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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.

Child development is multidimensional; the dimensions consist of social, emotional, cognitive and motor performance as well as patterns of behaviour, health and nutrition. Also the early years of life are essential as the foundation to later development, these factors can have a significant impact to a child or children’s life, these consist of under nutrition, poor health and parenting this also affects a broad range of outcomes such as cognitive, motor, psychosocial and effective development. For example a child is naturally motivated to explore and to attempt to master their environment but with poor health, poor nutrition and non- optical parents the child motivation tends to be less developed. Another critical element is to understand and support the child’s affective development which will help the child assemble a sense of self, to help them in learning how to deal with their emotions.

Philippe Rochat (2004) has suggested that children’s awareness of their own thoughts, beliefs and personalities emerges from their recognition of the differentness of other people’s thought beliefs and personalities.

Emotions are feelings such as love, happiness worry, sorrow, excitement, shyness, pride, anger, frustration and jealousy. Young children show all these emotional development and the child’s inborn temperament depends on the genes the child inherits. Each child varies in strength of their emotions for example some children will be more excitable while others will be considerably shy. A child often has phrases of shyness for no apparent reason and has the child reaches the age of 6 months old the child will still be friendly with strangers but will sometimes display signs of shyness. Even when a child is older like Tamas the child may become silent and shy in the company of people they do not know. Tamas lacks love and security from his family, because his mom and dad are working to support their family which results in little contact with them. Has Tamas suffers learning disabilities he does not understand what is happening has he probably has not reached the stage in emotional development which helps him to control and express his feeling. Tamas may react by showing signs of distress such as temper tantrums, jealousy and elective mute.

Bronfenbrenner states that the most important setting for a young child is his family, because that is where he spends the most time and because it has the most emotional influence on him. Other important setting may include his extended family, early care and education programmes, health care setting and other community learning sites such as neighbourhoods, libraries and playgrounds (Adapted from Bronfenbrenner, 1998, p.996). Also Bronfenbrenner states that a model of ecology of human development acknowledges that human do not develop in isolation, but in relation to their families and home, school, community and society (Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model of Child Development)

The mind is the thinking part of the brain which is used to recognise, reasoning, knowing, and understanding. This is known has the intellectual development (mental development; cognitive development). A child mind is active from the moment they are born and day by day the child mind develops and they become more intelligent. A child’s intelligence will depend on two main factors which are genes and the environment. Genes controls the amount of natural intelligence a child has and the environment influences the intelligence of a child. Throughout childhood, the genes and environment continuously interact to produce people’s mind. People’s minds develop in a variety of ways for example; a child will vary in their ability to remember, also some will acquire musical talents, skills of different languages or be a mathematical genius. Tamas who is five has a multiple of conditions which could slow down the process of brain development. Has Tamas lacks the opportunity to play and interact with other children this will hinder his development of interacting with other and knowing how to communicate effectively. Also has Tamas does not get the help required in school with his learning difficulties this will also effect and slow down the process of is development. Another factor which will slow his process down is, his mom’s constant shouting has there are six people living in a small flat. Tamas also haves to deal with language barriers which will also affect his development.

Bronfenbrenner theory is if a child is encourage and nurtured more at home and school the better he would grow and develop. Bowlby states that early experiences in childhood have an important influence on development and behaviour later on in life. Our early attachment styles are established in childhood through infant / caregiver relationship. Bowlby believes that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment; the four attachments are Proximity Maintenance, Safe Haven, Secure Base and Separation Distress. (psychology.about.com 2009)

Social development is a process of learning the skills and attitudes which enable the individual to live easily with others and the community. Activities which encourage social development are family outings, parent and toddler groups, playground and nursery school and an opportunity to play with friends. Children are happier and healthier if they get on well with the people around them. Children are not born with knowledge of these social skills they have to learn them and their parents needs to teach them otherwise how they will learn. Now that Tamas is five, his social skills should be where he can co-operate with his companions and understand the needs for rules and play. Tamas has insufficient social contact where there are not enough people and friends to talk and play with, thus resulting in him feeling lonely and refusing to go to school. Although there is a playground nearby where he could learn some of the social skills required his parents do not always have the time to take him due to work commitments.

At birth your baby’s senses tell him / her things they need in order to survive, for example: crying when they want to be fed, changed or sleep. These senses unfold slowly but perceptibly, and soon you realise that the baby is seeing and hearing more clearly has his / her head turns when they hear sounds. Young babies are far more aware of their surroundings than was once thought; from the day they are born they use their senses to develop awareness and understanding of the world around them. Young babies are aware of their environment in the forms of light, sound, touch and smell and they can learn by looking, listening, feeling and smelling. They are more likely to be kept alert and happy if you incorporate a changing pattern of stimulation, for baby’s repetition of the same sound and movement will often send them asleep.

There are many risk factors that can hinder a child development these factors are biological, such as genetics or chromosomal, secondly, environmental, for example violence in the home or the neighbourhood, and lastly an interaction between the two, such as stress. This can reflect the differences between how a child will react in their ‘vulnerability’ to harm or ‘resilience’ where they will overcome any difficulties they are faced with such has negative circumstances. Each individual child react in different ways to parallel environmental circumstances, For example, two children can experience the same event and interpret it differently. Some children tend to create their own experiences and contribute to the direction of their own development. (J, Empson Pg 39-40 2009)

In conclusion children between the ages of 0 – 5 years show continuing development from simple to more complicated forms of social play. Most children pass through stages of solitary play which is when they play alone then go onto parallel play where they play alongside others but not with them, also looking on play where they watch from the edge of the group when other children play. Has a child becomes more mature they start to joining – in play where they will interact and play with others for example running around together and the last stage is co – operative play where they belong to a group and share the same task by doing jigsaw, cooking and drawing.

Also deprivation can effect education has the child’s parents cannot afford educational toys. Growing up in poverty is as much has a risk has growing up in wealth to the emotional side of a child has the rich and famous children can have many emotional disorders has a child that has been brought up in poverty. If you take the film that come out many years ago called Twins with Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger where they was separated at birth and one child (Devito) was brought up in a orphanage and poverty while the other (Schwarzenegger) child was brought up in wealth and was taught a very high standard of education. Has they came from two different background and upbringing the brotherly love and compassion for each other faded their past irrelevant. The emotions and poverty Devito suffered all his life started to prevail has he was taught how to be good.

The purpose of this assignment is to give an observation of an inclusive environment that helps children feel welcome and safe. At the same time this assignment gives an opinion on how to improve the child care settings to help children feel more comfortable. The children at the child care centre are three and three and a half years old and it may be hard for children to leave their parents at that age. The setting helps the children feel at home when they come in to the child care centre. In the child care centre there are six areas where the children have the opportunity to play in, such as the block area where all the children’s toys are. The areas have different materials that are available for the children to use in order to develop and introduce the children to different experiences such as in the book area. There are books that have pictures of different animals and this will help the children identify different animals and even spark their interest later on in the day.

Schedule

Is there outdoor time schedule (or gym time for bad weather?)

In the child care centre, the schedule reflects each child’s needs. The children are restless and they need the time to have fresh air and physical activity. For example, the children have outdoor play twice a day and gym time when the weather is not suitable. The children have at least 2 hours of outdoor play in a day. There is a playground for the children where they can go on the slides, play in the sandbox and there are toys to play with outside. In the gym, there are scooters, mini cars and a smaller playground to play in. The gym has many materials for the children to choose from if they do not want to play with the scooters or the mini cars. There are other options for the children to choose from such as costumes and baby dolls with strollers.

Is the schedule explained in enough detail that you can understand what children are expected to do during this time period?

“Schedules are typically posted so that children, families and volunteers can anticipate the next event. For younger children the schedule is often displayed in picture form” (P.55)

In the child care centre, there are two schedules in the classroom. The schedule provided for the adults gives specific times such as when it is time for the children to play, eat lunch, snack and go to the washroom. For the children, the schedule is placed at eye level where they can see and it will show the time for their play, snack and lunch but with pictures for the children to understand the schedule.

1b. Describe any changes, suggestions you would recommend to make the schedule in the environment meet the criteria in the environmental assessment tool.

Bullard (2011), states that “Children should not be required to lie on their mats for long periods of time (more than half an hour) when they are not asleep” (p. 63). During rest time, some children are unable to sleep for a longer than thirty minutes. In my placement, some children move from their mats, or play with their blankets. To improve this transition I would have the children who are unable to sleep get together and go to the gym and play until they are tired, so that when they come back to the classroom the children are more likely to fall asleep.

Transitions

Are children given advance notice that an activity is changing?

“Giving a warning demonstrates that we have respect for children and their work. The time between the warning and the transition allows children to bring closure to the task they are engaged in and to begin planning for the next event” (Bullard 2010 P.61).

After the morning snack, the children are playing in the block area for at least an hour, before recall. This is from 8:30 to 9:30, before 9:30 the teacher will say “Okay, guys, five more minutes.” When the five minutes past the teacher will look at the clock and tell the children, “okay, everyone, two more minutes.” This gives the children an advance notice for the children so they do not feel rushed when the clock shows 9:30. When play time is over the children are more likely to clean up their material and wait for the next event on the schedule.

2b) Describe any changes, suggestions you would recommend to the transitions to meet the criteria in the environmental assessment tool.

“In addition to wasting valuable time and increasing the likelihood of behaviour problems, requiring children to wait with nothing to do is disrespectful” (Bullard 2010 P. 60). In my placement, lunch time has the most waiting time. Sometimes the children will misbehave because they have nothing to do while lunch is being served. The recommendation I would make in order to make this transition easier for the children and the teacher is singing a song as this will help take their minds off of waiting for their food to arrive and singing is one the best way to keep a child entertained.

A) Block Area

B) In the block area there are many materials used by the children every day. The materials vary from dolls, building blocks and construction tools. The learning experiences in the block area help children express how they feel using the materials in front of them. For example, when a child is expressing that they are sad, they might isolate themselves and use the dolls to take their minds off of what they were upset about. The block area also encourages children to cooperate and learn how to share because of the amount of toys that are available in the learning centre.

C) Are there materials that reflect the lives of children with disabilities?

Yes, in the child care centre the block area has dolls with many disabilities to give children exposure to people with special needs. They have dolls from all different backgrounds that have disabilities such as a child in a wheelchair or an elderly person holding a cane. This helps children learn that people can be different and includes every child in the classroom. In my placement there is a child who has a mental disability that is unable to move and he is bound to a wheelchair. Having these dolls in the classroom help include him and show the children that he is not different from the other children.

Are the shelves labeled so that children can easily find items and know where to put them away?

“Appropriate storage can help reduce clutter, saves time and make materials accessible, enhance the rotation of toys and equipment, and maximize the use of resource” (Bullard, 2010 P. 99).

Yes, in the child care centre the block area has many shelves that are labeled with words and pictures. This will help the children organize where they should put the material when it is time to transition to a new event. The shelves are child accessible that they are at their level to reach for the materials and it is very organized so that each child can find what they want without any assistance.

D) In the block area, I feel that the spacing is not inclusive for all children. There is little space for a child in a wheelchair to be included within the block area with the other children. This is not responsive or inclusive because the child with special needs is left out from the activities that the children are participating in. This can cause a problem when he wants to be able to see the other children play. Also the parents and teachers are unable to move in the block area because of the amount of children playing and the toys in the room. This is difficult for when the parents want to be involved with the child’s play.

E) The recommendation I would make in order for the block area to be more inclusive is to arrange the room for more space to include staff and parents. In my placement, I noticed that the amount of children and toys that are placed in the block area does not give a lot of room for the teachers to move around or parents to see what their child is doing. If there was more space, there would be more room for children, parents and staff to be side by side and interact with each other. Another reason more room is important is because the child who is in the wheelchair is unable to join the children in the block area due to lack of space. If they expand the block area the child would be able to be included in the activities with the other children. I would push the shelves back more to give space for all the children and give room for the child with the disability to be able to move inside the block area.

F) Is the environment homelike?

The environment in the block area is somewhat homelike because there are pictures of the families of each child on the wall and there are living things such as plants. The child care centre provides the pictures for the children so that when they miss their parents they are able to look at the pictures in the block area. The child care centre also allows the children to grow their own plants at the centre. This teaches the children about growing plants and gives the environment a homelike feel.

Are there pale and neutral colours used for most walls and shelving?

Yes, the walls in the centre are painted white and the shelves are a natural wood colour. This is important because bright colours cause too much stimulation, especially when the toys and the pictures on the wall should be the main attraction. Neutral colours allow the emphasis to be on the toys and materials in the classroom.

G) In part F), I mentioned that the environment of the block area is somewhat homelike in the child care centre. This is because there is no space for the children to find a quiet spot for their own purposes. According to Bullard (2010), “Solidary retreats provide children the opportunity to think and dream, engage in uninterrupted concentration, regain control of emotion and unwind after intense periods of interaction.” (P. 92). I would have a space outside of the block area for the child if he/ she wants to be alone, then they can leave the block area and sit in the space so that they are able to find their peace of mind.

Conclusion

The environment of the child care centre is homelike for children and helps the children feel comfortable in the room. The transitions between play time and recall help each child get used to the schedule. The teacher is there to assist the children through the transition through early warnings so that the children do not feel rushed when they have to clean up their materials. From my observation, the block area in the child care centre was inclusive. However, there are some recommendations that should be addressed in order to help each child feel more included and reducing the waiting time when transitioning to a new event. The recommendations I made were that they should sing songs during lunch time, expand the block area more to include a child with special needs and find a space for each child in the centre to be alone if they want to. All in all, the centre’s environment has met with each child’s needs in terms of helping them transition from different activities and make them feel comfortable in the classroom.

Home, is a place where we can relax and be our self. We do not need to pretend. While, by having a good relationship between family members is good for the development of children. It is an important role for a family.

An important study found that children of working parents did better when:

Mothers were warm and responsive with children

Child care was stable and of high quality

Children spent fewer hours in child care

Faughn.P (2006, jun 1). Working parents with young children: What’s Important? Message posted to http://parenting247.org/article.cfm?ContentID=1121&strategy=4&AgeGroup=1

Parents are the good models of constructive social and educational values. This may strongly affect children’s level of attainment. A good role model with a better relationship with children may increases the level of attainment of children.

By contributing a good relationship with children, young parents shall contact school’s management to get the news update from them. Moreover, by involving themselves in school activities may construct a better relationship with children. Time spent with children must be constant.

A research shows that playtime with parents is also important.

Children crave time with parents. It makes them feel special. Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis. This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home. If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.

In pretend play, let the child develop the theme. Get into their world. Let them go with it. Ask questions. Play along. Be silly along with them and have fun. Avoid over-stimulation. Know when it is time to stop.

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/pl5.shtml

Spending time with children helps young parents to know their children better. Hence, a bond will last for a lifetime. Moreover, children will realize that they are being concerned, loved and appreciated. Therefore, children will share their feelings with parents once they are confronted with temptations and difficulties.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of young Malaysian married couples moved out of their parents’ home after marriage. They set up their own household today. They have to manage their lives and families without anyone’s supports. They need to earn as much as they can to raise their children and fulfill family’s needs.

Young parents, whom are busy with their own work, will not have much time to accompany their children after a tiring day. Time spent with children decreased. This may lead to lack of communication between young parents and their children.

Most young parents thought of earning as much as they can, may have a better life for their children and fulfill their needs easily. Therefore, instead of spending time to understand them, they work as much as they can every single day.

This may lead to many pressures and problems among family members. For example, young parents may feel desperate, frustrated or even embarrass when there is some misunderstanding among themselves. Hence, argument might occur.

Children might be left out since young parents do not care for them. Hence to get more attention from parents, children will try to behave like a gangster or fight at school and academic performance will getting worst.

According to this report, culture and ethnicity, levels of human and material resources available within families, home language, family structure and changes in family type are linked to children’s achievement. (Fred, Jeanne,& Chris, 2003)

It is a hoped that this research would be beneficial to those who may concern, especially young parents who are busy with their carrier. Lack of communication among family members would lead to many disadvantages. Therefore, parents should have more interaction with their children to build a stronger relationship within family members.

This research benefits the community as well. This is because all these young generations are those who might lead the nation in the future.

Problem Statement:

As Malaysia is a developing country, why do lack of communication among young parents and children affect their achievement in school?

Research Questions:

RQ1: What are the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ2: What is the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ3: How to overcome this problem?

Research Objectives:

RO1: to determine what drives lack of communication among young parents and their children.

RO2: to determine the aftermath of communication lacking.

RO3: to find out the way to solve this problem.

Methodology:

Population (N) – who : (i) young parents (ii) children

Sample (n) – where : (i) office which located at KL (ii) primary schools in KL

Definition :

Main concepts

(i)Young parents

(ii)children

(iii)Lack of communication

Conceptual definition

Working young parents

Schooling children

Operational definition

Busy with their carrier.

7 – 12 years old

Instruments:

Quantitative method will be use in the research while the instruments in this research are a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be divide into four sections which is Section A, B, C and D. Section A includes questions on the demographic profile, Section B is the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children, whereas Section C and Section D will be the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children and ways to solve this respectively.

Home, is a place where we can relax and be our self. We do not need to pretend. While, by having a good relationship between family members is good for the development of children. It is an important role for a family.

An important study found that children of working parents did better when:

Mothers were warm and responsive with children

Child care was stable and of high quality

Children spent fewer hours in child care

Faughn.P (2006, jun 1). Working parents with young children: What’s Important? Message posted to http://parenting247.org/article.cfm?ContentID=1121&strategy=4&AgeGroup=1

Parents are the good models of constructive social and educational values. This may strongly affect children’s level of attainment. A good role model with a better relationship with children may increases the level of attainment of children.

By contributing a good relationship with children, young parents shall contact school’s management to get the news update from them. Moreover, by involving themselves in school activities may construct a better relationship with children. Time spent with children must be constant.

A research shows that playtime with parents is also important.

Children crave time with parents. It makes them feel special. Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis. This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home. If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.

In pretend play, let the child develop the theme. Get into their world. Let them go with it. Ask questions. Play along. Be silly along with them and have fun. Avoid over-stimulation. Know when it is time to stop.

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/pl5.shtml

Spending time with children helps young parents to know their children better. Hence, a bond will last for a lifetime. Moreover, children will realize that they are being concerned, loved and appreciated. Therefore, children will share their feelings with parents once they are confronted with temptations and difficulties.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of young Malaysian married couples moved out of their parents’ home after marriage. They set up their own household today. They have to manage their lives and families without anyone’s supports. They need to earn as much as they can to raise their children and fulfill family’s needs.

Young parents, whom are busy with their own work, will not have much time to accompany their children after a tiring day. Time spent with children decreased. This may lead to lack of communication between young parents and their children.

Most young parents thought of earning as much as they can, may have a better life for their children and fulfill their needs easily. Therefore, instead of spending time to understand them, they work as much as they can every single day.

This may lead to many pressures and problems among family members. For example, young parents may feel desperate, frustrated or even embarrass when there is some misunderstanding among themselves. Hence, argument might occur.

Children might be left out since young parents do not care for them. Hence to get more attention from parents, children will try to behave like a gangster or fight at school and academic performance will getting worst.

According to this report, culture and ethnicity, levels of human and material resources available within families, home language, family structure and changes in family type are linked to children’s achievement. (Fred, Jeanne,& Chris, 2003)

It is a hoped that this research would be beneficial to those who may concern, especially young parents who are busy with their carrier. Lack of communication among family members would lead to many disadvantages. Therefore, parents should have more interaction with their children to build a stronger relationship within family members.

This research benefits the community as well. This is because all these young generations are those who might lead the nation in the future.

Problem Statement:

As Malaysia is a developing country, why do lack of communication among young parents and children affect their achievement in school?

Research Questions:

RQ1: What are the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ2: What is the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children?

RQ3: How to overcome this problem?

Research Objectives:

RO1: to determine what drives lack of communication among young parents and their children.

RO2: to determine the aftermath of communication lacking.

RO3: to find out the way to solve this problem.

Methodology:

Population (N) – who : (i) young parents (ii) children

Sample (n) – where : (i) office which located at KL (ii) primary schools in KL

Definition :

Main concepts

(i)Young parents

(ii)children

(iii)Lack of communication

Conceptual definition

Working young parents

Schooling children

Operational definition

Busy with their carrier.

7 – 12 years old

Instruments:

Quantitative method will be use in the research while the instruments in this research are a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be divide into four sections which is Section A, B, C and D. Section A includes questions on the demographic profile, Section B is the factors of communication lacking among young parents and their children, whereas Section C and Section D will be the implication of communication lacking among young parents and their children and ways to solve this respectively.

There are several key emotional factors that play a role in how a child feels throughout the entire process of their parents’ divorce and after the divorce has been finalized. The effect of some emotional issues may not arise until way after the divorce takes place. The following aspects often determine how divorce affects a child: age, gender, the relationship with the parents, and the maturity level of the child. Because of the amount of children who experience their parents’ divorce and the possibility that an equally high number of children will suffer same agony in the future, it’s important to understand the impact of divorce on children’s adjustment (Landucci, 16).

Divorce is an unbearable occurrence for practically all children. The children’s initial reactions may include guilt, anger, and depression (Kaplan, 244). According to Smith children tend to hide their feelings of sadness and anxiety and have difficulty expressing their true feelings (55). They may also show changes in behavior such as fear, regression, sleep disturbances and grief for the other parent, which may cause them to respond with aggression or rebellion. VanderValk, Spruijt, Goede, Maas & Meeus, suggested that problem behavior following parental separation is a warning sign that the child is having trouble adjusting to the situation (534). The children might become disruptive, disobedient, and disregard their parent requirements as a way of displaying frustration about the upcoming divorce (Landucci, 16).

The relationship between parent and child may also change during the initial stage of divorce according to Wallerstein (410). The broken connection following the divorce causes the children to make immediate emotional and behavioral changes (410). Consequently, that broken connection changes the family dynamics as well. For example, the parent with primary custody may become stricter and more controlling while the absent parent becomes more lenient and sympathetic, perhaps because they are less accessible to the children. Both parents become inconsistent in their discipline routines and stop requiring their children to mature and grow up, which in turn causes them to have difficulty communicating with the children (Kaplan, 244).

Once children go through the first stage of divorce, some show a significant capability to improve, whereas others do not. How fast children adjust to their parents’ divorce in the beginning depends on if a secure atmosphere is set up and on the support system accessible to the child. According to the USA Today, “It is best to keep kids in the same house and school so they can retain the same friends, the same routines, and have some sense of stability in their lives” (8) at this unstable time immediately following the split. Unfortunately, sometimes a secure atmosphere and support system is not available. Parents are at a loss and have to change their own lives. Family members are often critical, which may change their relationship with both the children and the parents. The children’s relationships with friends may also be affected because some feel embarrassed about what is taking place in their family. Friends of the family may feel obligated to take sides and only continue interaction with only one parent. Consequently, the main support systems are decreased at a time when increased support is very important (Kaplan, 245).

Several of the early reactions to divorce eventually become less difficult or go away by the end of the first year to 18 months. However, the long term effects of divorce on children can be severe. In a study conducted by Kelly and Wallerstein, on children whose parents divorced during their middle school years, children were divided into two groups: early latency (7 and 8 years old) and late latency (9 and 10 years old). The participants in the study were examined immediately after the separation, 12-18 months later, and during a follow up interview one year later. The results revealed that the 7 and 8 year olds were sad, while the 9 and 10 year olds demonstrated symptoms of denial and avoidance. Both groups of children showed increased demanding and aggressive behavior because most of their mothers lacked disciplinary knowledge. At the follow-up interviews one year later all but 4 of the children who had suffered academically hadn’t returned to their previous levels (25).

Ten years later, Wallerstein continued to follow the children in the study above. In this study she found that the majority of the older children acknowledged feelings of neediness, sadness and a greater sense of vulnerability. Although it had been 10 years since the divorce, the children were still sad about losing their two parent family and the lack of contact they had with their other parent. They feared being deceived in relationships and were very worried about personal responsibilities. One fourth of the girls and half of the boys were considered poorly adjusted and at high risk (205).

How severe the long term effects of divorce will be on children depend on many factors following the divorce. In fact, the anxiety and stress after the divorce has more impact on the children’s mental health than the divorce itself. According to Kaplan, the children suffer profoundly if the parents continue to fight because they have difficulty coping with the stress of the break up when there is a lot of conflict between parents. If parental conflict and financial problems are reduced and if social support systems are in place, children’s adjustment problems are less severe (246). “Unfortunately, parents’ difficulties involving finances, loneliness, fear, anxiety about the future, and the loss of social supports reduce their ability to give the children what they need to soften the blow of divorce” (Kaplan 245).

Children may cope with divorce in different ways; however, their reaction to divorce differs by age, gender, and maturity level. According to Smith one-third of divorces happen when children are under the age of five. This age group has the most difficulty expressing their feelings because they are so young (65). Therefore, babies may not understand that their parents are divorcing, but they may respond to their parent’s attitude and behavior changes. Preschoolers often have a negative reaction. According to Wallerstein et al., they are too young to understand what is going on; therefore, they may blame themselves for the divorce. They may also regress; have separation anxiety, and fear being abandoned.

School age children feel helpless and scared when their parents’ divorce. They frequently experience loyalty problems because they feel like they have to choose between their parents (199). According to Wallerstein et al., Approximately half of the children in this age group had severe drops in academic achievements during the first year of their parents’ divorce. This age group is also often angry at one or both parents. Teenagers tend to have difficulty coping with anger when their parents’ divorce (200). According to Smith, teenagers are vulnerable because they are starting to get an understanding of the adult world and sometimes are conflicted in how they should show their emotions (60). They often show signs of depression, acting out, emotional and social withdrawal, and have anxiety about their future (Kaplan, 245). They may also feel unloved, insufficient, ineffective, and attacked as a result of the divorce (Smith, 60).

The effect of divorce tends to be greater for boys than it is for girls. Boys are much more likely to experience academic, social, and psychological problem than girls. According to VanderValk et al., boys tend to act out their emotions through externalized problem behavior while girls tend to internalize their emotions. Girls raised by their father tend to be less responsible and less mature than girls raised by their mothers. On the other hand, psychologists believe fathers have an effect on their daughters’ development. Girls raised by their mothers tend to have difficulty relating to men later on. Girls with divorced parents are also more flirtatious, sexually precocious, and seductive. (Kaplan, 245).

Almost one in three children will undergo the pain of their parents divorcing. Therefore it’s beneficial to know how divorce affects children. Even through numerous children change from a two parent home to a one parent home with ease some face challenges as they make the transition into this new type of family. The less pain and stress there is in the home, the simpler the transition will be for the child. It is valuable to let children talk about what they are feeling so that they won’t develop behaviors that will affect them later in life. It is also valuable for parents to help their children develop coping skills to deal with their feeling regarding the divorce to guarantee that they develop strategies to help them grow personally, psychologically, and socially (Landucci, 20).

In conclusion, children first reaction to divorce can include a variety of emotions and behaviors. They usually recover from the immediate devastation of their intact family ending after a year or so; however, the long term effects of divorce can be severe if parents continue to fight and have no support system to support them transitioning into their new life. The use of divorce mediation services can ease some of the stress (Kaplan, 260).