Pedagogy

The goal of various studies and researches is to know how secure attachment in infancy is related to the cognitive and social competence in childhood. This paper aims to know how cognitive and social competence is directly related to secure attachment in childhood, focusing on the different processes that exist within the family, school and peer groups.
    Researches show that children, especially infants, are capable of perceiving things. They can respond to a stimulus and be active in any given circumstance especially when interacting with people. According to John Bowlbys theory called Attachment Theory, as long as a primary caregiver is present with an infant, social and cognitive development automatically occurs. This way, attachment starts to exist.
    As the attachment theory suggests, the behavior of a baby connected to attachment is basically defined by the need of closeness to the adult in a stressful event. A baby, for example, is attached to his mother who usually easily reacts when interacting with other people. He is attached to his mother who is with him during his sixth month or second year from the time he was born.
    Adults are used by an infant as attachment figures. Usually, the attachment figures of an infant are the people he is familiar with. These are the people he can return to. He needs them to explore from. These adults are what he considers his secure base. The way these adults respond to circumstances will lead as the guide of the child when it comes to his expectations, thoughts and feelings toward his relationships with other people in the future.
    With people to interact with, an infant is able stick his tongue out or mimic other peoples actions. He can close or open his hand or cry when scared. All of these are signs that the infant is responding to the people around him. He also uses sounds to let people know that he is hurt, hungry or irritated. He is capable of letting other people know about his need for food, comfort and safety even when he is young.
    The physical requirements of a child require the presence of other people. Infants who do not have other people to interact with will most likely fail to co-exist with others or thrive in a community. Children who experience lack of interaction and who are not given the chance to be attached to others, grow depressed, indifferent and withdrawn.
    A baby is involved in exchanges with other people through an attempt to mimic each other with the use of physical gestures. This way, a baby gets fined-tuned for social development, language, and cognitive development as well. Babies need to be attached. The more adults he is attached with, the better.
    Ideally, the mother is that one adult, but with other families, the adult is a godmother, a sibling, an aunt or the father. The adult provides that stimulus to which the baby responds. The baby learns how to respond to various kinds of cognitive and social stimulation with the adult he is attached to provides. This attachment has a crucial role to the cognitive and social development to the child. It defines even the welfare of the infant.
    Attachment is seen in an infant when he is six to nine months old. It is characterized by the baby exhibiting distress when the adult leaves the child. When a child has learned to be affectionate, he is said to be securely attached to the adult. He is securely attached if he grows to be less clingy than other kids. He is capable of exploring his surroundings on his own and showing interest in objects and people.
    Socialization for a child is not only developed with the help of his parents. Even other members of the family have an important role to contribute to the development of the child. Friends and relatives who are close to the parents also influence a childs cognitive and social competence. They all help in reinforcing the values of the child.
    While an infant is developing, adults employ several types of methods for his development. Some parents are permissive, which is characterized by giving low direction or low control to the child. Others are authoritative, where the parents use authority by giving instructions. Still, there are parents who are naturally authoritarian where they yield high control over their children. Some parents use all these leadership styles as they guide their children through his early development.
    Culture has an essential part in the development of a childs social competence. Culture dictates the leadership style of their kids. Because of this, a child is exposed to different patterns of control. For example, if a mother is the verbal type, she is more likely to use instructions when talking to her baby. Children who grew up with verbal parents appear to develop with greater social competence in school, with friends, and of course, inside their very homes.
    When a child is in his toddler stage, he establishes peer relationships, too, which open opportunities for him to learn to understand other people, as well as sustained interaction with them. In 1932, Piaget cited interaction with peers as one of the most important sources of social and cognitive development, especially the development of empathy and role playing. Children learn to distinguish between different kinds of peer relationships in various contexts, such as home, neighborhood, or school. These peer relationships may include very close friends, partners in activities, acquaintances, even strangers.
    Children learn what the self means, as well as other skills related to social interaction through the establishment and maintenance of these different kinds of peer relationships and experiences in society. Conflict in these relationships is also an essential learning tool. Peer interaction among children of different age groups helps to develop the social and cognitive language skills of younger individuals while improving the instructive capacities of older ones.
    As childrens view of social situations and peer relationships become more and more abstract while moving farther away from egocentrism, the development of their social-cognitive faculties and moral judgment starts to parallel their cognitive development. Compared to children in elementary school, preschoolers find it more difficult to distinguish between friends and best friends.
    However, children who are younger are able to give reasons on why they choose not to interact with specific kinds of peers. Children tend to change their perceptions of friendships from 6 to 14 years old. In this span of time, they change their perceptions of friendship from the act of sharing activities to sharing objects or materials from being helpful or generous to others, to eventually seeing friendships as opportunities to show their individuality.
    There are many factors that may limit a childs opportunities to develop his social skills. His connection to the family, school, or neighborhood he belongs in may draw the boundaries around the social skills that he can develop as he grows. Peer interactions in social settings involving mixed race, age, sex, and culture may not occur frequently and may involve differences in activities and expectations, which ultimately limit the diversity of his social experience. The result of this is that the childs social competence in different circumstances becomes limited.
    Educational settings which are formally structured and which primarily involve interaction between a teacher and a group usually result in a smaller number of peer interactions than in educational settings that are less formal. There is less risk for children to be socially isolated in classrooms which encourage activities or projects that are done by peers through collaboration and partnership.
    Several studies have shown the long-term advantages of positive peer relationships and interactions. It has been observed that people who were well-accepted by their peers when they were 9 or 10 years old tend to adjust more effectively in high school and later in adulthood. Less experiences of acceptance during these years usually result in fewer positive experiences with peers, initiating a vicious cycle of rejection by peers.
    There are many effective instructional or educational approaches related to social and cognitive skills that can improve the social competence of children. Approaches such as reinforcement, modeling, pairing of peers and coaching are methods that are the same as the learning processes that adults undergo.
    These instructional strategies can develop the behavioral and social-cognitive skills of children who have a hard time getting accepted by peers, so they can break their vicious cycle of rejection. Through these strategies, children can learn how to better evaluate peer values, expectations, and norms, enabling them to choose actions that will bring them closer to their goal of acceptance by their peers.
    Childrens social development is also affected by social factors. As rates of divorce around the country continue to rise, research is tightening its focus on families who have less and less time to spend with their children. Poverty also limits childrens opportunities for positive social development. More studies should be done on the link between societal factors and child development.
    Therefore, the presence of an adult should never be underestimated especially when it comes to ensuring the healthy cognitive and social development of a child. A childs attachment to an adult should also be filled with security so as not to compromise the quality of relationships an infant will soon encounter in the future. Adults should make sure that their presence in an environment where an infant is present has a good influence on the child, because a child is extremely sensitive to external forces.