Cultural Impact on Development
EDU305
Cultural Impact on Development
How does a child’s culture influence their development? That almost seems like a no brainer; culture plays a huge role in a child’s development. In order to really answer that question, we must first define the world culture. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, culture is defined as, “the beliefs, customs, or arts of a particular society, group, place, or time” (Merriam Webster, 2014). In other words, culture is the world to which the child will become accustomed, traditional or non-traditional, based on the family. The culture can also be things like language, religious beliefs, social involvement or even the financial background of the family. These things can affect the way a child develops. For example, if parents are “hermits” and do not have social interactions with others, chances are that child will grow up being anti-social or introverted because they have not been “socialized.” Another cultural difference that will impact children is language. According to an article by Damon Verial, “Immigrants are likely to be the most affected by cultural differences in the United States, if only for the reason of language” (Verial, 2014). Children whose families emigrate from other countries tend to have the “native language” spoken at home, therefore do not speak, or understand English. This tends to have a negative affect on their development, as they get older, because they are learning English as second language, and may fall behind once they get into school. There are so many other factors that can affect a child’s development, but I felt these were a few of the biggest.
The impact of both biological influences, and cultural influences are just as important to child development. A baby that is born into a family with support and stability from the start is more likely to be a well-adjusted infant and toddler. Whereas a child who is born into a family where one or...