MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

CHAPTER 5

GOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

PIAGET’S THEORY: CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE

 7-11 years
 Children start to use mental operations to solve problems and to reason
 Each mental operation reflects certain rule
- Strategies and rules that make thinking
 Most critical operation for Piaget: more systematic and powerful
REVERSIBILITY (understanding - Numbers: addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division
that physical actions or operations - Spatial relations: map reading, finding
may be reversed) one’s way in unfamiliar environment

 When child has mastered reversibility:

 Understand that A is larger than B and that B is smaller than A
 Able to understand hierarchy of classes
 Able to move both ways in thinking about relationships
 Able to perform conversation task
 Understand that if transformation were reversed, objects will be identical
Horizontal decalage:  Decentring (avoiding centring on one aspect only)
 Concrete operational thinking is limited to tangible and
Children do not fully understand
real, to here and now
all conservation types at the
same time even though the -Piaget believed that these mental skills depend entirely on
underlying principle are the same neurological maturation and adaptation to

How environment (not cultural experiences) – research support

this view
applicable -Descriptions of changes that occur held up well (Piaget

is Piaget's could’ve paid more attention to the influence of culture, it

theory takes familiarity and practice to develop these skills)

-Research mostly on Swiss children and recent studies
today? suggests factors such as schooling, familiarity with
-Muthivhi: challenges the notion of ‘cognitive lag’ and ‘cultural defect’
materials being manipulated and education level of
parents
 - Children growing up in rural areas acquire operational thought differently.
- They seem to employ concrete-functional, formal-abstract and conceptual
modes of thinking at the same time
- Language as means of thinking and problem solving also plays a role because
some indigenous languages don’t have generic terms for objects.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

SCHOOL READINESS

Dimensions of school readiness:

i. Children’s readiness for school
ii. Readiness of schools for children
iii. Readiness of families for school


Children’s
Level of physical, cognitive and emotional maturity to
meet school’s demands
 Physical skills: perceptual and motor skills (foundation
readiness of reading and writing)
 Cognitive skills: language and verbal communication
for school skills, school entry literacy and numeracy skills
 Social and emotional skills: ability to follow rules and
procedures, keep attention, adequate social relationship
and cognition, regulating emotions
 School readiness embraces the interrelationship
between skills and behaviours across domains of
development and learning.
 Readinessof
-The school environment that supports a smooth
transition
schools for ch
-Ready schools supply: quality teaching, adequate
supply of learning materials, effective teaching
ildren
strategies, teacher’s competence
-Child centred (focus on characteristics that contributes
most to child’s holistic development)

Read  attitudes of parents and caregivers + involvement in

children’s early learning and development

iness  Supportive parenting and

stimulating environment =
strong predictor of school

of 
performance
Learning environment:

famil
parent’s engagement in
activities such as singing,
reading books, telling stories

ies

and playing games

Grade R integrated into foundation phase where teachers teach literacy, numeracy and life
skills
 Goal: ensure that all children have access to and are able to complete primary education that
is compulsory and of good quality.
 Advantages of being school ready
- Foundation for positive school performance
- Societies see greater return in their investment in terms of saving on lower cost for
welfare and criminal justice systems
- When children succeed at school they become earning and tax-paying citizens (route
out of poverty)
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AND LEARNING ORIENTATION

Achieving success at school contributing factors:

i. Achievement motivation and learning orientation
ii. Parental attitude and encouragement
iii. Socio-economic status
iv. School environment
v. Teacher engagement
vi. Educational policies

Achievement motivation:

- Degree to which a person chooses to engage in and keep trying to accomplish

challenging tasks
- Children’s achievement involves interaction between beliefs, values, and psychological
goals
- Children make attributions (ascribing a specific characteristic to oneself or another) about
why they succeed or fail
- Attribution factors: ability, effort, luck, task difficulty, and strategy use

Children who are successful generally have the following characteristics:

1. Mastery orientation:
a. Tendency to attribute their success to internal and controllable factors such as
hard work and ability
b. Failures to controllable or changeable factors such as effort, strategy or task
difficulty

2. Hold an incremental view of ability:

a. The belief they can improve ability

3. Focus on learning goals:

a. Aim is to learn new things to improve their abilities

Children who are unsuccessful have the following characteristics:

1. Helpless orientation:
a. Attribute success to external/uncontrollable factors like luck
 b. Attribute failures failure to internal and stable factors like lack of ability

2. Hold entity view of ability

a. Belief ability is fixed and unchangeable
b. Avoid challenging tasks
c. Stop trying when tasks is difficult

3. Focus on performance goals:

a. Seek out tasks they are sure they can do well
b. Avoid situations that would help them develop important new skills

PARENT CONTRIBUTIONS

- Parents create environment for learning

 Create place for study
 Keeps books and supplies
 Set routines
 Monitors activities
 Show interest
- Extrinsic motivation: motivation by external means (gifts/treats for good grades)
- Intrinsic motivation: cultivation pride in hard work (more effective)
- Authoritative parents – have curious children who are interested in learning and are high
achievers
- Authoritarian parents – lower achievers
- Permissive parents – lower achievers

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

SELF-UNDERSTANDING: DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONCEPT & SELF-ESTEEM

 Middle childhood
- start describing themselves in terms of psychological traits
-Compare own characteristics with those of peers
-Speculate about causes of own strengths and weaknesses
 Self-concept (set of attributes, abilities, attitudes and values that individual uses to define
who/she is) in middle childhood looks like:
- External characteristics
- Internal characteristics
- Psychological traits
- Social aspects in self-descriptions
 Reason for differentiated self-esteem = children make social comparisons to others
 Factors responsible for shift in self-concept:
1. Cognitive development
2. Structure of self-concept
 Content of the self-concept
-Cognitive capacities and social feedback
-Improved perspective-taking skills (ability to infer what others are thinking) are
important for self-concept based on personality traits
-Bcome better at “reading” other people “messages” = begin to form ideal self (what
they like to be) that they use to evaluate the real self
-Ideal self = norms and help to control impulses to be the best person they could be
-Large discrepancy between ideal and real self = undermine self-concept, leading to
sadness, hopelessness and depression
 Self-esteem:
- Involves judgement about own worth and feelings associated with those
judgements
- received more feedback = self-esteem differentiates and bcome more realistic
- develop separate judgments about academic, sport and social relations and are
combined into a general psychological image of themselves
 self-efficacy:
- people’s beliefs about their capabilities to perform well, and the confidence they
have being able to control events in their surroundings
- perceptions of abilities
- children learn that they influence their environment and parents, and caregivers
provide feedback
- learn that they are good in some things and not in others
 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 Developmental changes during middle childhood:

- increased ability to understand complex emotions like pride and shame
- increased understanding that more than one emotion may be experienced in
particular situation
- take into account events and situation that lead to emotional reaction
- improved ability to suppress or conceal negative emotional reactions
- increased understanding in facial expressions, situations that cause emotions,
display rules, and complexity of emotional experience
- understand discrepancy between expressed and felt emotions
- redefined self-initiated strategies for redirecting feelings
- understand role of cognition in emotion regulation, relation between morality and
emotions, the role of desire and belief in emotions
 Emotional Intelligence (EI): form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor
one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to discriminate between them and to use
this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.
 According to Daniel Goldman emotional intelligence is regarded more important
than IQ and involves 4 main areas:
1. Developing emotional self-awareness: ability to separate feelings from actions
2. Managing emotions: controlling anger
3. Reading emotions: taking other’s perspectives
4. Handling relationships: able to solve relationship problems

Children who have skills

associated with emotional
Sceptics about EI:
intelligence seem to:
- Better physical health
- High academic scores
- Get along better with others
- Fewer behavioural problems
- Less prone to acts of violence

- Viewpoints and perspectives have

already been expressed, Goldman
only gave it a new name
- EI are not easy to measure because
of different viewpoints
- EI is not easy to acquire and to
internalised
- Roles of other variables need further
research.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY

- Children make demands on parents (school activities, clothes social life ect.)
- Parents = buffer between child and community
- Responsible for teaching moral, religious and cultural values
- Children’s roles change = parent’s roles change
- Children express dissatisfaction with general rules (begin to question parent’s decisions)

PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

- Children become less dependent on parents

- Authoritative parent may find parenting somewhat easier due to child increased cognitive
capacity
- As child demonstrates managing daily activities = gradually shift control from parent to
child (engage in co-regulation) – parents are still main controllers, but children are
permitted to be in charge of moment-by-moment decision-making
- Co-regulation supports and protects children while preparing them for adolescence

MODELS OF INFLUENCE IN THE FAMILY

 Parent effect model

- Assumes influences run one way, from parent to child

- Behaviour, parenting style, mood, emotions and circumstances of parent may have
major influence on development of child
- Parents who are warm, responsive and supportive towards child contributes to
positive development of child.

Child effects model

- Highlights that child influences parent

- Example 1: the age of children and competence on the style of parenting used with
that child
 As children mature, parents gradually become less restrictive
- Example 2: child’s personality and temperament
 Easy going, manageable children could cause parents to be warm and
authoritative and vice versa.
- Coercive behaviour pattern: environment in which family are locked in power
struggles, each trying to control the other through aggressive tactics – this leads to
parents giving in to child’s demands

The bi-directional model

- Child and parent influence each other, tend to reinforce and perpetuate each other’s
behaviour
- Example: antisocial behaviour – aggressive behaviour(naturally) – elicit negative
parenting – child becomes more aggressive
- Child elicits coercive and ineffective parenting from parents
- According to this model, child’s problems may evolve as relationship between child
and parent deteriorates

PARENT’S ROLE IN CHILDREN’S SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Parents as direct instructors:

- Responsible for transmitting values and attitudes to their children

- Teaching the rules and values to them directly
 - Important factor is scaffolding

Parents as indirect socialisers:

- Indirect socialisation through own behaviour
- Internal working model when children experience security in relationship with parents,
i.e., there early attachments were positive - affects future relationships positively and
vice versa

Parents as social managers:

- Parents manage children’s experiences and social lives, including exposure to various
people, activities and information
- Construct home environment that conveys parental and societal values
- Choices of activities are limited, especially low socio-economic status
- Children may develop ideas that parents are powerful and competent adults

DISCIPLINE
Punishment Discipline

Focus more on “do not” Focus more on what “to do”

Once-off occurrence Ongoing process
Insist on obedience Sets example to follow
Power authority and involves anger Helps children to change
Negative Positive
Makes children behave Accepts child’s need to assert himself
Thinks FOR child Encourage child to think for themself
Defeats self-esteem Encourage self-esteem
Condemns misbehaviour Encourage self-disciplined behaviour

Most important features of positive discipline:

1. Parental behaviours:
i. Provide leadership and be in charge (otherwise child will take control)
 ii. When leadership is not provided child will depend on own strength which is
tantrums, whining, and total disregard to parent’s wishes
iii. IMPORTANT part in disciplinary control = parent’s self-control
Establishing their authority and direction
iv. Parents reactions to behaviour should be carefully planned
v. Parents need to be the model to good behaviour
vi. Children’s behaviour = reflection of parents’ behaviour

2. Establishing rules and setting limits:

i. Need rules to guide their behaviour
ii. Having rules provides children with sense of security, protection and containment
iii. Simple, clear, easy to follow and reinforced constantly
iv. Too many rules = unable to remember
v. Calm, reasoned discussion demonstrates positive ways to handle conflict
vi. Inductive > power assertion
a. Children feel respected
b. Enhance moral behaviour

3. Consistency and follow-through:

i. Clearly state the rules and consequences (constantly enforcing them)
ii. Follow through with predictable and reliable actions toward child’s behaviour, results
will be effective
iii. If not, children will learn not to believe in parent’s authority
iv. Children will experience consequences related to behaviour
v. Learn to make better choices

4. Positive feedback
i. Powerful tool to encourage and improve behaviour and to build self-esteem
ii. Children tend to repeat positive behaviour when reinforced
iii. Help them make better choices and reduce misbehaviour

5. Punishment that teaches:

i. form of discipline: method of training and teaching
ii. used to stop child from doing something prohibited when they are resisting
 iii. negative consequences for child
iv. from withdrawing privileges to corporal punishment(spanking)
v. for punishment to be affective consider the following:
1. Punishment should be used properly
2. Parents usually tend to get back what they put in, also with respect to
punishment
3. How parents use any disciplinary tactic is more important than what tactic
they use
4. Offer them opportunities to make amends

SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS AND ONLY CHILDREN P272

Parents are important agents in establishing positive sibling engagement

Patterns/styles of sibling relationship:

- Caregiver relationship: sibling serve as parent

- Buddy relationship: try to be like one another (enjoy being together)
- Critical/conflictual relationship: tries to dominate each other
- Rival relationship: same as above plus low levels of friendliness and support
- Casual relationship: have little to do with one another

Competencies for positive sibling relationships:

Competency Parental involvement

Positive engagement Play, conversations, mutual interests and fun. Help children identify
activities that will accommodate developmental levels of all siblings.

Cohesion Siblings providing help, support, protectiveness, cooperation,

loyalty, trust and pride.
Shared experiences Help siblings appreciate their unique knowledge of one another and
of their family
Social & emotional Links with development of theory of mind. Help siblings identify and
understanding respect each other’s unique views, needs, goals and interests.

Regulating emotion Help children identify and manage emotions and behaviour in
 emotionally challenging and frustrating situations
Controlling behaviour Help siblings refrain from behaviour that other siblings find
undesirable
Forming neutral or positive In ambiguous situations, children form hostile attributions about the
attributions intent of siblings’ behaviour (learn to check and correct faulty
attributions)
Conflict management Parental modelling and scaffolding of effective conflict management
strategies are essential for learning process
Evaluating parental Parental behaviour should be adjusted so that each sibling’s needs
differential treatment are met.
practices

PEER RELATIONSHIPS

NATURE AND FUNCTION OF THE PEER GROUP

1. Provides comradeship
2. Provides opportunities for trying out new behaviours (that adults generally forbid)
3. Facilitates the transfer of knowledge and information
4. Teaches its members obedience to rules and regulations
5. Helps reinforce gender roles
6. Causes a weakening of the emotional bond between the child and parent
7. Provides members with experience of relationships in which they can compete with
others on an equal footing.

PEER ACCEPTANCE

- Refers to the extent to which a child is viewed by a group of age-mates as a worthy

social partner
- Differs from group to group and is not mutual relationship
- Categories of social status:
 Popular
 Rejected
 Neglected
  Controversial

Popular children
Considerate and kind, others are admired for socially clever behaviour
Popular prosocial children Popular- antisocial children
- Academic and social competence - Largely tough boys with aggressive
- Perform academically well manner and smart but devious social skills
- Sensitive, cooperative and friendly - Liked because peers perceive toughness
towards peers as “cool”

Rejected children
Show negative social behaviours
Rejected-aggressive children Rejected-withdrawn children
 Largest subgroup  Passively and socially awkward, overly
 High rates of conflict, hostility and sensitive to teasing, are seen as easy to
hyperactive, inattentive and impulsive push around
 Poor emotion regulation and  Excluded – classroom participation and
perspective taking skills cognitive performance deteriorates
 Tent to interpret innocent behaviour  Want to avoid school
from peers as hostile  Have very few to no friends
 Blames others, acts on angry or
aggressive feelings

Controversial children
Blend of positive and negative social behaviours

 May be hostile and disruptive but will engage in positive, pro-social acts
 Some peers may dislike them, but they have qualities to protect them from total exclusion
 Appear to be relative happy and comfortable with peer relationships

Neglected or ignored children

 Low rates of interaction

 Shy
 Withdrawn and non-assertive (not really noticed by others)
 Generally, well-adjusted and have good social skills
 Not lonely or unhappy
 Tend to play by themselves but will engage with peers if they want to

PEER VICTIMISATION

- Physical bullying: punching, poking, strangling, hair-pulling, biting, spitting, throwing,

direct violence and threats of violence
- Emotional bullying: spreading rumours, terrorising, extorting, defaming and
blackmailing
- Verbal bullying: hurtful name-calling, degrading remarks, persistent teasing, verbal
threats, gossiping, crude language, racist remarks, derogatory letters, e-mail and cellular
massages
- Non-verbal/ gesture bullying: offensive signs, pulling faces, degrading looks
- Relational/excluding bullying: ignoring, excluding others from activities, manipulating
friendships, domination others
- Extortion bullying: demanding money, property etc.
- Sexual bullying: exhibitionism, harassment, sexual abuse, and assault
 Types of bullies

The aggressive bully The anxious bully Group adherents

- Direct aggression towards any - Share some - Bullies often surround

person, irrespective of the characteristics of own themselves with
authority victims supporters
- Poor impulse control - Anxious and - Adherents become
- Regard violence as positive aggressive passively involved
attribute - Poor self-image - Characteristics:
- Desire to dominate - Uncertain and have o Easily dominated
- Physically and emotionally few friends o Passive
strong - Direct bullying to o Show empathy
- Insensitive towards others someone who does towards others
- Good self-images not mean much to (feeling guilty after
- Modern bullies use technology them bullying acts)
- Emotionally unstable

The effects of bullying

Victim
Perpetrator
-Psychosomatic symptoms:
- Don’t have lasting relationships
 Headaches
- Don’t do well in school
 Stomach problems
- Become involved in juvenile crime
 Bedwetting
- Tend to abuse alcohol and other
 Loss of appetite
substances
 Poor posture
-Emotional problems:
 Depression
Why do some children bully others?
 Suicidal tendencies
 Social withdrawal - Imitate behaviour of role models

 Anxiety - Socio-economic problems

 Fear - Peer pressure

-Social problems: - Gangs

 Withdrawal
 Isolation
 Loneliness
 - Drugs
- Inability of schools to protect victims
- Inadequate self-image
- Desire to exercise power and dominance
- Have been bullied
- Ignorance

How are bullying addressed?

- School authorities are obliged to care for learners (providing hostility- free environments)
- Extensive anti-bullying programmes
- Role players (law enforcers, educators, parents) should be involved to:
 Create awareness consequences of bullying
 Enhance positive peer relations
 Develop clear guidelines and strategies to prevent bullying
 Develop attitude of zero tolerance for violence
- Individual intervention programmes for perpetrators and victims

MEDIA INFLUENCE

TELEVISION

 Social learning theory: children learn by observing and imitating what they see on
screen, particularly when these behaviours seem to be realistic or are rewarded.
 Cognitive development theory: children’s cognitive capacities at different stages
determine if and how they understand media content (media provide children “scripts” of
how to behave in unfamiliar circumstances)
 Super peer theory: media are powerful best friends that sometimes make risky
behaviour seem like normative behaviour.
 Television have powerful influence on prosocial behaviour and cognitive functioning
 Power to influence children negatively who is already at risk

Effects of television viewing on socialisation of children

1. Family values:
a. Influence children’s perceptions of families
 b. Creates social reality that is often at odds with the real world
c. Portrayal of adults and authority structures may influence children negatively
because they become less willing to accept their parents’ ability and right to guide
and direct their actions.
2. Family interaction:
a. Able to spend time together
b. Stimulate discussions
c. Valuable learning platform
d. Create family narratives (important bonding activity for families)
e. Older siblings may explain things that are not understandable for younger ones
f. Can lead to family conflict
3. Violence and aggression:
a. Relationship between media violence and aggression
b. Media presents as humorous
c. Can lead to family conflict
d. Children would want to escape family conflict by engaging in more violence
television viewing
4. Sexual attitudes:
a. Exposure to sexual content lead to rapid progression of sexual activity and early
sex
5. Drugs:
a. Exposition to substances lead to children that imitate behaviour of people in
advertising substances

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

 Exposure to pornography although dangers of internet were communicated to children

 Interaction with peers have influence on interpersonal skills, composure and social
competence
 Internet = powerful communication tool
 Can lead to family conflict
 Children have difficulty distinguishing what is real and what is simulated

CELL PHONES
  Used to communicate with family and friends
 Divorced families
 Peer pressure
 Children mature = use for social networking
 Misused: cyber-bullying, pornography
 Online disinhibition effect: anonymous nature encourages people to say things they
would normally not say
 Disruptive in classroom
o Interrupting classes
o Weaking authority
o Cheat
o Become less self-reliant
o Cyber bullying
o Distribution of inappropriate content

MORAL DEVELOPMENT

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL REASONING

 Moral development = cognitive development + relevant social experiences

 Perspective taking: ability to understand the psychological perspectives, motives and
needs of others.
 data: 10–16-year boys

Stages of moral development:

1. pre-conventional
2. conventional
3. post-conventional
 Substages of moral development:

Stage 1: Punishment and obedience Stage 2: Individualism, instrumental purpose and

orientation exchange

 Children find it difficult to view moral  Develop awareness that people have different
dilemma form different angles viewpoints
 Evaluate behaviour in basis of it’s  Awareness is concrete
consequences  Children feel that it is correct to obey rules if
 Person’s motives are not considered they are in someone’s immediate interest
 Behave correctly to avoid punishment  Act out of self-interest to one’s own advantages

Level 1: Pre-conventional

Stage 1: punishment and obedience orientation

Child decides what is right based on whether action will be punished or rewarded and does not
consider interest of others
Stage 2: individualism, instrumental purpose and exchange
Follows rules when it serves own needs or interests, child aware of other’s interests and knows it
may conflict with own

Level 2: Conventional

Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships and interpersonal conformity

Concerned with living up to other’s expectations (being loyal and trustworthy)
Stage 4: social system and conscience
Defines what is right in terms of duties he agreed to carry out and abides by laws except in extreme
cases. Morals = larger society has determined as right

Level 3: Post-conventional

Stage 5: social contract or utility and individual rights

Values and rules are seen as relative to particular group
Stage 6: universal ethical principles
Person develops and follows own self-chosen ethical principles. If social laws violate these
principles, the person’s actions will be consistent with his ethical principles.

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY IN CHILDREN

Religion Spirituality
 Human institution to embody the belief  Broader term: ‘the search for the
in God or gods sacred’
 Different religions  Believe in individual finding own path to
 Structures provide moral guidelines, higher power
set of behaviours  Religious people can be spiritual but
 Characterised by strong tradition, spiritual people do not have to be
teaching loyalty to institution religious.
 Steadfast, conformist and
presumptuous

Advantages of spirituality:

1. Associated with positive mental health and well being (tend to abstain form
antisocial and risky behaviour)
2. Serve as important shield or ‘security blanket’ against life’s poundings
3. Provides people with important social networks (families)
4. Enhances family relationships

Fowlers 4 stages of faith development during childhood and adolescent


Primal
Infancy – 2 years (defined as ‘pre-stage’)
 Similar to “trust vs mistrust” stage
 Lays foundation for healthy development of faith
Intuitive-
faith
 Early childhood
 Awakening of religious morality (able to distinguish between

protective 
acceptable and unacceptable behaviour)
Based on interactions and experiences with parents, caretakers
 Concrete representations of God and devil


Middle childhood
Faith is influenced by additional significant others (teachers,
Mythical-
religious leaders and peers) literal faith
 Think more logically but still interpret religious stories very
literally
 Believe that good behaviour is rewarded and bad will be
punished
 Some adults remain in this stage

Synthe
Adolescence
 Personal relationship with God
 Child believe the same as others – want to be accepted

tic-
 Accept and don’t question
 People move out of this stage when they start questioning
what they are taught = related to higher cognitive

conven 
functioning
Some never move beyond this stage

tional
Criticism of James Fowler’s theory

 Definition of faith is wide and extends beyond religious faith

 Underestimates the modern child
 Male oriented
 Euro-American centred and does not consider other religions

ADOLESCENCE
 CHAPTER 6

WHAT IS ADOLESCENCE?

Period between childhood and adulthood

DEMARCATING ADOLESCENCE

Approximately 12 – 18 years of age

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Gonadotro Somatotro
phin phin
(sex hormone) (Growth hormone)

Stimulates gonads to Causes bodily growth

secrete hormones:

EstrogensAndrogens Primary sex charcteristics = organs

1. Testost
erone Secondary se characteristics =
male/ female characteristics
2. Andros
terone
3. Estroge
ADOLESCENT GROWTH SPURT
n
 Growth starts at limbs and make person look awkward and uncoordinated – asynchrony
 When growth tempo decrease = body mass and muscle increase
 Everybody grows different

SEXUAL MATURATION
Sexual
 Primary sex characteristics enlarge = Beginning of puberty = secondary sex
characteristics start developing
 Breast bust (usually) – first external sign

matur
 Bodily hair → hips start to broaden → increase in weight → voice lower → skin texture
changes
 DRAMATIC sign of maturation = menarche (first menstruation)
 Fairly late (2 years after breast start growing)
 After growth spurt slowed down
 Environmental factors = influence onset of puberty
 Extremely fit girls = start menstruating late
 Exposure to stressful situations as child = menarche can start early
 Female circumcision (Female genital mutilation) (FGM)
- Clitoridotomy: splitting or removing the clitoral hood, non-ritualised, increases
sexual pleasure
- Clitoridectomy: partial of total removal of the clitoris
- Infibulation: partial or total removal of al external genitalia (clitoris, labia minora
and labia majora, stitching together the vaginal opening leaving opening for urine
and menstrual flow (mainly to prevent premarital intercourse)



Primary sex characteristics start to develop (reproductive system)
2 years after scrotum and testes started to enlarge – penis begins to grow
Sexu
 Secondary sex characteristics – pubic hair 1st sign; lowering voice (enlargement of


larynx + thickening of vocal chords); beard and other bodily hair
Symbolic sign: 1st seminal emission (spermarche/ semenarche)(13-15 years)
mat
 Male circumcision – cloudy controversy
- Partial or complete removal of foreskin of penis
- Religious / health reasons
- Traditional initiation of Africans in preparation of adulthood
- Controversy: lead to permanent mutilation, amputation of penis,
infections, haemorrhage, gangrene and death
- Problems caused by incorrect procedures, inadequate hygiene, poor
aftercare:
PSYCHOLOGICAL dehydration
EFFECTS OF –PHYSICAL
minimal fluids intake to decrease urination
CHANGES
Effects of early and late maturation. Interesting gender differences

 Early maturing boys

- Self-controlled, efficient, self-confident, and level-headed
- Better body image and higher self-esteem and do well in sport
- Often assume leadership roles (strength and size)
- Prematurely exposed to alcohol, drugs and sex
 Late maturing boys
- Less attractive, less well-balanced and more tense and anxious
- Poor academic achievement, attention seeking and childish
- Unpopular and seldom leaders
- Experience more feelings of guilt, inferiority, depression, rejection and anxiety
- Need of encouragement, sympathy, and understanding
 Early maturing girls
- Attractive to older boys (not emotionally mature enough for intimate relationships)
- Social isolation (not much in common with peers)
- (Half child and half adult) – don’t fit in anywhere
- Poor academic performance
- Early sexual activity (unwanted pregnancies)
 Late maturing girls
- Physically attractive, lively, sociable and generally more popular
- More positive body image

BODY IMAGE AND EATING DISORDERS

Anorexia
- Body weight significantly below average
- Usually self-induced vomiting, self-induced purging, excessive exercise and

Nervosa
use of appetite suppressants
- Severely distorted body image
- Depression, anxiety and Bulimia Nervosa are present
- Excessive growth of fine hair on body
- Repeated episodes of binge eating → self-induced vomiting, misuse of
- Menstrual problems (amenorrhea – absence of menstruation)
laxatives, fasting or excessive exercising to prevent weight gaining
- Between puberty - 25 years (90% are female)
n
- Do not have abnormally low body weight
- Middle to higher socio-economic groups (want recognition)
- Fear of becoming fat
- Isolated, imperfect and low self-esteem
- 90% are female
- Western culture obsession with slenderness
ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY

ADOLESCENT SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR

-
-
Sexual self-stimulation
Masturbation – self-stimulation of own sexual organs
Autoerotic
behaviour
- Experiences guilt and anxiety (because of previous beliefs)
- Regarded as normal today
- Only regarded as abnormal if it hinders the development and social interaction of adolescent
- Both male and female

- Adolescents are sexually more active at younger age because

o Early sexual maturation
o Peer-group pressure
o Changed values, attitudes and the media

Interactive sexual
TEENAGE PREGNANCY activities
 Usually caused by high risk sexual behaviour, poor parental control, family disintegration,
inadequate sex education, misuse of contraceptives
 Reasons for black adolescents to fall pregnant in SA:
1. Family disorganisation
a. Nourishing family environment with supportive parent-adolescent relationships
reduce sexual risk-taking
b.
2. Rapid urbanisation and Westernisation
a. Rejected or unaware of traditional practice of intercrural sex
 3. Poor socio-economic situations, low educational status, and the low social status
of women
a. Poor quality of life = high teenage pregnancy rate
4. Certain family and social practices
a. Pregnancies prove fertility
b. Parents care for adolescent’s baby
5. Poor sexual communication between parents and adolescents
a. Parents fail to inform and educate children in sexual matters
b. Parent’s own sexual conflicts, lack of knowledge and cultural norms play a role
c. Afraid that it would stimulate them to become sexually active

HOMOSEXUALITY AND ADOLESCENCE

 Homosexual youth – higher depression rate (4x likely to attempt suicide)

 Causes of homosexuality
1. Environment does not seem to play a role
2. Genetic factor does play a small role
3. Decree of discrimination and rejection in some cultures plays a role
4. Abnormal prenatal hormone levels can influence sexual behaviour
5. Created environment could not change person’s sexual orientation
6. Most scientist accepted that it is impossible to change person’s sexual orientation

IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

ERIKSON’S THEORY: INDENTITY VERSUS IDENTITY CONFUSION

Development of an identity:

 Forming an identity = previous stages of psychosocial crises are resolved

 Identity development = adolescents need to define who they are, what they find
important and their directions in life
 Erikson defined as Identity crises (temporary period of confusion, filled with exploration,
questions, values and experimenting)
 Psychosocial moratorium – period of time allowed to find themselves and their roles as
adults
 For developing own identity; adolescent need to master:
 - Form continuous, integrated, unified image of the self (ego-synthesis)
- Form socio-cultural identity (identity must have values of culture)
- Establish a Gender-role identity
- Form a career identity (realistic about own abilities and achievement)
- Develop own value system

Identity confusion

 Indecisive about themselves and their roles

 Neither have ability nor self-confidence to make decisions
 Identity foreclosure:
- Identity crises is resolved = making premature decisions about identity based on
other’s expectations
- External demands pose threat to adolescent’s identity development
- In confusion – tend to adopt roles to meet expectations
 Negative identity:
- Form identity contrary to cultural values and expectations
- Drug abusers

Evaluation of Erikson’s view of identity formation

 Erikson uses crises, which implies an active search for and identity
- Term creates impression of intense traumatic experience
- Many feel good about themselves
- Term creates impression that identity occurs at specific crises point
Gradual extensive process occurs throughout life cycle
- Scientists prefer term: exploration
 Erikson states crises occurs early adolescent years and is resolved between 15 and 18
- Adolescents experience crises during late adolescents
 Identity is not formed in al areas like Erikson implied

JAMES MARCIA’S THEORY: THE FORMULATION OF IDENTITY STATUSES

  Identity status of adolescent is determined according to the crises they have already
worked through, and the decree and kind of commitment to these choices
 Four identity statuses:
1. Identity achievement: passed through the crises period and has a relatively
strong commitment to a career and value system
2. Identity moratorium: still in crises period and is actively investigating various
alternatives
3. Identity foreclosure: no crises has been experiences although there are
commitment to certain goals and values, usually parental influences
4. Identity diffusion: crises may or may not be experienced, individual is not
committed to anything and does not attempt to develop any commitment
 Studies on identity development found the following:
- Adolescent from traditional backgrounds = foreclosure identities
- Adolescents facing life-threatening illnesses = adopt foreclosure status
- Formation occurs during later stage than indicate by Piaget and Marcia
 Moratorium stage – early university years
 Others who work after school – risk of identity confusion
- Some are stuck at certain stages of identity development
 Foreclosure and diffusion status: have adjustment problems
 Foreclosure identities: inclined to be dogmatic, inflexible and intolerant
 Long-term identity confusion: apathetic, passive, experience feelings of
helplessness (follow group and may get involved in negative behaviours)
- Adolescence may only be one period of identity formation among several
 Factors that contribute to identity formation:
1. Cognitive development
2. Parenting
3. Peer interactions
4. School and communities
5. Personality
6. Socio-cultural and socio-political events

SELF-CONCEPTIONS: ADOLESCENTS’ UNDERSTANING OF

SELF
THE ACTUAL SELF, POSSIBLE SELF AND FALSE SELF

ideal self
possible
self feared
self- actual self
concepti self
on
false self

SELF-ESTEEM

 The way a person views and evaluate him/herself

 Self-esteem declines and become more realistic
 Self-esteem becomes differentiated (develop sperate judgements of self)
 Domains of adolescent’s self-esteem:
- Scholastic competence
- Social appearance
- Athletic competence
- Physical appearance
Influence global self-
- Job competence
- Romantic appeal esteem
- Behavioural conduct
- Close friendships
 Baseline self-esteem: stable, enduring sense of worth and well-being a person has
- Evaluate themselves as positively on most days with occasional bad days
- Low baseline self-esteem: poor opinion about oneself, even when there are days,
they feel good
  Barometric self-esteem: fluctuating sense of worth and well-being people have as they
respond to different thoughts, experiences and interactions in the course of the day.
- Sometimes intense: misery, excitement, disappointment, joy and sadness may
fluctuate within hours

CAREER CHOICE

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CAREER CHOICE

- Career preferences and skills = continuous process because it changes

- 14 propositions constitute his theory
- Life span:
 Career is lifelong process of consisting of specific stages during which certain choices
are made
 Individuals NEED certain skills, career maturity and adaptability in career planning
- Life space:
 Individual aspects such as values, self-concept, and life themes
 Life roles and cultures are also factors
- Believes we choose careers to realise self-concepts
- During process of choosing career: progressive interaction between individual and
environment which results in choice of career
- Work satisfaction and life satisfaction = adequate outlets for abilities, needs, values, interest,
personality traits and self-concepts
- Test used that reflect Super’s constructs:
1. CDQ (the Career Development Questionnaire)
2. LRI (The Life Roles Inventory)
3. Value scale

Donald Super’s
lifespan lifespace
Super’s Lifespan Lifespace approach to career development

approach
Career Childhood Adolescence Early adulthood Middle adulthood Late adulthood
development
constructs GROWTH EXPLORATION ESTABLISHMENT MAINTANANCE DISENGAGEMENT
Self-concept Positive in all Integrate real; Integrate psycho Accept limitations Self-acceptance
areas ideal and social and environ factors and develop new
concept self- in self-concept potential
Career maturity Tentative Verify career Choose, secure Hold own against Keep what
choices choice and settle in competition individual still enjoys
occupation
Adaptability Conform to Own needs and Embrace positive Adapt to Accept decline in
pattern set by identity uncertainty limitations, accept abilities
environment new challenge
Values Accept Physical, social materialistic Inner orientated Inner-orientated
parental and autonomous
values lifestyle
Life roles Play, starting Leisure, learn new Reduce leisure, Re-evaluate life Retire
school skills increase work and roles
family roles
Life themes Play; imitate Daydream, test Implement career Renew career Reflect on life
careers career dreams in dreams dreams
real world
Cultural context Family, peers Peers and role Work and family Work, fewer family Family and social
and heroes models responsibilities and systems
more social
systems
 John
- Focus more on relationship between person; environment; interaction between
them and behaviour
- 6 basic personality types:
1. Realistic personality type (R):

of p
a. Physically strong, deal with problems in practical way
b. Not socially competent
c. Interested in outdoor and handywork
d. Farmers, engineers, tech, and construction
2. Investigative personality type (I):
a. Thinkers > doers ( due to theoretical and intellectual orientation)
b. Avoid interpersonal contact
c. Science, math
3. Social personality type (S):
a. Competent in verbal activities and interpersonal relationships
b. Teaching, social work, psychology and nursing
4. Conventional personality type (C):
a. Prefer to work with numbers
b. Accountability, bookkeeping and secretarial work
5. Enterprising personality type (E):
a. Verbally competent
b. Politics, sales and management
6. Artistic personality type (A):
a. Creative orientation and relating to the world in the form of art
b. Express themselves through ideas and materials
c. Avoid conventional situations as far as possible
d. Musician, actor and photographer
- Individual can’t be just one personality type
- Proposed hexagonal model to illustrate predictability of behaviour
- Widely known test: SDS (Self Directed Search)
- Basic assumptions of both models:
1. Career development is divided in clear developmental stages, one stage has to
be completed successfully before moving to next stage.
2. Person’s career choice is expression of personality. Career satisfaction =
congruence between personality and work environment.
- Social cognitive theory is proposed and suited best based on context of South Africa
- Main components of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT):
 Triadic reciprocity: interaction between personal attributes, external environment
and overt behaviour. Environment influence personal attributes and behaviour and
vice versa
 Self-efficacy: individual who believe they can perform task successfully (positive
self-efficacy) = more likely to perform certain task and be successful
 Outcome expectations: what individual
believe the results are going to be.
Albert Bandura believes people
People are more likely to do a task if
develop self-efficiency trough:
they think outcome is more favourable
 Goals: help individual guide their actions - Personal performance
and behaviours. Give sense of direction accomplishments
to own lives - vicarious learning
 Interests: develop interest in activities - social or verbal persuasion
from which they experienced positive - Physiological arousal
self-efficacy and outcome expectations
 Career choices: career choice flows rom goals and activities that develop from
interest

Socia
l
cogn
PEER GROUP RELATIONSHIPS
 itive
ADOLESCENTS AND CYBERSPACE

 Cyberspace: a range of information resources available through computer networks

 Important developmental needs during adolescent that technology play a important role:
- Identity experimentation and exploration
- Intimacy and belonging separation from parents and family
- Venting frustrations
- Mastery and accomplishment
 The consequences of ICT:
- Seeking information that may be negative (porn, violence and mutilation)
- Platform to vent feelings in an inappropriate manner and creating false identities
- Cyberbullying, internet bullying and electronic bullying
- May join group that are not in their best interests
- Online friendships are artificial, shallow and transient
- Vulnerable to cybersex
- Internet addiction
 Problems of ICT is not of internet itself but problems that exist outside digital
technologies

MORAL DEVELOPMENT

THE COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE: LAWRENCE KOHLBERG’S THEORY

- The development of moral reasoning and judgment processes through three levels:
1. Pre-conventional level
2. Conventional level
3. Post-conventional level
- Levels are related to stages of cognitive development by Piaget
- Cannot bypass any level and it is not guarantied that everyone reaches the highest level
of moral development (so moral development does not depend on cognitive
development)
- Level I: attained during childhood
- Most adults don’t develop beyond Level II
- Small percentage reach level III
Level II: Conventional morality

 Morality of conventional role-conformity

 Individual conforms to social order and expectation of others
 Moral reasoning – less egocentric
 Behaviour is judged
 Stage 3: morality of mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships and
conformity ‘good’ orientation
i. Behaviour other people approve
ii. People want to win approval and avoid disapproval
 Stage 4: Morality of social systems and conscience orientation
i. Correct behaviour is associated with doing one’s duty, respect authority
and upholding the law
ii. Act is wrong when it violates society’s law or harms someone

Level III: Post-conventional level

 Highest level of moral development

 Morality of self-accepted or autonomous moral principles
 Individual defines and internalised values independent from the group
 All possibilities are investigated
 Stage 5: morality of social contract, usefulness and individual rights
i. Behaviour is defined in terms of laws or rules relating to general rights
and standards
ii. Personal values and beliefs = guidelines to what is considered as right or
wrong
iii. When laws don’t promote welfare of individual – become invalid
 Stage 6: Morality of universal ethical principles (morality of individual principles of
conscience)
i. Judge behaviour based on societies norms and own conscience or
internalised principles
ii. Universal principles of justice, equality of human rights and respect and
dignity for a person

Evaluation of Kohlberg’s theory:

 Moral development = gradual process

 - Reasoning in stage 1 & 2 ∨ early adolescence
- Reasoning in stage 3 ∧ mid-adolescence and ∨
- Reasoning in stage 4 ∧ course of adolescence
 Gibs: stages are not conventional and based on social conformity they acquire
moral constructions
- Stage 3: understanding of ideal reciprocity as basis of relationships
- Stage 4: widely accepted moral standards
 Post-conventional morality is limited to a handful of people who attained
advanced education – philosophy
 Criticisms:
1. Gender bias:
- Moral reasoning differs between gender
- Women – care perspective
- Men – justice perspective
- Girls shift from stage 2 to stage 3 earlier then men
2. Research methodology:
- Reliability and validity of measurements are low
- No guarantee that answers reflect own moral reasoning and are not socially
desirable responses
- Dilemmas are too simplistic and abstract
3. Moral reasoning and moral behaviour:
- Kohlberg = positive correlation between moral thought and behaviour
- Higher stages tend to engage in prosocial behaviour
- People do not always do what they say
- Theory is not valid in practise
4. Cultural bias:
- Kohlberg: sequence of stages are universal and unchangeable
- Collectivist culture: seldom develop further that stage 4 and are other-
orientated
- Theory focusses on Western values
- Richard Shweder: asked people real-life practices
- Socio-economic class influence moral reasoning
5. Cognitive development
 - Other factors like personal characteristics and situational factors also
influence moral behaviour
- Kohlberg placed too much emphasis on cognitive factors

FACTORS INFLUENCING MORAL DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS

1. Cognition – formal operational thinking plays a role in development of personal value

system (taking another perspective into regard)
2. Personality – open-minded approach is linked to gaining of moral reasoning
3. Parental attitudes and actions – relationship of adolescents with parents, encourage
reasoning and participation in decision-making process, good role models
4. Peer interaction – discussing moral issues and different viewpoints, relationships
5. Religion – religious adolescents show greater moral responsibility, guidelines
6. Schooling – powerful predicter of movement to stage 4 or higher
7. Demographical region – circumstances influence moral development

Moral immaturity

1. Egocentrism
2. Heteronomous acceptance of others’ value systems

VULNERABILITIES, RESILIENCE AND

RIGHTS OF CHILDREN
 CHAPTER 7

VULNERABILITIES

FAMILIY INFLUENCES: DIVORCE

Effects divorce has on children:

- 10% of children from intact(complete) homes has psychological and behavioural

problems, scholastic underachievement and interpersonal problems
- 25% of children divorced families have similar problems
- Probability of children’s marriages end in divorces is higher
- Relationship between children and father – negatively influences
- Children have lower levels of educational, occupational and financial attainment
- Children more likely to reject faith and religious involvement as adults

Factors that will determine children’s reactions to parent’s divorce:

1. Degree of conflict before and after divorce:

 ∧ conflict before divorce ∨psychological well-being
 Post-divorce factors make it difficult for children to adjust to disruption
2. Stability after divorce:
 Keeping environmental factors constant well soften the trauma experience of
children
 Financial insecurity also place stress on children
3. Age of child
 <2 years: little known about affect of divorce (parents behaviour may influence them)
 3-5 years: believe they are cause for divorce
- Fear being left alone or abandoned
- Show regressed(baby-like) behaviour
- Become uncooperative, depressed, angry or deny changes
 6-12 years: experience difficulty with parent’s divorce
- Old enough to realise what is going on
- Experience emotions but are too young to understand and cope with
them: lead to grief, embarrassment, resentment, divided loyalties, and
intense anger
 - Desire for parents to get back together is common
- Behaviour problems like enuresis (bed-wetting) and conflict with authority
figures surface
 Adolescence: anger, fear, loneliness, anxiety, depression and guilt
- Some feel they are pushed into adulthood with extra responsibilities
- Feel lost of parental bonds
- Start doubting own abilities to get or stay married
- Conflict with authorities and law intensifies and alcohol and drug abuse rise
4. Level of social support:
 Support system = enhance children’s feelings of security and belonging
 Also, information centre where child can get answers to his questions
 Family members, friends, teachers, religious institutions and professionals
(psychologist and social workers)
5. Information given to children:
 Adjust better when they have necessary information about divorce
 Uninformed children (distorted perception which affects their judgement)
 Information must be given in understandable and empathetic way
6. Uniqueness of child:
 Child’s unique personality and coping mechanisms determine their response to
divorce (some are aggressive and other withdrawn)
 Children will hide their hurt
7. Gender of child:
 Boys are affected more negatively than girls
 Boys experience separation more severely
 Boys are less compliant than girls
 Boys remind mothers of ex-husband -could discriminate
 Boys’ feelings go unnoticed

FAMILIY INFLUENCES: STEPFAMILIES

- Second marriages demand major adjustments form children

- Children find adjustments very stressful
- Regard the step-relations as violation of their relationship with parents
 - May view stepparent as reason for parent’s divorce
- Children in stepfamilies have more behavioural problems, psychological problems and
poorer academic performance
- Research: stepfather
o Boys adjust better to stepfather than girls
o Boys with stepfather have fewer psychological problems than with single parent
o Girls view stepfather as threatening relationship with mother
o Girls adjust less well even to father-stepmother situations

MALTREATMENT

1. Neglect: failure to provide in basic needs of a child

 Physical neglect: inadequate supervision
 Emotional neglect: not providing psychological care
 Educational neglect: failure to enrol child at school
 Affect cognitive development, academic achievement and socialising
 Undisciplined behaviour to extreme passivity
2. Physical abuse: physical acts of aggression
 Female homicide: younger and usually committed by mothers
 Male homicide: adolescent years usually committed by a known person
 Delay in cognitive functioning, academic problems and difficulties in moral
reasoning, aggressive and hostile behaviours negatively influence child’s social
functioning
 Could lead to faster timing to first sexual intercourse
3. Sexual abuse: any illegal sexual act committed against a child
 Impact of sexual abuse varies according to following factors:
- Nature, frequency and duration of abuse and relation to abuser
- More distressed reaction = worse the symptoms
- Fear, anxiety, anger, fatigue, depression, passivity, difficulties in
concentration, withdrawal from usual activities
- Younger children: enuresis, masturbating and sleeping problems
- Adolescents: low self-esteem, self-blame, guilt, eating disorders and
antisocial behaviour, delinquency (crime), promiscuous(unrestrained) sexual
behaviour
 - Large majority of sexually abused children will not put their children to same
suffering
4. Emotional abuse: psychological abuse
 Not easy to diagnose
 Parents choose own needs above those of their children
 People that have position of power over children can abuse them emotionally
 Most destructive from of abuse

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

 Abusing drug behaviour: poor academic achievement, conflict with authority figures,
antisocial behaviour, mental disorders and abnormal neural development
 Child abusers do not develop coping strategies only rely on substance and enter
adulthood without coping skills – result in marriage failures, poor parenting skills and
problems at work
 Causes of substances abuse:
- Genetic predisposition
- Tendency towards sensation-seeking and poor impulse control
- Wanting escape from emotional turmoil
- Poor and inconsistent parenting practices
- Peer pressure

SUICIDE

 Factors that influence suicide in children:

1. Mental health:
a. Depression is leading cause with other, stress, hopelessness, anger, low self-
esteem and low levels of family support
2. Genetic factors:
a. Family who committed suicide will increase risk for children
3. Homosexual and abused children
4. Troubled family relationship
a. Lack of affection and emotional support, parental conflict and pressure to
achieve are risk factors
5. Stressful and traumatic life events
RESILIENCE

The ability to cope with or recover from difficult or challenging life experiences

Characteristics of resilient children:

1. Personal characteristics:
- Good cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills
- Hopefulness
- Easy temperament in infancy
- Faith
- Valued talents
- Good sense of humour
- General appeal to others
- Sense of self-efficacy and positive self-esteem
- Sense of control over own life
- Achievement orientated
- Experience and express wide range of emotion
- Empathise and consider other’s perspectives
2. Family characteristics:
- Parents involved in child’s education
- Socio-economic advantages
- Faith
- Stable and supported home
3. Community characteristics:
- High neighbourhood quality
- Effective schools
- Employment of parents
- Good public healthcare
- Access to emergency service
- Exposure to adult role-models
- Protective child policies
- Low acceptance of physical violence
- Prevention and protection from political oppression
 - Value directed at education

Cultural practices that break down resilience:

 Severe ways of punishment – spare the rod and spoil the child
 Belittling children – children should be seen and not heard
 Overprotection – harsh realities of real life
 Not discussing sexuality with children
 Not providing children with opportunities with solving own problems

Strategies that enhance and nurture resilience:

- Encourage child to establish and build positive relationship

- Help children make sense of their experiences
- Help children exercise come control over their experiences
- Provide children with routine
- Do not overreact
- Develop child’s self-esteem and self-efficacy
- Teach children sense of humour
- Encourage children to talk about feelings

THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

The Convention spells out the basic human rights that children should have:

1. Right to survival
2. Right to develop to fullest
3. Right to be protected from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation
4. Right to participate fully in family, cultural and social life

Core principles of the Convention:

- Non-discrimination
- Devotion to best interest of child
- Rights to life, survival and development
- Respect views of child