Berk (2012) Child Development

At the same time, the field of child development is becoming increasingly aware that children grow
up in distinct contexts —unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can
result in different paths of change. For example, a shy child who fears social encounters develops in
very different contexts from those of a sociable agemate who readily seeks out other people (Kagan,
2003, 2008)

Children in non-Western village societies encounter experiences in their families and communities
that differ sharply from those of children in large Western cities. These different circumstances
foster different cognitive capacities, social skills, and feelings about the self and others (Shweder et
al., 2006).

Extracurricular activities at school, religious youth groups, scouting, and other organizations teach
important social skills, such as cooperation, leadership, and contributing to others’ welfare. As
participants acquire these competencies, they gain in self-reliance, self esteem, and community
commitment (Benson et al., 2006).

(With competent social skills, children are able to join many activities in school to further improve
themselves. Environmental influence may affect social proactive)

As neurons form connections, stimulation becomes vital to their survival. Neurons that are
stimulated by input from the surrounding environment continue to establish synapses, forming
increasingly elaborate systems of com munication that support more complex abilities. At first,
stimulation results in massive overabundance of synapses, many of which serve identical functions,
thereby ensuring that the child will acquire the motor, cognitive, and social skills that our species
needs to survive.

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Today, Piaget’s view of make-believe as mere practice of representational schemes is regarded as

too limited. Play not only reflects but also contributes to children’s cognitive and social skills.
Sociodramatic play has been studied most thoroughly. Compared with social nonpretend activities
(such as drawing or putting puzzles together), during sociodramatic play preschoolers’ interactions
last longer, show more involvement, draw more children into the activity, and are more cooperative
(Creasey, Jarvis, & Berk, 1998).

349- Focusing on the whole child. The three programs promoted all aspects of children’s
development—not just academic skills. They recognized that a child who is ill, hungry, weak in social
skills, or suffering from emotional or behavior problems is unable to learn at his or her best.
(PROBLEM STATEMENT)

Social interactionists believe that children’s social skills and language experiences combine with
native capacity to profoundly affect language development. But debate continues over whether
children make sense of their complex language environments by applying general cognitive
capacities or capacities specially tuned to language.