Latino Family Context And Child Developement
Introduction
Recent research has disclosed Latino family strengths and the various benefits that this strength brings along especially within Latino children. These studies have shown that the environment as well as the way Latino children are natured makes a substantial difference with regard to cognition as well as practices involving socialization.
It has hence been identified that parenting styles amongst some Latino subgroups seem to support as well as enhance social cohesion amongst other things.
Latino family context and child development
Today, the population of the Latino group is thought to be increasing exponentially (Vega 2006). In fact, it has been claimed that this ethnic group could be actually the largest in comparison to the various cultural groupings in the United States. Data sourced from the United States Consensus Data show that the Latino ethnic group experienced an unprecedented growth in the year 2006 with 10% registered growth (Contreras 2000). Most of the Latino immigrants find their way into the United States through south as well as Central America.
Several decades ago, there was a presumed large disparity between Latino families and the mainstream white middle class families. Bean et al. (2001) notes that these presumptions were informed to some extent by linking the practices as well as cultural identity of Latino parents to Latino children. This misconception has however come to be disputed in the light of ongoing research of Latino households as well as observed success of Latino children in the societal setting. In that line, this new discoveries have informed a detailed study of child development within the Latino family setup.
Vega (2006) notes that the parenting styles of Latino mothers exhibit the best prenatal initiatives amongst all Hispanic groups. During the pregnancy period, Latino mothers observe their diets carefully and avoid negative behaviors that may have retrogressive effects on the unborn babies i.e. smoking and excessive drinking. This ends up being beneficial in the long term because as Bean et al. (2001) states, by the time Latino children find their way to kindergarten; their emotional stability and social interaction prowess are already at par with their Anglo counterparts if not better. Latino parents also show special interest in their children’s early education and this has been noted to impact positively in their education. Contreras (2000) notes that Latino parents have also been observed to be highly adaptive in their parenting skills. That is to say they efficiently adapt their parenting styles to in response to say the environmental circumstances at play at a specific period. These circumstances could be rampant discrimination, safety in the neighborhood etc.
Bean et al. (2001) notes that the bonds that are evident in Latino families in the long term help Latino children to have better socialization skills. In the early stages of their development, children are raised in a way that enhances their social skills in almost every aspect of life. For example, Latino parents have been known to structure each house activity in a way that involves every child i.e. every child has a role to play when house chores as well as activities are allocated. This activities in one way or the other mirror the day to day activities in the real world and as such a child grows up to be more responsible.
Fuller (2009) notes that while each Latino family is unique in its own right, several themes with regard to culture still seem to be evidently distinct. He goes on to state that the family is held in high regard when it comes to the Latino cultures. In that respect, marriage is usually entered into for purposes of having children. In an attempt to underscore the value of the family to Latino couples, Vega (2006) notes that in a recent research, instead of concentrating on the question put to them with regard to their marriage, Latino couples instead went to a great extent to describe their families. This was in direct disregard to the marriage question.
The level of importance in which the family unit is held makes Latino parents give substantial attention to their children. It is hence vital to note that as they grow up, Latino children receive proper guidance and attention from their parents and this in a large way contributes towards making them more responsible societal members as they grow up.
Kloosterman (2009) also argues that a good number of Latino children are raised in a family setting that encourages placing one’s personal goals below those of the family. In a Latino familial setting, it is a virtue to help the extended family both emotionally as well as financially.
With that in mind, Latino children are raised in an emotionally as we3ll as financially supportive families hence enhancing their emotional well being. The aspect of placing ones needs below those of the family tend to create strong family bonds that tend to last a lifetime (Fuller 2009). This strong family structure enhances the creation ends up having beneficial effects much later for all those Latino children who pass through it.
Contreras (2000) notes that today, cultural psychologists have come to the conclusion that the learning process of a child is not only affected by the elementary school setting. In the past, it was widely held that a child’s learning process is entirely influenced by the elementary class setting and hence those from minority groups would face difficulties if they found themselves in the same class setting with hostile peers (Kloosterman 2009). Today, both the classroom contexts as well as several other institutions have come to be associated with the learning process in equal measure. These institutions include but are not limited to the family. The involvement of Latino parents in the learning process of their children can hence be linked to an enhanced child engagement in school.
Contreras (2000), a psychologist argues that there is a great disparity between Latino and white parents when it comes to socialization goals as well as parental goals. Latino children are raised to be good mannered and are taught to always respect those who are older than them. This is natured from an early stage where compliance to the parent’s authority is rewarded while the failure to comply is frowned upon. Children are made to understand that the only way they are to become credible family members is to act within certain rules that bound the family members. Away from the family setting, Latino children latter come to appreciate this ideology and as they start their lives seem to believe that the only way to become credible members of the society is to comply with the various rules laid down by the society.
It is also important to note that in certain circumstances, cognitive skills have been known to be enhanced or constrained by activity structures (Fuller 2009). For instance, white mothers read with their preschool children in lower frequency than Latino mums.
According to Vega (2006), an individual’s learning ability is almost entirely influenced by the richness of the environment in which he or she was brought up. This perhaps explains the reason why Latino children seem to perform better from preschool programs as compared to their counterparts from other ethnic groupings. Villarruel et al. (2009) notes that good preschools are scarce for those Latino households with low incomes and hence the full potential of these children is not exploited. However, irregardless of the income some of the Latino poor households earn, they always strive to seek better environments in which to bring up their children. This is probably what informs their moving into neighborhoods largely considered to be middleclass,. It is these neighborhoods that continue to sculpture Latino children as they advance towards their youths.
As they grow, young Latinos tend to form some kind of ethnic enclaves within these neighborhoods. This enclaves combined with the strong bonds joining Latino families has been thought by some psychologists including Vega (2006) to be largely responsible for better performance at school. Hence these bonds tend to act as some kind of insulation for Latino youths with regard to negativity from white peers. However, these enclaves have been blamed for negative influence including but not limited to behaviors which may be considered risky. These behaviors may include drug use, disengagement from school etc.
Orozco (2008) however notes that the likelihood of ethnic enclaves encouraging negative behavior is mitigated by religion. Latinos are largely catholic and religion as well as righteous living is emphasized from a Latino child’s early childhood stage. Kloosterman (2009) also notes that among the Latinos, religion plays a very huge role when it comes to marriage as well as family. It is also important to note that in most cases, religious bodies also offer material support to those in need of it. Churches also have programs where young Latinos are given life teachings in the church setting. This life’s teachings end up being invaluable to the youthful Latinos in later life and as Jenson (2006) notes, the benefits of being raised in a strict Christian family can never be overemphasized.
Gaitan (2004) argues that another aspect that is emphasized to great extent as Latino children are brought up is their roles that each gender is supposed to play. Maleness is referred to as machismo. Generally, Latino children are made to understand from an early stage that a man must exhibit strength both physically and emotionally and be very brave.
Authoritativeness is a virtue for men especially in a family setting. Latino girls are raised and taught to be submissive to men and their roles are in most cases limited to managing the household effectively. This is vital in that Latino children grow up knowing their place in the family setting which in one way or the other enhances and betters their family lives once they eventually settle down in a family much later in life (Fong 2004).
Fuller (2009) also states that a closer examination of the contexts in which Latino mothers raise their children indicates that the Latino cultural identity has a very big impact in how the child grows or the personality that he or she develops. Several decades ago, it was widely held that a child was born with intelligence that was in one way or the other fixed. Today, cultural psychologists insist that the cultural setting in which a child is brought up may influence a number of things including but not limited to social cognition.
Contreras (2000) argues that a child’s social cognition is defined and modeled by the cultural settings expectations. He continues to say that while the psychological processes at play within a Latino child may be as similar as those of other groups, Latino infant’s capacities involving cognitive processing may in some few instances appear to be superior. However in some cases, they are not superior and hence the emergence of mentalities that appear to be differing pop up as a consequence of the tendency of Latino parents to bring up their children whist incorporating their cultural heritage.
However as Bean et al. (2001) notes, it is important to note that the cognitive processes that inform Latino children of the precedence of their family interests over their individual interests do not occur to Latino children in isolation but can also be found in other groups as well. What enables Latino children to be more competent are simply the behavioral scripts as well as cognitive representations tactic.
Conclusion
It is important to note that in the last few decades, researchers have learnt a lot from Latino children with regard to child development dynamics. However, more research needs to be carried out with regard to the role Latino parents play when it comes to heritage deployment.
Future research could also concentrate on novel practices employed by Latino parents so as to enhance the development of Latino children.
References
Bean, R.A., Perry, B.J., & Bedell, T.M. 2001. Developing culturally competent marriage and family therapists: guidelines for working with Hispanic families. Journal of marital and family therapy, 27, 43-54
Contreras, J.F. (2000). Latino children and families in the United States: current research and future directions. Greenwood Publishing Group
Fong, R. (2004). Culturally competent practice with immigrant and refugee children and families. Guilford Press
Fuller, B. 2009. The Health and cognitive growth of Latino toddlers. Maternal and child health journal. 13, 23-29
Gaitan, C.D. (2004). Involving Latino families in schools: raising student achievement through home-school partnerships. Corwin Press
Jenson, J.M. (2006). Social policy for children & families: a risk and resilience SAGE
Kloosterman, V.I. (2009). Latino Students in American Schools. IAP
Orozco, M.S. (2008). Latinos: Remaking. University of California Press
Vega, W.A. 2006. Hispanic families: Latino perspective. Journal of family therapy, 23, 32-37
Villarruel, F. & Carlo, G. (2009). Handbook of U.S. Latino psychology: developmental and community-based. SAGE
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