Exploring Childhood Identity: Interviews With Two Children and Their Mothers - Essay Sample

Introduction

The interviews were conducted through phone calls to my friends with their children. The persons involved in the interview were two children aged four and fourteen from different families and their mothers. The interviews specifically involved the following questions for the children: What is your name? Can you describe yourself to me? If you were introducing yourself to a new person, what would you say about yourself to help them get to know you? When you grow up, how do you think you'll change? Will you be different or pretty much the same? What is a friend? Why is it nice to have a friend? How can you tell that someone is your best friend? What do you and your close friends like to do together? On the other hand, the following questions were specifically asked the mothers of the children: What kinds of activities does your child like to do with his/her close friends? Do you think your child has a "best friend," or is it more of a circle of close friends? Would you say that these friendships formed naturally and independently, or are they fostered by parent-planning of playdates? How important is knowing the friends of your child? How do you protect your child from a bad influence? How do you separate your child from bad friends? What is the most psychologically damaging thing you can say to Patrick?

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While interviewing the children, especially the four-year-old child, I had to put my questions in a straightforward way to help him understand and respond to them efficiently. In addition to that, I also had to talk playfully to him to make him thrilled and interested in the interview.

Individuals Interviewed

The first interview involved a 4-year old Patrick Richards with his mother, Mrs. Cicchetti Richards. The two were contacted through a phone call. Patrick Richards is a very joyful boy and an extrovert. His outgoing quality and openness in a speech made him a suitable person for the interview. His mother, Mrs. Cicchetti, is a high school teacher and an exceptional mentor to young children. Her knowledge, skills, and experience with young children was an added advantage to gaining essential insights into knowing more about the psychology of children. At the time of the interview through the phone call, the two were relaxing in the sitting room at home. Therefore, they had ample time and good mood to share information about themselves and help me learn about whatever was worth learning.

The second interview involved a 14-year old Jane Lilian with her mother, Mrs. Lerner Pryde. The two were contacted through a phone call. Jane is a teenager and an outspoken girl who loves making new friends. She is an extrovert, kind, and courageous girl with good interpersonal communication skills. Her openness and good interpersonal communication skills qualified her for the interview. Her mother, Mrs. Lerner Pryde, is a kind and humble woman and a college lecturer. Mrs. Lerner is also a motivational speaker with long working experience in psychological inspiration for children in schools. Her richness of knowledge in psychology was an excellent resource for the interview. At the time of the interview, the two were together at home relaxing. Therefore, they were able to spare a long time enough to participate in the interview as well as provide additional information they felt necessary for my knowledge.

Reflection

The interviews demonstrate children’s understanding of self and friendship. From the answers provided by the 4-year old Patrick and 14-year old Jane, it is evident that children have a different understanding of self and friendship as they develop into adulthood. At age four, for example, the child knows only about the necessary information about themselves, mainly in comparison to what they see or have heard (Nagase, 2018). For example, when asked to describe himself, the 4-year old Patrick could readily acknowledge that he is a boy. That is what he knows about himself at that particular age. Going further in describing himself, he would lack words to say since his understanding is still limited to only the essential characteristics he can easily observe and those he has heard of. According to Piaget’s cognitive theory, children think in a very different way as compared with adults because they are still growing in their thought processes (Miller, 2017). Patrick acknowledges that he is smaller than his father. He expects to become tall and massive like his father when he grows up. His environment lies within play and schooling alone. Patrick’s answers justify the observation of Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory in how children develop mentally (Saracho, 2017). At age four, children are unable to mentally manipulate information and take other people’s point of view. This is, in contrast, different from the understanding of self when a child continues to develop into adulthood. For example, the 14-year old Jane seems to have a better and more detailed knowledge about the self that does Patrick. When asked to describe more about self, Jane goes beyond her gender to talk about her level of education. She is more aware of her environment than Patrick to know what the best friend means. Her interaction with peers seems to have significantly increased. Therefore, she has become more vulnerable to peer influence than does Patrick. According to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, children integrate ideas, opinions, and higher-order functions through learning from others with whom they interact (Nagase, 2018). Interaction gives a platform for exploring oneself through comparison and contrast to understand self and friendship. As a result, a child at age 14 requires ultimate parental guidance to check on adopting destructive behaviors from friends (Nagase, 2018).

Lessons From the Interview

The interviews brought up some of the most compelling insights regarding child development, especially on the understanding of self and friendship. Based on the experience, children think differently from adults. At age four, children have not yet mastered concrete logic, are unable to manipulate information, and cannot understand the point of view of other persons (Miller, 2017). Friendship is still basically founded on the play, and everything else revolves around the same. Therefore, parental care ought to be focused on enhancing the child’s cognitive development to help them cope up with their environment. Growing into adulthood, children become more social-oriented and are more in need to gain self-identity in the midst of their peers (Hansen & Jessop, 2017). At age 14, children, especially girls, are more concerned with their physical appearance. They are desperately seeking approval from their peers (Hansen & Jessop, 2017). This is the period during which children can easily get caught up with peer pressure to adopt strange behaviors. Therefore, parental guidance and care is key to managing the child’s conduct and friendship to reinforce desirable behavior and characteristics (Saracho, 2017).

References

Hansen, D. M., & Jessop, N. (2017). A context for self-determination and agency: Adolescent developmental theories. In Development of self-determination through the life-course (pp. 27-46). Springer, Dordrecht. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-024-1042-6_3

Miller, H. V. (2017). Developmental Theories. The Encyclopedia of Juvenile Delinquency and Justice, 1-6. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118524275.ejdj0179

Nagase, A. (2018). Review of Theories of early childhood education: Developmental, behaviorist, and critical (PDF File). Education Review, 25.

Saracho, O. N. (2017). Theoretical Framework of Developmental theories of Play. The SAGE Handbook of Outdoor Play and Learning, 25.