Hey everyone! Okay, so this survey is looking out to be a success so far.. I have not administrated it to anyone YET but I have written about 15 questions that will potentially give me some really interesting results among parents of children with all ages. I have printed out surveys and made a list of who I am going to give it to. I will be talking more to my boss about the survey today actually. These questions are thoughtful and personal but they are general questions that would be valid and the parents should not have trouble answering. I will continue to update you on when I administer the survey and what the results are. I will attach the survey soon so you can see and maybe you would like to take it! The questions will interest you and make you really think how television and the media have changed over the years. From when I was young, it has definitely changed. Look at Disney channel, for example. The shows are completely different now. It will bring you to MORE attention to the fact that the media is corrupting children IF the children watch these sorts of shows. The messages could be subtle to being completely outright. What do you think?

Heeeeeey fellow bloggers! I'm getting really excited about this survey I am going to administer. I plan to hand out surveys to the parents of kids I work with at the daycare center. These parents have children from 3-10 years old, male and female. I will also be surveying a few neighbors with older kids so that I can compare the two results. I will find out information about girls and boys behaviors from their parents. I hope to at least get 10 parents from the daycare center and 5 neighbors. I will let you know how many I am recording once I get surveys back (since not all will participate).  My predictions will be that the parents with older kids will be more aware of how the television has affected their children (who are now older). The parents of younger kids might not be so aware because they haven’t seen the change YET…… Here are a few of the questions I am planning to ask:

1. How many children do you have?

2.  How old are your children?

3. Are your children male/female?

4. When you think about all the issues you face as a parent, would you say that inappropriate content in the media is one of your TOP concerns, a big concern but not one of your top concerns, not a big concern, or not a concern at all?

5. Do you monitor what your children watches?

6. Do you have any CONSOLE video game players like X-box or Playstation in your household? 

Hello bloggers! I am very excited to share some of my new ideas with you. I have chosen to research childhood socialization with a survey. I am going to survey parents on how the media has changed over the years and affected their children. Such media will include television shows, advertisements, and the overall “image” and norms their children have been exposed to. I will be handing out surveys to parents in the day care center. I will also go to neighbors and friends and hand the same survey out to them. I think that it would be very beneficial to survey parents with younger kids but also younger kids. I want to see how the result of a parent with younger kids differs from a parent with older kids. Their kids have been exposed to different years of changed television and what the messages are telling us. I definitely grew up with different television compared to the young toddlers now. I honestly think that the television now is portraying a different message to kids. Let’s see what we find… !

Hello fellow bloggers! I am very anxious to share with you, my experience with the “new room” at the daycare center. I walked into work ready with enthusiasm and hope because I was the first person to work in the new room. There are five kids that were placed in this room. I wasn’t really sure to expect because I didn’t know one of the new children coming in, Nate, that has diabetes and other behavioral problems. It is a whole different atmosphere in that room. I kind of felt bad that they were in there though because it was a fast transition in that room. There are many new toys in there which attracted them. They immediately started playing nicely. It was such a surprise! One of the kids, Justin, kept asking why they were in this room now. I didn’t really know what to say, so I paused for a moment. This kid is always a trouble maker so I was waiting to see his response. He actually was adapting nicely to this room because he wasn’t getting influenced by other bad behaviors around him. The atmosphere is more calm and organized unlike how it is upstairs with so many kids to watch. When he asked why they were in there I simply told him that they were in there because we were playing in here and we were going upstairs soon. The new kid, Nate, was acting normal around the kids which caused them to act normally. I feel like he is going to like the daycare and make friends easily since he already got along with them. I just hope he doesn’t have an outburst of behavior. He seemed like a nice kid but I feel if he doesn’t get his way he will not behave. This could be a reaction because he wasn’t properly taken care of by his real parents. Now that he was recently adopted I feel like his new mother can foster and give him the care he needs to behave well. She can transform him into being a wonderful kid if she socializes him well throughout the rest of his upbringing with the way she treats him, the things she introduces him to, and how she handles bad situations.

Something that caught my eye was when the others kids that saw the kids in this room were confused. They all asked a lot of questions like, “Why are they in this room away from everyone else? I just gave them the same response I gave to Justin. They then were reacting with a little laugh… so they knew something was going on with segregation. I think we need to make a point to the kids that they aren’t in here because they did something wrong. I don’t want these kids to get made fun of because we all know that kids can be mean and start teasing. Teasing can lead to confused role of identity which could lead to later problems in life when they emerge into adulthood. What kind of affect do you think this new room will have on these children? Would you do anything different in this scenario?

If you would like to ask me anything, don’t hesitate to comment! :)

Parents always are key influencers to child behavior and development. There are certain circumstances when the child is not at fault because of a parent who is not a "good" caretaker which leads to putting the child in a foster home, etc. There are other circumstances when it is the child’s fault because they want to get their way OR simply they just do not like to listen and there is no punishment for it.

On Monday, my boss had asked to talk to me about an idea she had. There is an extra room that is not being used at the daycare because the age group outgrew that room. She had a solution to put the kids in this room. This was a request from a desperate parent because her child has diabetes, ADHD, and some other behavioral problems. The others she was thinking to put in that room are kids who are not as well behaved, etc. What do you think caused these behavioral problems? She will also put a few of the kids in there who get along with those certain people. She thinks that this would be a good idea for them to matriculate and give them more attention since where they are now is a bit hectic. I think that this would be a good idea for the kids to have their own time and more attention from the teacher instead of being with the thirty kids upstairs. Every child is different and has their reasons. For example, the child that has diabetes and ADHD needs more attention. With having ADHD and other problems associated, I found out that he is actually being adopted right now. This breaks my heart because it is so sad to hear that this boy is like this because of his previous family. I do not know the circumstances but as you can see, family influences behavior. What do you think about this idea? Do you think that these children should not be “segregated” from everyone else or is it a good idea for them to get the attention they need? I feel like these kids will play better and behave better. It could be in the environment they are in upstairs because they need the attention, so they cry. I also think that a child upstairs could be influencing them in a negative way because they do not get along. If these kids are placed with the right people, I think that their behavior can change.

We see that today, our behavior is depicted on what types of people we hang out with. Our behavior is reflected on the friends we pick, and what our friends do. If our friend does something we might not necessarily do, it could be okay if we did it too, right? The people we spend time with shape our lives in how we behave and make us who we are.

Do you socialize more virtually than in reality?
Some experts in child development and others have observed that spontaneous play and “childhood culture,” including games that have been passed down from generation to generation, are disappearing. What do you think about this?

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What do you think about "the culture of childhood"? ...Try to remember the good times of playing outside with your friends, playing dress up or teacher, playing house, or simply just using your imagination to make up a game. Those were the best days. I grew up using my imagination. We all know how much this world has technologically advanced in the last decade but what is happening to using our brains? The technology is so savy and the "in" thing. Children worry about whether or not they have the newest Ipod touch or Ipad now-a-days. I definitely agree that technology has been very beneficial to us but I think that now it is almost being abused. Children are constantly glued to the TV set either watching a show or playing video games. When they are on the computer they play games or go on a social media site depending on what age. All of this is fun and games but, there needs to be a limit. These TV shows can exemplify violence or inappropriate behavior in which the child is learning from. When a child does something wrong, they most likely will say..."But..but I saw it on TV!" So...this does not make it right! And the kids do not know that because they are constantly exposed to it. Some of these TV shows are very risque and do not teach good lessons. Participating in the culture used to be part of socialization process. Friends. Friends are the simplest but main thing in socializing. Children have learned that others can be mean, or nice. Children today need to learn how to deal with children their age. Lack of socialization can lead to bullying and teasing...we certainly do not want this to increase. 

Children need to get out and play and use their imaginations! They need to socialize. Socialization is one of the most important traits a person can have and if you do not learn while you are young, how are you going to deal with people when you are older? What about the job interview? 

Another topic I would like to touch upon is communicating virtually. Now, I am sure all or most of you have a FaceBook or Twitter. I am sure that most people act differently over the internet or with a text message. It has all happened to us at least once that we have said something over a text that we would not be able to say in person. These methods of communicating are never an efficient way of speaking to someone. I honestly do not like texting (as much as I text) because I never know what the other person is really thinking. When we say LOL are we really laughing? Probably not every single time. You can not tell the persons reaction to what you are telling them because you can not see their face. Someone could be completely lying to you over a text and you might not ever know.. Do you like that? Because I don't. Bullying tends to happen over a virtual communication method and it really needs to stop. We are so engulfed in these sites and  our phones that we never can just meet the person to talk or call on the phone. Talking face to face really gives you a sense of where the person is coming from. We need to gain back our social skills by standing up and communicating... IN PERSON! Socialization is key, remember that :) 

What are your thoughts on this? 

Today I have chosen to talk about little babies! Socialization starts from day one. Day one of when you coddle and love your sweet, innocent, adorable infant. It is *believed to be that from an infant to age 5 is when the brain develops the fastest. At the daycare center, where I work, something really caught my attention..A simple game like peek-a-boo caught on to Marcus. He learned to repeat what he saw.

This little boy, Marcus, who is a little over a year old is the cutest little thing ever. At this age he is at right now, he is at the touch, play, and explore stage. This baby is so smiley and happy, but what baby isn't adorable and cute?! I started to play "peek-a-boo" with him and he IMMEDIATELY responded. Psychology studies have taught me the reason why children find peek-a-boo so interesting. It is because babies have this attachment theory and they think that we go away and will not come back. They do not get the concept that if something is not there, it doesn't mean that is gone forever. (This is also why young children get upset when their parents leave). As I repeatedly played peek-a-boo with him, his laughter and huge smile lit up the room. I started to peak my head out of the door way and come back in to surprise him! HE LOVED IT. What I found interesting, was when HE started to play peek-a-boo with me. After he learned from me, he put his hands over his face and tried to say booooo as he was laughing! Babies learn from the repetition they are introduced to. Parents essentially teach their children certain behavior depending on how they act, and how they deal with the punishment of the situation when they do something wrong. 

Infants and young toddlers are transformed by the agents of socialization- their parents, family members (siblings), teachers or caregivers, and environment. Their parents and caregivers ween them into learning and behaving how they should by watching their parents. Infants eventually grow to learn the language of their culture that they are born into (ascribed) including the roles that they will play in their lives. and now, to personality. How do infants build up a personality? Is it from their parents or is it a gene they acquire? Parents want the best for there children, right? So, what they do everyday affects their children. Does daycare affect their lives in a negative way if it is necessary for them to go?