Child development is a dynamic, interactive process. Every
child is unique in interacting with the world around them, and what
they invoke and receive from others and the environment also shapes
how they think and behave.
Children growing up in different cultures receive specific
inputs from their environment. For that reason, there’s a vast
array of cultural differences in children’s beliefs and
behaviour.
Language is one of the many ways through which culture affects
development. As early as infancy, mothers from different cultures
talk to their babies differently. German mothers tend to focus on
their infants’ needs, wishes or them as a person.
Mothers of the African tribal group Nso, on the other hand,
focus more on social context. This can include the child’s
interactions with other people and the rules surrounding it.
This early exposure affects the way children attend to
themselves or to their relationship with others – forming their
self image and identity.
For example, in Western European and North American countries,
children tend to describe themselves around their unique
characteristics – such as “I am smart” or “I am good at
drawing”.
In Asian, African, Southern European and South American
countries, however, children describe themselves more often around
their relationship with others and social roles. Examples of this
include “I am my parents’ child” or “I am a good student”.
Because children in different cultures differ in how they think
about themselves and relate to others, they also memorise events
differently.
For example, when preschoolers were asked to describe a recent
special personal experience, European-American children provided
more detailed descriptions, recalled more specific events and
stressed their preferences, feelings and opinions about it more
than Chinese and Korean children.
The Asian children instead focused more on the people they had
met and how they related to themselves.
Cultural differences in interactions between adults and
children also influence how a child behaves socially.
For instance, in Chinese culture, where parents assume much
responsibility and authority over children, parents interact with
children in a more authoritative manner and demand obedience from
their children.
Children growing up in such environments are more likely to
comply with their parents’ requests, even when they are reluctant
to do so.
A child’s early home environment has a profound effect on his
well-being. Beginning in infancy, a problematic home environment
can disrupt the brain’s stress response system, reduce the quality
of caregiving a child receives, and interfere with healthy
development.
Research has linked negative home environments during
children’s first three years with a host of developmental problems,
including;
poorer language development by age three.
later behavior problems.
deficits in school readiness.
aggression, anxiety and depression.
impaired cognitive development at age three.
Brain imaging research suggests that growing up in a
disadvantaged environment causes the brain to develop
differently.For example, living in an environment affected by chaos
and poverty can lead to changes in the brain’s stress system that
increase a child’s vulnerability to chronic diseases later in
life
Family income and economic circumstances have a powerful effect
on children’s development. Like other risk factors, low family
income affects children mainly by affecting their home environments
and the parenting they receive in ways that hinder optimal
development.
Income-related differences in parenting appear early. For
instance, lower-income mothers are, on average, less affectionate,
less responsive to their infants’ distress signals, and more likely
to have harsh parenting styles.
In poor and low-income families, the home environment is more
likely to be chaotic, and parents are more likely to be stressed
and unresponsive. They show less sensitivity and provide less
cognitive stimulation.
Poor children have fewer stimulating experiences and learning
materials than higher-income children.The effects are apparent in
the first years and often last into adulthood. Low-income children,
even in the first three years of life, are more likely to have
lower cognitive scores and increased behavioral problems.
If left untreated, maternal depression in a child’s first years
can have negative effects on cognitive development, behavior, and
school readiness.There appear to be biological effects as well:
recent research has discovered distinct patterns of brain activity
and stress hormone levels in children of depressed mothers.