2007)

For John who is a teenager with learning disability, he managed to control his inappropriate actions in public and it decreased gradually. (NursingTimes, 2007) Obviously, this proves that as long as a person with learning disorder obtained proper education about sex, he can reign in his sex drives based on his surroundings and what he had been taught. It can be concluded then that sex education can help teenagers with learning disabilities to control themselves as well as preventing others for abusing them sexually. They can also understand better about sexual relationships and their body.

Thus, this shows that sex education is capable of preventing children and teenagers from becoming victims of sexual abuse as well as being the perpetrator. Therefore, it can be concluded that sex education aids teenagers in their sexuality and related issues at present and in the future.

5.0 Conclusion

Children and teenagers need good and correct information from the right sources about sex, sexual relationships and various other related issues in order to make a right decision for their present and future. They need to understand about what can happen if there are misconceptions about sex, it in turn becomes dangerous. After all, “information is power, and in this current, risky world, they would need all the necessary information they could get. For they will be our future pillars for the next generation and the next. The implementation of sex education in schools will be able to prepare them properly. Not only that, based on the evidences and research done as well as collected carefully, it proves that sex education brings many benefits by reducing the rate of teen pregnancy, providing teenagers with accurate and helpful information, and also protecting them from harm.

6.0 Recommendation

Looking into the creditability of the evidences and research done on this topic, it is safe to say that sex education in schools is heavily encouraged on. However, it should be tested whether abstinence-only or comprehensive sex education works better for the students. The collected results from the selected schools will then only be analyzed and then implemented into schools. Not only that, parents should also be encouraged to meet with the educators responsible so that they may know of the contents of sex education and will be able to discuss easier about sex with their teenagers. The meetings can consist of teachers explaining what they will be covering on with the students in schools. By accomplishing this, parents would no longer be standing on the opposing side of implementing sex education into the school curriculum.

Sexual education (sex ed) in public schools has long been a controversial and debated topic in society. There are several questions when it comes to approaching sex ed in schools. These questions include: appropriate age for introducing sex ed; should sex ed be mandatory or optional; and whether sex ed programs should be comprehensive or abstinence-based. Sex ed is a necessary subject to teach in schools. It should be appropriate to the grade level and taught in a knowledgeable, unbiased manner. Comprehensive sex ed should include teaching students about abstinence, prevention techniques, and should place an emphasis on helping students to acquire decision-making skills when it comes to sexual activity. Sex ed can be a very useful and efficient tool for young students when it comes to making the decision that is best for them. It is an unfortunate trend that not all young adolescents have a safe place to turn to for effective sexual information. Providing sex ed in schools gives all students an equal opportunity to get information about sex and all the aspects that come with it.

Age-Appropriate Sex Ed

Sex education should begin in early adolescents or sooner, possibly starting in 5th or 6th grade. “Sex education that works starts early, before young people reach puberty, and before they have developed established patterns of behavior” (Forrest & Kannabus, 2009, pg 3). If a child doesn’t get introduced to sex ed until age 16, but starts having sex at age 14; then it’s possible they didn’t learn anything about abstinence and STD or pregnancy prevention prior to their sexual activity. At which point it may be harder to teach them new behaviors concerning sexual activity. “In 2005, 6.2 percent of high school students reported having engaged in sexual intercourse before age 13” (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS), 2007, n.p.). While 6.2 may seem like a small percent; 45.5% of young women and 45.7% of young men claim to have had sexual intercourse between the ages of 15 and 19. According to these statistics, it would appear that some sex ed would be appropriate at least prior to or at age 12. It is difficult to know at what age sex ed should be administered. It all depends on the physical, emotional, and mental development of the child. Some argue that introducing sex ed at such a young age will encourage young kids to experiment and act on their curiosity. However,

According to 48 studies of comprehensive sex and STD/HIV education programs in US schools; there was found to be strong evidence that such programs did not increase sexual activity. Some of them reduced sexual activity, or increased rates of condom use or other contraceptives, or both (Forrest & Kannabus, 2009).

It appears to be evident that providing sexual education at a younger age, such as 5th or 6th grade, is not only necessary but appropriate as well.

Mandatory vs. Optional Sex Ed

Because all students deserve the opportunity to have equal access to sex ed; it should be mandated by all schools to teach comprehensive sexual education, with the option for parents opting their children out of class. During interviews conducted with parents of school aged children, by the author of this paper; it was found that all the parents also thought sex ed should be mandatory for schools to teach sex ed, and mandatory for schools to offer parents the choice of opting their children out of the programs. The parents also thought it necessary for schools to allow parents to review the information that would be taught to students prior to their children taking the course, this would give them the opportunity to pull their children out of the course. According to the Guttmacher Institute (2009), “21 states and the District of Columbia mandate that public schools teach sex education” (highlight 1). While 37 states require school districts to allow parental involvement in sex ed, only 3 states require parental consent for their child to participate in sex ed, and 35 states permit parents to opt their children out of sex ed (Guttmacher Institute, 2009, highlight 3). Only 4% of junior high students’ parents and 6% of high school student parents believe that sex education should not be taught in schools. Many school districts do however make exceptions for students that cannot participate due to religious beliefs and customs (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), 2007, n.d.).

Program Effectiveness

Even though there seems to be little debate about the appropriate age to introduce sex ed and whether it should be mandatory or optional; there is a very big debate about the effectiveness of the two main programs being taught in public schools. These programs include comprehensive sexual education and abstinence-only programs, both of which have supporters and opponents.

Many abstinence-until-marriage or abstinence-based programs taught in schools are funded by the federal government. Billions of dollars have been poured into these programs, yet they have not been proven to be as effective as comprehensive programs nor have they shown a positive change in young students’ sexual activities (No More Money, 2008).

Abstinence-only programs place an emphasis on abstinence from all sexual behaviors as a means to prevention of pregnancy and STD’s. These programs cover minimal information about contraceptives and STD prevention. If discussed at all, these programs only discuss failure rates (Community Action Kit, 2008). While many proponents of abstinence-only programs argue that the program is the only way for students to be 100% protected, opponents would argue that the programs don’t supply enough knowledge to students about other forms of protection and preventative measures. Students are more likely to engage in unprotected sexual activities when they have not been taught any information about prevention. Many abstinence-only programs also teach students about exercising self-control (No More Money, 2008). According to Family Accountability Communicating Teen Sexuality (FACTS Handbook) (2000), “Students who do not choose to exercise self-control to remain abstinent are not likely to exercise self-control in the use of a contraceptive device” (p. 50). However, this is not a known fact since contraception as a preventative device is not taught in abstinent-only programs.

Abstinent-only programs do not prepare students for the possibility that they may not be able to exercise self-control. Educational Psychology by John W. Santrock highlights adolescent thinking, on page 314. Santrock notes that “in the heat of the moment, adolescents’ emotions may especially overwhelm their decision-making ability”. In the heat of the moment, a student who hasn’t been taught about contraception or condoms probably won’t make the right decision. However, an adolescent who has been supplied with adequate information about condoms and contraception might have already considered the consequences before-hand, during a moment not aroused by emotion. Having the knowledge to make the right decision concerning protection may help the young student to make a better choice during an emotionally aroused state.

The evidence and research clearly shows that abstinence-only programs do not prevent teen pregnancies or the onset of vaginal intercourse (Kohler, 2008).

Comprehensive sexual education (CSE) is an unbiased approach to sex ed. CSE teaches and develops decision-making skills in students about abstinence, contraceptives, STD prevention, condom use, teen pregnancy, human development and reproductive systems and relationships (Community Action Kit, 2008, pgId 886). Many parents argued that sexual education programs did not focus enough on teaching students responsible behavior and self-esteem associated with making decisions about sex. CSE provides that students be taught about relationships and interpersonal skills. This program also highlights the development of students’ attitudes towards their values and beliefs about sex and exercising responsibility regarding sexual relationships (Community Action Kit, 2008, pgId 888). Even though these programs have been proven to “delay the onset of intercourse; reduce the frequency of intercourse and the number of sexual partners; and increase condom or contraceptive use” (Community Action Kit, 2008, pgId887); only “15 states require that sex education programs cover contraception” (Guttmacher Institution, 2009, highlight 1.2). Even with its proven effectiveness and success rate, CSE is not being taught in enough schools to reach its max potential at reducing young students’ risky behavior concerning sexual activities.

Some critics argue that CSE programs increase sexual activity due simply to the students’ awareness of sexual information. While CSE may not primarily prevent sexual intercourse it is 50% more likely to prevent teen pregnancies than abstinence-only programs. It is also shown to marginally reduce reports of vaginal intercourse among young students (Kohler, 2008). CSE allows students to continually build upon development and learned skills. It also focuses on helping students to maintain these skills in memory, thinking and decision-making processes. For CSE to be successful, educators have to be dedicated in providing students with unbiased and effective sexual knowledge and information. There are many young adolescents in society’s communities that are just not provided with the adequate knowledge about sex ed necessary to make choices and decisions that are best for themselves and their futures. With the right tools and motivation teachers and educators could be very successful at preparing students for real life sexual encounters.

Parents in America strongly support a wide breadth of topics being taught as a part of sex education, and there is broad public support as well. 93% of junior high parents and 91% of high school parents support sex education as a part of school curriculum. 71% up to 100% of junior high and high school parents support topics such as HIV/AIDS, STD prevention, teen pregnancy, birth control, condom use, and sexual orientation as appropriate topics to discuss in sexual education programs (SIECUS, 2007). Even with these high numbers; it’s alarming to know that many states just don’t require it.

Many more states need to require that comprehensive sex education be offered in all schools, rather than no sex education or abstinence-only programs. They need to be mandatory programs with the option of opt outs. Programs should start at age-appropriate times such as 5th-6th grade, and each grade level provided with age-appropriate material to increase in intensity in higher grade levels. Only when this approach is taken will sexual education in schools see max potential and effective results. Effective results that just may change those 6% of opposing parents’ minds.

School delinquency is a rising problem in our schools today. There are a large number of youth who are participating in youth delinquency in our schools. What are some of the problems that cause delinquency in our school? There are a number of reasons for this type of behavior. Poor parenting , children who are in poverty. School bullying plays a role in school delinquency. There has been large scale of gang activity in our school. There are many problems due to delinquency in our schools but it is everyone’s job to correct the problem.

In our society we are faced with different forms of behavior, some good and some bad. The are many different view points, when it comes to how we are suppose to act. What is right and what is wrong is determined by what society except. What society don’t except is wrong acts that are also called acts of deviance. Deviance is something we look at as a act that violates our social norm. To understand what is not norm you have to understand the culture of which you live in. Murder, for instance is an act of taking someone’s life purposely. This is an example of delinquency. An act of such is not excepted by society. In society we have laws, they are design to govern and protect us. These rules give us a guideline to how we must act. The society that we live in is full of law abiding citizens and ones who break laws regular. In our society these law breakers are not only breaking laws in the community but they are introduced to our school system

Delinquent acts in our schools are committed by youth. Juvenile delinquency in our schools today has become a major problem. Our schools are not the same safe place to focus on education anymore. Some youth come to school everyday focus on education , ready to become what they are design to be in society. There are some youth who come to school just to participate in delinquent activities. There are many different reason children come to school but the problem occurs when the delinquent juvenile brings his delinquent behavior here.

There are many reason that causes kids to become delinquent in our schools. Most reasons start from home. Poverty, a major influence towards delinquent behavior. Poverty is when a family lacks the basic resources that normal families use to survive. Other kids who are furnished with nicer clothes and shoes may appear to be more important to youth who don’t have. Kids with more may even tease or down put youth who are not furnished with the basic goods. This type of behavior puts kids in a stressful mind frame. They deal with stress and eventually began to participate in deviant acts to try fitting in with the crowd. Kids who live in poverty are more exposed to crime. They are normally around violence and different crimes. They are exposed to law enforcement in a bad way at early ages. They grow up not trusting law enforcement or even respecting their authority figure. They suffer from bad living conditions, so their main focus is not school but basic survival. It can truly be devastating challenge for youth to conduct themselves in a school environment when they have this type of negative exposure. These kids suffer from many health problems , they don’t have resources for good medical treatment so school cant possibly be their strong points.

Social disorganization is another reason that youth act out in schools. For instance, children who were involved in a house hold with mother and father, who ended up getting a divorce is faced with a major change. Where as both parents being there and they have to adjust to just one causes great stress. These kids normally feel that it is their fault. They go to school and their grades drop, they began to feel like a failure. This attitude can easily give a youth , “the I don’t care attitude”. With this attitude, kids began to act out in school. They may start by simple little deviant acts to fighting in school to express their anger. In households with both parent, a child is more prong to listen to one parent more or even favor one more than the other. In this case if that parent who they favor is the one who leaves, that child is deffinately gonna at out in school. Another factor that can arouse from a broken home is that single parent will most likely have to work. This may even be long hours, taking away social time and time for help with home work. This means poor grades and more time to participate in deviant acts. While these deviant acts are occurring children are spending more time watching tv. A study at Columbia University showed kids that watch at least a hour of tv everyday commit robberies and fights. There are a lot of violent shows on television today. Youth are watching these violent shows and thinking that this behavior is excepted in society. The acts that they see on tv are taken to school where they find themselves in trouble. It can be a devastating things for parents not be able monitor their children properly.

Child abuse can lead to delinquency in schools. Parents who abuse their children are not only breaking the law but they are damaging their child’s future and well being. Child abuse can be anything from striking your kids to neglecting them. Physical child abuse can be hitting, burning, shaking a baby to hard. This is truly something that teaches a child that violence works. Kids are sent to school who are victims of abuse. They are in pain sometimes and don’t know where to turn. The are always stressed out and cant take it out on that parent so the act violently towards their peers at school. They often take on the role as being a bully. They began to tease other kids and called them names. The parents who abuse their kids are taking advantage of someone who the perceive as weaker than them. This same principle applied when their kids take on their role towards kids at school. They pry on children who they perceive as weaker than them. This type of behavior labels kids as school bullies. This type of behavior leads kids in to believing they can go around an violently do what they want to who they want. Becoming a school bully is not only bad for the child who is doing the bullying but it is bad for the victim. This behavior causes the person who is being bullied to retaliate against bullies creating another violent act in our schools.

Alcohol and drugs cause a major effect of delinquency in our schools. Drugs do not have a rightful place but definitely not in our schools. Drugs can be any illegal substance not prescribed by a doctor. The main drug of choice for youth is alcohol. Seventy three percent youth say they have tried it at one point of time in their lives. Youth who use alcohol says , “it relaxes them and reduces tension”. There are many bad sides to alcohol and youth activity. Most youth who drink alcohol are not properly supervised. They normally hang out late at night and miss school on a regular basis. They performance in school falls shorter and shorter. When they drink larger amounts they act the alcohol act as a depressor. Youth whole attitude changes in school , they may even come to school while under the influence. A youth under the influence of alcohol in schools can cause major problems.

Another drug that youth like to take is , marijuana. This drug is a green leafy substance known as pot. This drug contains (THC). To much marijuana can be a major effect to youth react in school. This substance is illegal and should not be around schools. This substance can cause youth to act different in school and bring it on school grounds, definitely an act of delinquency.

Steroids are another drug found in our schools today . They are used by school athletes to try and bulk up. These drugs cause youth to gain large amount of muscle mass, but it also causes a great risk. This drug can change the way youth act, they may become aggressive. An aggressive youth in our schools can be hard for staff to manage.

Crack is a really dangerous drug. Crack is a substance that is cheap and highly addictive. It can be smoked. A youth who comes into contact with this drug is pretty much damaged for life. This drug actually transform youth into a dying person. Youth who come into contact with it will most likely quit school . In the beginning stages they may be able to go to school but they are guaranteed to steal and commit all sorts of crimes to support their habit.

Gangs is another reason for delinquency in our schools. There are different type of gangs .There are social gangs in school who will participate in delinquents acts but their main goal is to get drunk and high. These type gangs in our school are still deviant because they are participating illegal act but there are more serious gangs in our schools. The gangs who don’t normally worry about getting high but focus on violence. These gangs don’t care who they harm. It could be detrimental for youth to get involved with this type of gang. These gangs in school use there power in school to get what they want. They will threaten other students and dare them to tell. These gangs are controlling the schools because it also offers protection. The old saying, “if you can’t beat um join um” applies.

Our school system is full of all sorts of acts of delinquency. There are a number of programs design to make our schools better. D.A.R.E is program design to teach kids and let the know about the dangers of drugs. This program has truly been a success. After school programs have been in effect to aid against delinquency in our schools. There are many approached to helping with this problem of delinquency in our schools. Not everyone household is the same, but we all should have the same goal when it comes to making our schools a place for education not a place for delinquent acts. One major problem to the solution is for everyone to take a good look ourselves and find out what we can do to help this situation. Spending time with your kids and finding out how their days are going. By starting this you can start a trend by letting that child know you care about them. Taking time with your kids, walking in the park and playing with your kids shows them that attention. You must discipline them when they are in need. Never let your children be the parent. Our youth need that extra attention in the society we live in. It is very important for us to give them that attention because some drug dealer is standing at the school’s playground fence or bus stop waiting to show them that attention that leads to school delinquency. It is not only the schools job, law enforcement, after school program but it is all of jobs when it come to dealing with school delinquency. When I focus on correcting my child’s action and making sure they are doing what they are suppose to do, then that is one less problem child in our schools. The correcting of our children in our school system creates a safer environment for us all.

Larry Siegel Brandon Welsh Juvenile Delinquency

Salynn Boyles Health and parenting , http://www.md.com/parenting/news/20100820

Tim Field, Bully at play time revealed

Neil Marr, Bullying News

Michele Borba, The Facts Of Bullying

This paper will focus on an observation which demonstrates a childrens use of imagination and pretence. This sample of play displays evidence of Harry, Jenny, Katie and Lucy’s use of pretence, role play and symbolic play, of which the main focus of this commentary will be role play and symbolic play. Children are able to detach themselves from reality during pretend play and at the same time get closer to reality (Wood & Attfield, 2005). They create roles, use symbols, and redefine objects, shared meanings, transferring real world knowledge skills and understanding from areas of their lives.

In pretend fantasy play children become whatever they choose to be in this case mum, dad and child. According to Corsaro (2003) children often become ‘roles that exist in society’ and through the children’s shared knowledge of the adult world they are able to transform themselves. Harry, Jenny, Katie and Lucy are able to transform themselves in to roles of parents and child due to the knowledge they have gained through their own experience (9, 12). These children are able to draw upon their existing knowledge of their parent’s behaviour and actions which Piaget (1962) would refer to as schema (building blocks of knowledge). According to Corsaro (2003) dramatic role-play assists children’s social and emotional development and he states that many have seen role play as an imitation of adults. Corsaro continues to expresses that children do not just imitate adults in their play they take on the power and control of an adult through imaginative play. This can then be used in the future when they will be in charge of themselves and others. Harry and Jenny display this when stepping into the role of parents they experiment and imagine what it feels like to have power as a parent.

A very significant theme throughout this observation is symbolic play and is seen frequently firstly when the children use play dough to represent cakes (3, 5, 7, 13, 14,), a box to represent an oven (6, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25) and later when Harry uses a building block as a telephone (30). According to Garvey (1990) objects operate and link the child with their environment and as a child matures their use of objects in pretence become more ‘appropriate’. Objects become more realistic and understandable to adults. Referring back to Garvey this is when play scenarios becomes more comprehensive. These children all transform objects to take new form to serve as a purpose to continue the play and it is very obvious to the adult eye what these objects represent when the play theme is known or observed. These children (with the exception of one who generally copied her peers) have learnt to make-believe and are using less realistic objects, they become more inventive and more imaginative, skilled pretenders where they have transformed a cardboard box into an oven (Garvey, 1990).

Harry speaks to an imaginary person on his imaginary telephone pausing allowing time for a response this was very realistic, he developed the theme of having to go to work after ending the telephone conversation. According to Garvey (1990) children use ‘roles and identities’ not just to the participants but also to imaginary ones and objects are changed and invented as they are needed and in order to engaged in make believe. Singer & Singer (2007) express that symbolic play enables children to have a clear sense of what is real and what is not real or fantasy. Jenny had the ability to switch between reality and pretence when using the phrase “Let’s pretend”.

Jenny initiates the play theme to Lucy and Katie. (1). It is obvious that Jenny has made cakes with her mother on many occasions (7) referring to Bruce (2011) Jenny is using her imagination in a play situation and rearranging past experience in new ways. It appears that Lucy seems to be confused by her suggestion by voicing her concerns “how” (2). Jenny demonstrates to Lucy what she wants her to do by cutting the play dough into moon shapes (5). Lucy is now able to visualise that the play dough will now change form and become cakes even though they are not actually real cakes. Vygotksy (1978: 86) states that when peers interact they can support less component peers in developing skills this is known as the “Zone of Proximal Development” (1978: 86). In this case Lucy is in the zone of proximal development and through peer support she can now successfully understand that the play dough is going to represent a cake. Jenny as a more knowledgeable peer in terms of being older has more experience, so she was able to support and instruct Lucy.

They are in the play room they have no ingredients, no oven and no obvious cooking utensils. There were no realistic objects for Lucy to use to make cakes. Lucy’s maturity level is not as advanced as the others and she finds herself in new situations which contradict her existing schemas, the existing schema must be accommodated in order for the new information to fit, fantasy play can help children make sense and test these ideas through assimilation (Piaget, 1962 & Kitson, 2005). Lucy being the youngest participant Fenson, Kearsley and Zelazo (1976 cited in Smith, 2010) state that younger children depend on more realistic objects during pretend play Lucy has not yet reached the stage they refer to as ‘decontextualization’ where children have the ability to use less realistic substitute objects.

This observation has highlighted the importance of pretend/fantasy play for children to be able to express themselves as well as enjoy this valuable time. Observations of this type of play provides valuable insights in to children’s social worlds, however within a pre-school setting this type of free play could be very difficult due to observe due to the amount of children within a pre-school class. In this type of small setting (in a child minders home) this task is easier to carry out and can provide important information about a child’s likes/dislikes, what makes them happy/sad and possible anxieties they may have but most importantly where they are developmentally. Freud (1961 cited in Moyles, 2005) states that children display their inner selves through fantasy play.

What I observed on this particular occasion was the children were left to their own devices without much supervision or interaction from their child minder. I can only assume this was due to my presence. The question is does adult intervention enhance children’s development? Hutt et al (1989) agree that adult interventions or participation is essential when attempting to improve cognitive development. Smith and Syddall (1978, cited in Hutt et al, 1989: 171) continue to suggest ‘that daily adult interactions in children’s play particular pre-school children can change their performance on tests of cognitive ability’. In the case of Lucy struggling to fit in to the play theme at the beginning due to a lack of understanding could have been an opportunity for her child minder to get involved with the play and support her through this (although Jenny did step in to help and the play continued) having an adult take part in these types of social-role play situations could according to Moyles & Heathcote (1989, 1984, cited in Kitson, 2005) can stimulate and deepen a child’s play experiences and adults can then create learning areas to suit a child’s needs. Also referring to Tina Bruce (1997) children are able to benefit when directed than if left to ordinary development.

To further support the idea that adult direction supports children’s development, Kitson (cited in Moyles 2005) states effective adult interventions can assist children create new forms of play themes, dilemmas and support children in extending their learning this can be done by not telling children what to do but offering them alternatives to explore. However Brostrom (1997) thinks that play should be free from force of an adult and this can stop child from playing. So rather than forcing play they should observe it more, create more stimulating activities to support it whilst providing materials to initiate more creative play to support children’s learning. Other things to consider are adults involving themselves more with children’s play without dominating the play but sensitively entering children’s worlds and respect the dynamics or the play themes. As the children’s play was ended suddenly Singer and Singer (2007) importantly state ‘that children need time, space and simple materials to engage in pretend play’

Bib

S.J, Hutt, Tyler, C. Hutt & Christopherson (1989) Play, Exploration and Learning

Smith, Peter, K (date) Children and Play: Understanding Children’s Worlds

Bergen, D, (2002) The Role of Pretend Play in Children’s Cognitive Development Volume 4 Number 1

Moyles, J (2005) the excellence of Play 2nd ed chapter 8 ‘Fantasy Play and the case for adult intervention’ by Neil Kitson Open uni press Berkshire

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Tina Bruce (2011) Learning through Play 2nd ed London Hodder

Tina Bruce (1997) Helping young children to play

Much of human behaviour is viewed as a process, which begins with early childhood experience, and develops into later life emotions, values, beliefs, and behaviours. Today’s children possibly have more autonomy and decision-making power within the family than previous generations, which follows that children are vocal about what they want their parents to buy (Dotson and Hyatt, 2005). Therefore young children are increasingly the target of advertising and marketing. This is not only because of the influence they have on their parents spending, but also because they are going to be adult consumers of the future. Therefore marketers should recognise the children’s increasing influence in purchase decisions.

This paper will explore the extent to which family shopping behaviour is influenced by children and what role do they play in decision-making process. Internal and external influences which affect what, when and how family members buy things and what role they play within the family will also be discussed. Additionally, it will examine the lessons for marketing practice. Finally, these concepts and critically analysed and evidenced data will be explored throughout the essay and brought towards the conclusion.

Family decision making is a type of consumer decision-making that involves several individuals as potential decision makers and influencers (Norgaard et.al. 2007). According to McNeal (1992), children have long been recognised as an influencing market and at the same time future market, and parents started paying more attention to their children and their opinions. These changes in family communication have made it possible for children to exert influence on family decision-making. Consequently, family structures have changed which noticeably influences family decision-making. Flurry (2007) who has written a number of credible articles about children’s influence in purchase decisions and is specialised in marketing, argues that children’s influence varies by number of variables, including type of product, decision-making stages, parental attitudes as well as characteristics of the child and the family unit. In general, children may have significant influence in product decisions for which they will be the primary consumers. For instance, it has been found that children have substantial impact on decisions such as breakfast cereals, snack foods, toys, children clothes and school supplies (Evans et.al. 2006). However, even though they are primary consumers of these products and are considered to have significant influencing power, it usually depends on the age of the child. In contrast, in Thomson’s et.al. (2007) study children have been found to have less influence on decisions for products that are more expensive and used by the whole family (for instance TV).

Earlier attempts (in marketing) to understand the role of children was made by Berey and Pollay (1968), the research was done when they were university students, however, the project was reviewed by educated professors during most phases of the project, which gives the paper more credibility. Berey and Pollay (1968) state, that a mother’s purchase behaviour is independent of number of variables, such as a child’s age, the number of children in the family, mother’s employment status and the number of trips to the shopping centre. Furthermore, authors argue that mothers who are more child-centred have a greater tendency to purchase products following their view of what is right and healthy. On the other hand, a mother who is less child-centred may be more likely to purchase the brands that the child prefers in order to keep the child happy (Berey and Pollay, 1968). According to Norgaard et.al. (2007), one of the areas where children have gained strong influence is food choice. Since food plays a central role in family life and routines, parents want to ensure that their children eat healthy food, but at the same time also what they like. Moreover, it has been found that food choices are less healthy in families with more influential children. According to Mintel (2002), baby boomers as a generation have tended to spoil their offspring, making them more receptive to children’s reasonable demands and making ‘pester power’ an even more effective weapon in the marketing. ‘Pester Power’, a term used to define a child’s influence over a parent in the buying process (Mintel, 2002). It has been found, that younger children tend to make more ‘pestering’ requests than the older siblings.

Children may try to persuade or dominate parents by using emotive appeals, crying, pouting or other non-verbal techniques to gain influence over the decision outcome (Lee and Collins, 2000). Thus when parents exert less control over child-rearing, children are more likely to suggest or request items for their own consumption and to participate in the search for and decision to purchase these items. Moreover, Ward and Wackman (1972) found that children’s purchase influence attempts may decrease with age, depending on the type of product, however, mothers’ yielding to requests increases with age. This might be because of the increased competence of older children in making judgments about purchase decisions. Later study by Beatty and Talpade (1994) suggested that personal resources of the child, usage of the product and child’s product knowledge determined the degree of influence. For instance, children are considered to be more acknowledgeable than their parents in areas such as sports and beverages, or computer games. Furthermore, Commuri and Gentry (2000) whose research on the topic is supported by a great number of sources, argue that the role of the child in family decision making depends partly upon whom one asks and how many members in the household there are. Following from the earlier studies, Flurry (2007) examined further the extent to which parents may be more inclined to consider the input of older children when making family purchase decisions. Moreover families with fewer children, where there is less competition for resources, enable a child for more freedom in selecting their own products. Flurry’s (2007) study concluded that the child’s birth order may also be related to a child’s participation in decision-making with first-born children exerting greater purchase decision influence. However, the respondents in the research were children aged 9-11 with their mothers; therefore Flurry’s research results may not be generalizable for all children, for instance under 9 years old.

Palan and Wilkes (1997) have provided one of the first comprehensive identification and categorization of influence strategies used by children to influence the outcome of family purchasing decisions. The strategies include: bargaining, persuasion, emotional, legitimate, request, expert and directive strategy. However, there are age-related changes in adolescent thinking and transitions in decision-making competence during youth. Furthermore, Wimalasiri’s (2004) study undertaken with families from broad diversity of socio-economic statuses revealed, that children may be perceived as influencers or even nagging influencers and sometimes have the power in persuading their parents in fulfilling their needs. For instance, children can use tactics such as upward appeal, pressure tactics, ingratiating tactics, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals and consultative tactics. Children slowly acknowledge the power and authority of their parents and they learn through experience or trial and error that certain tactics may persuade their parents to fulfil with their requests. The use of the emotional strategies in order to gain influence is relatively common. However, the use of the various tactics changes as children get older. As children grow up they rely less on the pressure tactics employed by toddlers and become more clever in their appeals (Wimalasiri, 2004).

Today’s child-influenced sales volume can be credited to several factors, for instance, most families have fewer children, which increase the influence of each child. Secondly, working couples can afford to allow their children to make the choice, and finally, because of the constant exposure to media, children learn about products and services and are in position to convince their parents as what is good or bad (Wimalasiri, 2004). Children are consuming average of 5.5 hours a day using media such as television, print and computer (Dotson and Hyatt, 2005). Therefore it can be said, that the market speed of technological change and educational development has left many children more knowledgeable than their parents. The perceived knowledge of the Internet by children in comparison to their parents may impact on the way children develop Internet consumer skills (Thomson and Laing, 2003). Consequently, children sometimes not only have greater input, but also their input is being shaped by unmatched access to external socialisation agents.

Consumer socialisation, the process by which an individual acquires the skills needed to function in the marketplace as a consumer (Solomon et.al, 2010) has also significant role in family shopping behaviour. Family is identified as the primary socialisation agent for children. According to Flurry (2007), today’s trends show that parents are less child-centred, less controlling and investing less time with their children than their parents were. This change in socialisation means that children may have more control over their own marketplace decisions as well as the freedom to apply their preferences in purchase decision-making. It is also possible, that time pressured parents of today may also feel guilty about not spending enough time with their children and therefore allow them more influence. Moreover, children are raised in different types of families and learn different norms, roles and consumer skills which play a significant role on the way children participate in family decision-making process (Flurry, 2007). Therefore, the differences in children’s consumption behaviour may be shaped by various skills learned in different socio-economic backgrounds, parental child-education attitudes as well as parental communication styles (Page and Ridgway, 2001). However, it is important to mention that agents from the external environment such as mass media and peers may sometimes be outpacing the family.

Lessons for marketing practice

According to Caruana and Vassallo (2003), from the early 1990s children have progressively become focus of marketers since it became obvious that besides being customers in their own right, children’s influence on family purchasing was steadily increasing. Dotson and Hyatt (2005) state, that marketers already recognising children as an important group to study, because their attitudes regarding products and brands are still in their formative stages and their current experiences affect their future brand preferences and marketplace behaviour. However, the authors do not discuss in their paper the ethical issues associated with marketing to young people. Today it is widely accepted that retailers have ethical and commercial responsibilities to their stakeholders, for instance, dealing honestly with customers, suppliers, avoiding using manufacturing labour, or indulging in unsustainable environmental practices (Nicholls and Cullen, 2004). Clark (2002) stresses that when advertising the goods, either to children or adults, marketers need to take into consideration the rules created by Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which points out that advertising should not exploit children’s credulity, loyalty, vulnerability, or lack of experience.

According to Nicholls and Cullen (2004), advertising may even help children learn to be consumers and consequently has an important socialisation role to play in their development. However, in ethical context, children younger than 10 years old cannot always distinguish between television advertising and entertainment or factual programming. Therefore children may be vulnerable to improper manipulation by marketers. Newlands and Frith (1996) state that children do not understand persuasive intent until they are eight or nine years old, therefore it is unethical to advertise to them before then. For instance, the TV advertising appears to be dominated by junk food that of confectionery, fast food and pre-sugared cereals (Turner, et.al. 2006). It seems that there are no adverts for fresh fruit or vegetables during the children’s programmes. This may have a negative influence on children’s understanding of what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, healthy or unhealthy.

Children have a significant impact on the success of many businesses despite the fact that they spend little or no actual money. In terms of marketing perspective, it is important to consider the four of seven P’s. For instance, it is vital to keep in mind that the environment plays a key role in marketing and sales efforts. Suitable shop interior design can put consumers in the mood to buy. Regarding children’s shops, the merchandise should be easy to reach, shops should interact with children letting them to touch the toys or play with games and the use bright colours are key factors to success (Mintel, 2008a). Moreover, ‘cool’ product packaging attracts children’s eye and marketers should be creative when using colours, interesting boxes, and shapes (Mintel, 2008a). When marketing to children, marketers need to be particularly safety-conscious. This refers to both the product and the manner in which the product is being advertised or promoted.

Marketers need to understand that gender segmentation is an important variable used when marketing the products to girls and boys, however, media strategies used to reach them can be the same for both genders (Lee and Collins, 2000). For some products, marketers could even target children directly rather than through parents (even though parents are the ones who have the final veto on what is bought) with child oriented messages, logos and characters that highlight cool and fun image. However, Dotson and Hyatt (2005), who have done a number of observations on young people’s consumer behaviour, argue that the cool brand image appeal might not be effective with certain segments of the children’s market, for instance, those who are less independent in their marketplace. In terms of promotion, marketers could direct messages regarding decision making to family members who dominate particular stages of the decision process. For example, marketers could directly target mothers regarding children clothing. Moreover, featuring cartoon or other characters from children’s television programmes to gain their endorsement for their products is a worthy tactic. Celebrity endorsement may be even more influential among children than adults and could also be used when advertising the products (Mintel, 2008). The use of age-appropriate language, current phrases, and being succinct is important when creating promotional messages in communication campaigns for children.

Another trend observed by Dotson and Hyatt (2005) show that young people are more adaptive and open to new technologies than adults. Therefore this openness might mean that what marketers know today about marketing to children may relatively quick become out of date, because young people surf onto the next emerging idea or trend. Additionally, when observing children’s attitudes towards brands and their shopping behaviour, marketers should not only rely on traditional market research approaches, but also through observation, conversation and engagement.

Finally, marketers who target children have three main objectives: to directly seek children as customers, to work directly on parents through children’s ‘pester power’ and to imprint the younger generation with positive brand associations.

To conclude, it can be said, that children are found to play an important role throughout the purchase process. Knowledge and information may facilitate and enhance the adoption of various influence behaviours.

Family consumer behaviour is a complex area compared to individual decision making which may be that the relationships among members of the family are relatively complicated to sort out into meaningful constructs. Children may have their own purchasing power, they influence their parents’ buying decisions through ‘pester power’ and they are adult consumers of the future. Families have also become more democratic and children’s views are taken more into consideration. According to the literature reviewed in this essay it can be said that children have a right to some control over purchases that involve them, however, that exercising this right can result in confrontation and ‘pestering’ of parents (specifics of this disruption may depend on the product category). The degree of a child’s influence on family decision making process varies with the child’s age, social class and education. Additionally, parents’ response towards their children’s initiation varies between cultures; therefore marketers should take these facts into consideration when designing and implementing sales promotion and advertising strategies.

Effective marketing of products requires knowledge of how products are purchased and what sources of influence individual family members apply to the decision process. Marketers need to examine the relative influence of family members at each stage of the decision-making process (possibly for each products category). Understanding choice and influence process (of children) may provide marketers with the opportunity to shape brand choice and children’s behaviour as future consumers.

Play is almost universally recognized as an integral factor in childrens learning and development. For example, Macintyre (2001, 4) quotes Isaacs 1933 description of play: Play is “the crucial component in children’s development,” and adds that everyone “concerned with young children” should “recognise and value the different kinds of understanding developed through play” (Macintyre 2001, 3-4).

Although different play activities promote children’s in different ways, Keenan (2002) identifies a number of areas of development that are impacted or enhanced by play, including cognition, language and communication, social, and emotional. The recent Curriculum guidance for children from three through the reception year (Foundation Stage) ephasizes learning opportunities and experiences ; for example, “the area of language and literacy was broadened to include communication and emphasized the importance of developing literacy through play” and “advocates play and exploration as a basis for literacy learning in the early years” (Miller and Smith 2004, 122). Within the Early Years curriculum, role play is an excellent example of a play activity that promotes many areas of development.

Before examining the ways role play promotes development in children, it is helpful to define both play and role play. Macintyre (2001, 3) defines play as activity that is enjoyable, gives pleasure, and undertaken by the player freely, that is, it can be abandoned at any time without blame. Play further has no preconceived outcome; the agenda can develop as play goes on (Macintyre 2001, 3). Additionally, play allows the player to develop skills which are important in non-play situations, such as development of social skills (Macintyre 2001, 3). Children around age three and four begin to enjoy imaginative role play in twos or small groups (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 36).

As a particular play activity, role play is a type of imaginative play, where children assume roles outside their real world place. Role play allows children to construct proximities between themselves and others in their lives. Piaget’s theory of development contends infants first engage in pretend play around eighteen months, acting out imaginary activities and using real objects to represent imagined objects, such as pretending a television remote is a telephone (Keenan 2002, 123). Children may participate in limited role play at this point if directed by an older person.

However, cooperative role play, where children instigate their own roles and story line, are rarely undertaken by children before three years of age (Keenan 2002, 200). According to Vygotsky, children engage in pretend play roles beyond their current stage in life, such as taking on adult roles, such as a parent, teacher or doctor, or roles as adolescents or older children(Keenan 2002, 135). Through pretend play, children place themselves in a zone of proximal development, where they play at a level which is in advance of their real capabilities (Keenan 2002, 135)

Cognitively, role play promotes development in several ways. First, it allows children practice in ordering their thoughts and develop understanding. “Piaget believed that children were active agents of their own learning and that the major task for them was to develop an ability to organize experiences and learn from them in a way which enables them to make sense of the world (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 10). Role play activities are “the highest form of symbolic play, encompassing two types of cognitive operation which are necessary for conservation, namely reversibility and decentration” (Umek and Musek 2001, 56).

Children are able to freely leave the roles they take on, as indicated in the free participation concept introduced in the definition of play above. This ‘reversibility’ indicates cognitively children are awareness that they can abandon their assumed role and return to reality at any time (Umek and Musek 2001, 56). The cognitive ability of decentration involves children’s understanding that the person in the role play scenario is really them, yet is also simultaneously the role undertaken (Umek and Musek 2001, 56).

Cognitively, this means children must “preserve the imaginary identity of toys or play materials despite the fact that they are perceptually and/or functionally inadequate (the issue being the conservation of identity)” (Umek and Musek 2001, 56). In such pretend play, “children learn that the objects they use can be separated from their normal referents, and that they can stand for other things” (Keenan 2002, 135). This object will typically be similar in some way, such as size or shape, to the pretend object in the role play, causing the children to practice analogous thinking skills where they related an item not available to them to another available object (Keenan 2002, 135).

The development of language and communication skills are recognized as “closely linked to children’s thinking and conceptual development” (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 18). In addition to cognitive development, role play offers important development opportunities in the areas of language and communication. This can be intentional, such as when parents or other older players in the role play intentionally support vocabulary development by introducing names of things during the context of play (Keenan 2002, 154). However, the opportunity to talk and verbally interact with others in the role play further presents a powerful way of learning even when no intentional instruction occurs (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 18).

In role play, children learn to use language as a form of symbolic representation, and also “communicate symbolically through dramatic play” (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 25). Such symbolic play encourages the development of language comprehension (Umek and Musek 2001, 56). Fantasy role play encourages explicit and expressive speech due to its symbolic nature.

“Role enactment and the use of various objects have different functions in play and in real life, therefore the child-player-must define these symbolic transformations verbally, so that they have a clear (recognisable) meaning and are comprehensible to his or her playmates” (Umek and Musek 2001, 56). In this way role play promotes the communicative skills of its players. “The symbolic elements of fantasy play, like role and object transformations, enable the child to use lexicographic meanings and explicit speech” (Umek and Musek 2001, 56).

Socially, role play typically involves several other children and/or adults. Keenan (2002) discusses Parten’s theory that such cooperative play is “the most complex form of play,” as it includes behaviours such as social pretend play where children take on pretend roles (Keenan 2002, 200). The children involved in the role play talk to one another as part of the play, developing their imaginative situations in a co-operative manner. Umek and Musek (2001, 56) report Smilansky’s (1968) contention that role play activities promote the child’s social development.

“When children use role enactment, they have to reach a consensus about the play theme, the course of events and the transformation of roles and play materials. This can only be achieved when individuals transcend their egocentrism and develop the ability to empathise” (Umek and Musek 2001, 56).

Children further build relationships with the other children or adults with whom they play. Although such relationships are often temporary, such play causes children to “express a preference for certain friends and play regularly with them;” during the Early Years period “there is usually, but always, some preference for play with children of the same sex, but there is still a good deal of mixed play” (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 36). Role players “share symbolic meanings with each other and assign imaginary roles in their pretend play,” both providing opportunities for social development (Keenan 2002, 203).

Co-operative pretend play also is usually based on the children’s understanding of the social rules of their culture (Keenan 2002, 135). Therefore, a child behaving ‘badly’ in the role play will be ‘punished’ by the child in the ‘parent’ role. Vygotsky held that as such role play “was an important context in which children learned about the social world” (Keenan 2002, 135). “Children’s play is constrained by the rules which guide behaviour in these roles, and, because of this, they learn about the social norms that are expected of people” (Keenan 2002, 135).

Role play can be an important component in children’s emotional development. Around eighteen months, “the increase in language and symbolic thought allows some feelings to be expressed through imaginative play” (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 27). Prior to this children’s options were limited to physical displays such as crying, hitting, or facial expressions. This can promote children’s emotional development, as it allows them to learn to express their wants and needs, and become emotionally aware of the wants and needs of others.

For example, role play can allow children to act out their fears, such as going to the doctor or being punished (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 36). These fears might develop from an experience the child has had, such as having a painful injection at the doctor’s office, or a perceived fear, such as concern over anticipated punishment.

Role play can also help chilren develop self-efficacy. Even young children have a strong desire to be right or successful, and will avoid areas where they expect to fail (Macintyre 2001, 4). However, “if children can try things with no fear of failure they are more likely to stretch out and tackle things they might otherwise avoid” (Macintyre 2001, 4). Since there is no defined end product, there is no fear or experience of failure. Children are empowered through the communication skills developed in role play, “as they can express their feelings freely, can negotiate their wishes and needs and develop self-confidence and self-esteem” (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 18)

This self-efficacy can both be encouraged in actions and in emotional expression; role play teaches children healthy and appropriate expressions of emotion. O’Hagan and Smith (2004, 38) studied groups of young children who viewed adults handling a situation, with each group seeing a different emotional response. One group viewed the adults as dealing with the issue by becoming angry and physically aggressive, and were later observed to emotionally deal with a similar situation in a similar manner, i.e. with anger and physical aggression. O’Hagan and Smith (2004, 36) contend this reinforces Bandura’s claim that children learn from models in their lives, particularly those they view as similar to themselves, who have a nurturing relationship with them, or who they perceive as powerful and competent (O’Hagan and Smith 2004, 39).

Symbolic play, such as role play, “should certainly form an important part of the preschool curriculum but preschool teachers should bear in mind that the quality of a child’s play will be determined by general characteristics of development as well as by the play context” (Umek and Musek 2001, 63). In the classroom, role play can be encouraged through the use of story and related play objects. For example, reading stories that include a kitchen and having a play kitchen available encourages children to first repeat the story through role play, then diverge and develop their own story lines. O’Hagan and Smith (2004, 58) present a typical classroom element, a ‘home corner’ complete with dressing-up clothes and various objects for domestic play.

Role play can be used for many learning purposes, such as to reinforce desired behaviour or assess children’s understanding of material. A teacher is trying to encourage sharing amongst her pupils. In this scenario, the teacher could role play with the children, demonstrating and reinforcing that sharing is a desireable activity. The activity could then be extended, with children being allowed to continue the play without teacher involvement, by later drawing pictures, and/or talking about the role play in a circle time or similar sharing opportunity.

Finally, role play can also enhance a teacher’s evaluation of children’s attainments, as the children will demonstrate their abilities in a number of areas during a typical role play activity. In practice, “children can achieve higher levels of individual cognitive functions (conservation, one-to-one correspondence, decentration) in their symbolic play than they demonstrate when the same mental operations are tested and measured in formal, non-play, situations” (Umek and Musek 2001, 64). As such, observations and assessment based on role play can be highly valuable in the classroom environment.

Young children learn through exploration, active participation and through imitation and as such, quality music programmes taught in the early childhood classrooms should incorporate five different characteristics according to McDonald and Simones, 1989 (cited in Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997). Both stated that musical activities conducted should be developmentally appropriate and age appropriate for children and have a balance of both teacher planned and child initiated activities. Music programs conducted be pleasurable and support the development of positive attitudes and emotional responses in children as well as to instil in them lifelong love for music.

They added that children should be exposed to a variety of musical activities that includes music appreciation -children be exposed to listening to different types music, singing and moving to music and to create music through the use of musical instruments.

They further mentioned that children should learn to participate in a group with their peers and experience the pleasure of group music making. Both agree that music programme should be integrated as part of curriculum and children are allowed to experience music throughout the day and not just during the music time. Music should also be used during transitions from one activity to another.

As in the Singaporean classroom, it is a requirement by the Ministry of Education that music programme be included as part of the curriculum. However music and movement activities conducted are seldom planned to include a variety of activities and most of the instances teachers conduct activities with just a CD player. Children are observed to be singing and moving to the song played. The essence of music programme that enhances children’s total developmental skills is not delivered due to the fact of teacher quality.

Although the experts have stated that musical education does foster growth in children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, this research will only focus on the social and emotional development through music.

Music is part of the curriculum and it is indeed a great way to expose children through musical activities that include songs, musical games and rhythmic activities as the teaching tool to enhance children’s social skills. Singing simple songs enable children to absorb social values better than when they are being taught. If songs touch on values and principles, children will begin to incorporate them into their social development.

Music activities also allows children to sing, dance and use certain gestures for certain parts of the song and these will also allow them to release social and emotional problems. Children are constantly experiencing new emotions and situations as they grow and each new experience contributes to their social development. As stated by Forsyth ,1977 ; Madsen & Alley, 1979 ; Sim,1986 ; Standley & Hughes,1996 ( cited in Forsyth ,1977 ) researchers have documented the effective use of music to enhance children’s social skills especially when interventions and instructions involve the use of participatory activities. The question the researcher intends to find an answer for is derived from the above explanation on ‘How does active participation in music and movement impact on children’s social and emotional skills’

According to the Collin’s dictionary, arts such as dance, music and drama that are performed live in front of an audience is referred to as performing arts. Performing as mentioned by Wright (2003 p.107) includes the “physical or bodily competence and interpretation providing a foundation for children’s learning using a range of movement techniques”. Performing will involve the participant being observed by caregivers, peers and teachers in the classroom context.

Role of Music and Movement in the development of social emotional skills

Bruner (1968) (cited in Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997) states that as children grow, they go through three learning stages

The enactive stage – This is an action based stage where children develop the ability to use objects in the environment to perform physical tasks using their motor skills for example , children playing a musical instrument and moving to the beat.

The iconic stage – the visual imagery stage where children are able to imagine events and actions through visual memory. This stage takes place when children role play at the dramatic corner or during a drama performance as they take on imaginative roles that they have seen

The symbolic stage- children are able to use ideas, symbols and language to understand and define concepts. For example, children working as a group in planning for a drama performance, children will need to use their creative ideas to plan, identify the characters, symbol image for each character and the language to dictate the drama.

Bruner (1962) (cited in Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997) adds that each of these stages suggests developmentally appropriate musical experience for children.

Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997 adds that Bruner’s enactive stage relates to Piaget’s (1952) sensorimotor stage and Erikson’s (1950) trust – building stage where physical activity and music are intertwined. Thus musical activities stimulate children’s senses, cognitive development and also build social relationships. Bruner and Piaget believed that children used their senses to learn and explore their environment while Erikson stressed that children needed maximum comfort to trust themselves and the others in order for them to explore and learn in the environment. All these stages are inter-related to enhance children’s total development.

Music, according to Gardner, 1973 ( cited in Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997) contributes to the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional, social , cultural and aesthetics development. As stated by McAllester, 1991 (cited in Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997 p. 131) music encourages participation, sharing and cooperation. Through musical activities such as singing and games, “children learn to subordinate their individual wishes to the goals of the group which is the essence of cooperation.”

Music is an effective program for children to adapt to social skills in a fun and enjoyable way. Leonhard, 1983 (cited in Lau, n.d.) regards music as a social art which has the capacity to unite social groups and enable each individual to feel as part of the group. While Spodek, Saracho and Lee, 1983 (cited in Lau, n.d. ) further emphasized that music has the ability to draw the shy and withdrawn child to come closer with their peers thus supporting social relationships. A shy child who does not interact with her peers verbally, will be able to engage in a music and movement activity where she physically gets closer to her peers during the activity especially when it involves pairing with partners or in a group.

Catron & Allen, (2003) stated that young children must learn to cooperate with peers and act in a socially responsible manner so that they would develop a cooperation spirit through participating in a variety of small group activities.

Social and Emotional Development in Children

Social and emotional development according to Cohen and other experts as (cited in Social Emotional Development domain Child Development, 2009) includes the ability of a child to express and manage his emotions as well as his ability to build positive relationships with others. They shared the same view as Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence on intrapersonal and interpersonal processes and presented a strong relationship between knowing of one’s feelings and the feelings of others. Gardner believed that if both these abilities are well developed in young children, it will strengthen their sense of self and the relationship with others (Cited in Dowling, 2005 p.61). On the other hand, Nowicki & Duke, 1989 (cited in Dowling, 2005) supported Gardner, as they found that children who are sensitive to others and aware of their own feelings appeared to achieve better in school than those with similar intellectual ability but less emotional ability.

Social Skills and Social Competence

Social skills can be defined as the “ability to implement developmentally appropriate social behaviours that enhanced ones interpersonal relationship without causing harm to anyone”

(Schneider, 1993 p.19). It is necessary for children to respect one another and to build healthy social skills to develop positive relationship with people around them.

As stated in Jean Piaget’s theory, social development takes place through interaction between the child and the environment and that the developing child constructs his own knowledge. An example of this is when a child is engaged in the learning centre, he is learning through exploration using his senses as well as interacting with the materials in the environment. On the other hand, Vygotsky viewed socialisation as two fold – firstly, cognition as related to social engagement and secondly language as a tool for communication within the social context (cited in Berk, 2000). When children are engaged in dramatic play both language and social relationship is enhanced. As such, social skills play a vital role in helping children cope with the many complexities and demands of the world.

According to Jalongo (2006), social competence is defined as a set of abilities, behaviours and responses directed towards other individuals that serve to foster positive human relationships.

Katz and McClellen (1997) suggested that components of social skills include social understanding and interaction skills. It is important for the child to portray good behaviour and effective communication with others to engage in healthy relationship.

Role of Performing Arts in the Development of Social Emotional Skills

Pinciotti (1993) mentioned that children learn from their experiences when they are engaged in social activities. Cornett (1999) further supports the need for teachers to integrate creative drama in the classroom as she states that drama being a part of everyday life, prepares an individual to connect to real life situations.

Cornett (1999) adds that when children are participating in the drama, they are able to look at problems from different points of view, respect diverse thinking and realise that there are many ways to settle one problem. She further states that through drama, children learn to exchange feelings and emotions with each other. This enhances their personality development.

Cornett (1999) also states that personal development takes place when children control their body and words as they express ideas and feelings during the drama activities. She also indicated that positive self – image and confidence are developed through the problem solving situations.

Cornett (1999) reiterates that children engaging in situational confrontations during their role play, also become aware of the different emotions people feel for example happiness, sadness .anger, fear. She adds that the children learn that these feelings can be dealt in a positive way and they also learn to accept different temperaments portrayed by their peers thus developing a tolerance towards them.

Isbell & Raines (2007), agree that social skills can be developed in drama as children working in group overcome difficulties through problem solving skills. They experience working with peers as they negotiate plans to stage the drama. During interactions, children learn to negotiate with each other, work cooperatively and develop respect for each other.

As mentioned earlier, Bruner (1968) stated that children use ideas, symbols and language

Children are able to use ideas, symbols and language to understand and define concepts when they are in the symbolic stage, thus musical re-enactment of story songs would be an appropriate musical activity for young children.

Teacher’s role in enhancing social skills development

According to Raikes, 1996 (cited in Preusse, 2008) secure attachment bonds between the child and caregiver creates a sense of trust that supports the child for exploration of the world and builds a strong base for future development. As such, it is rather important for teachers to build strong relationship with children under their care. On the other hand , Berk, 2002 ( cited in Preusse , 2008 ) mentioned that preschool children are independent, cooperative as they gain their language skills , self awareness and to think in another person’s point of view. All these will enable children to have better social interaction with their peers. It is the teachers’ role to facilitate and provide the opportunities and activities to enhance children’s social skills.

Teacher – parent partnership is another important factor in enhancing children’s social skills as stated by Webster- Stratton (2006 p. 6) “family involvement has positive effects on children’s academic achievement, social competence and school quality.”

On the other hand, Brand & Fernie, 1983 (cited in Isenberg & Jalongo 1997, p.145) stated that “teachers fulfil their musical roles and responsibilities when they function as motivators, planners, co – participants and observers”.

As a motivator, the teacher uses an object or a story to introduce the music activity to interests and motivate children’s participation. For example, to sing ‘old Macdonald had a farm ‘a teacher would prepare headgears of farm animals and have children pretend to be animals and involve them to make the animal sounds when they are called.

A teacher planner looks into preparation of the music activity identifying the purpose, providing a variety of activities like playing instruments, moving to music and has materials that are required prepared before the lesson and ensures that children are spaced and seated comfortably for the musical activity.

An observer looks out for children’s behaviour during their participation in order for her to plan activities according to children’s needs and development as well as evaluate the positive or negative responses of the activity.

Teacher’s attitude and belief plays an important role in providing these opportunities for children to enhance their social emotional skills. Further, teachers also need to be trained in order to carry out the various arts activities. They must have the knowledge to observe children and to identify and plan according to children’s needs in order to enhance their social emotional development.

Conclusion

Prosocial behaviour is part and parcel of happening in an individual’s life context. Building a strong foundation in social emotional skills during the early childhood years is crucial to a child’s social emotional behaviour to achieve better in school and succeed in later life.

Music and drama are one of the strategies that can help develop good social and emotional skills .As researchers strongly believe that musical activities and drama have enabled children better exposure and experience in developing cooperation, acceptance, tolerance, confidence, positive relationship and social interaction all of which are foundation skills of social emotional development in children. Finally, as Gardner believed when intrapersonal and interpersonal processes are well developed in children it will enable them to build strong and positive relationship with people around them as well as enhances their self – confidence.

As my findings have shown the role of the teacher as a facilitator of children’s social and emotional development ……… of …… is important as it enhances the growth of prosocial skills through music education, this research will seek to employ teacher planned activities to collect the data needed to form a conclusion that music education does foster children’s social and emotional growth.

The role of a teacher in a Montessori classroom is played by a fully trained Montessori directress. The Montessori directress usually has the qualification of a normal teacher but she also has the qualification of a one year teacher education diploma. The directress is a guide for the children during the process of self-development. She makes the child comfortable with the environment and helps the child to discover ways of survival in any particular environment. The directress should be a calm, intelligent and helpful person to set a good example for the children.

The Montessori Directress is a teacher, who guides the children towards the path that leads them to self-awareness and maturity. She not only provides them the academic knowledge but also teaches them about the world and how to work effectively in the everyday life. The Montessori Directress is more of an observer than a teacher that allows the child to learn and develop on his or her own instead of interfering in every issue. (Asrani, 2009)

Characteristic of a Directress

The Montessori directress should have the characteristic of a good teacher to make the children admire and trust her as a person who leads them to the path of success.

Multi- Talented

The Montessori directress should be trained in performs different roles at the same time have the observation of every child to know. She should about their needs and to understand their learning style. She should then set the Montessori environment according to the learning style of the children to help them feel comfortable. She must have knowledge in particular fields like philosophy, child development and psychology. She should have excellent working and social skills, for maintaining a good working relationship with other teachers as well as the parents. At the same time, she must not let go of her self-respect and needs. The physically characteristics of the directress like her appearance, her voice and her dressing style should be a source of inspiration for the children.

Observer

The Montessori directress should be a good observer. She should have an awareness of the likes and dislikes of the children, their attitude towards other people and comfort level in a particular environment. She should be observant enough to know how the child handles different tasks and what are the activities or skills that the child is expert at. The directress should motivate the child towards a skill that he or she is good at. She should look for the strengths and weaknesses of the child to guide him or her towards the right path.

Classroom Environment

The directress should be aware of the classroom environment and should make sure that the children are comfortable in the class atmosphere. She should be careful about the layout of the classroom that the child should not get hurt by any object or there should not be anything as a source of disturbance for the child. The directress should be aware of all the activities of the children in the classroom. She should be careful that there is no place for the child to hide or disappear in the classroom. Very important characteristics of a good directress in that she should record everything she observes and later on take guidance from these notes for dealing with the children.

Directress

The word directress is used for the Montessori teacher because the role of the teacher is to direct the child towards the educational path. She guides the child towards the right path and then leaves the child to explore it and learn from his or her experience. She creates an environment in the class to help the child understand about his or her goals and how to accomplish them. She plans innovative activities for the child to make the process of learning adventurous for the child. She serves as guidance for the child for how to have self-control and develop good behavior. (Conventry, 2012)

Role of Montessori Directress

There are some specific roles that the Montessori Directress has to play as a teacher. Some of the roles performed by the Directress include:

The Montessori Directress acts as a link between the children and the environment. She helps them get accomplished with their surrounding and adapt to the changes in the environment.

A directress is an interpreter and an observer of the moves of the children. By observing the attitude, behavior of the child she understands his or her needs.

She experiments by assigning different tasks to the children and judges them from the results derived from the tasks.

The directress acts as a manager. She prepares and manages the environment by keeping it in perfect condition.

She acts as an evaluator by evaluating the environment and its effects on the children. She also evaluates the progress of the children.

She gives respect and protection to the children. She gives the child space to make his or her own decisions. She sets her own limitations and work according to them.

The directress offers support, affection and warmth to the children and provides complete security to them.

She encourages the child to communicate with other children and provides the progress report of the child to the parents.

She provides the children with clear and relevant lessons to make them follow her instructions.

The directress acts as a trend- setter of the children by exhibiting grace and good manner and respects.

She teaches the children how to cope with their anger and resolve their conflicts without getting violent and aggressive.

Dr.Montessori believed that the directress should focus more on the child rather than the daily lessons. She must be aware about the changes taking place in the behavior, attitude, interest and progress of the children. (Burke, 1996)

Personal Preparation and Development of the Montessori Directress
Spiritual Preparation

The spiritual preparation of a directress is more important than the academic training. It is necessary for the directress to educate themselves about the normal behavior. It is essential for the directress to deal with her own limitations and drawbacks before interacting with the children as the children can easily identify these negative characteristics of the teacher.

Technical Preparation

The technically training of the directress is also very important. The directress should have full knowledge of the development stages of the child so that she could understand the needs of the child. The part of the technical training of the directress is to control word errors, using minimum words during lesson, making firm rules and maintaining the interest of the students.

Scientific Training

The Montessori directress should also have scientific training. The directress should observe the children and environment and make notes of these observations that help while working with the children. Observing the child helps to better understand his or her state of mind and makes it easier to deal with him or her. (Irinyi, 2010)

Conclusion

One of the major differences between a Montessori Directress and a traditional teacher is the level of trust that the Montessori directress has in the developmental capabilities of the children. It is much easier for a teacher to tell the child to do what she says rather than put her faith in the child and let him or her choose his or her own path. Nevertheless, the Montessori directress do keep track of the direction that the child is taking and guides him or her throughout his or her journey to success. This is what makes a Montessori directress special for the child.