Erikson's Theory Of Child-Rearing Practices In African-American Family

458 Words2 Pages

Erikson’s theory for initiative versus guilt describes the stage when a child begins to display dominance over the world through social interaction and pretend play with their peers (Berk, 2014). This is the stage when children become aware of whom they are and embarks on the path to discovering what they want to be when they grow up.
Child-rearing practices in African American families are quite different from majority of the other cultures in the world. Statistics show that most children in African American families are raised in a single-family home (Lombardo, 2014). Depending on how many children live within that one household determines the amount of quality time the parent has to spend with each child. In addition, if the child is not being raised by a biological parent, they are normally raised by another family member, such as a grandparent. Consequently, social skills and self-identification become skewed to a degree.
Generally, children are the products of their environment. Lombardo (2014) stated that within the African American family, children receive an abundance of negativity characteristics from their family members. At an early age, a child undergoes detachments and …show more content…

Indeed, children learn various concepts and behaviors from their caregivers. In the case that they are being raised by a single mom, you may find a young girl playing with a doll, showing traits of how her mother interacts with her. Their pretend play may include activities such as making sure that the doll is getting proper nutrition, but show little social interaction with it. Some pretend play may consist of working as a waitress or cleaning a house. As for the African American male child, you may see them exhibit characteristics based on what they are watching on TV or from a male relative, especially if they are being raised by a single