1. Peer Group
CHLD 90.1 Child, Family, Community
Interrelationships
By: Maria V, Alejandra F, Nia S, April H

2. Peers groups play a big role in the lives of children, while the parents
influence helps set in core values to their children. The influences of
their peer groups are more powerful. Children socialize with their peers
as young as six months of age. Infants can communicate with other
infants by smiling, playing and touching. They have their own kind of
language at their age and are able to interact with one another. They
influence each other if one of them cries the other one does too. It’s
the peer influence the mimicking and performing similar behaviors.
Children will adopt and mimic certain behaviors in social settings in
order to get the approval of their peers. Making new friends is hard as
well as maintaining existing friends and also trying to fit into peer
groups and avoid bullies. Children look for their own friends, who they
feel like by and are nice and kind to them.

3. Peer relationships in child
and adolescent
development:
* Peer acceptance and
rejection.
* Friendship development.
* School adjustment.
* Bullying.
* Self-esteem.
* Loneliness.
* The roles that sex
differences, emotions and
culture play in peer relations.
Assertiveness
Conflict
management
How to earn
respect
Control
aggression

4.  The peer group influences development of
children’s socializing skills. These early
friendships help children learn how to
negotiate and relate to others, including
their siblings and other family members.
They learn from peers how to cooperate and
socialize according to group norms and
group-sanctioned modes of behavior. The
peer group can influence what the values,
knows, wears, eats, and learns.

5. · Peers are people of roughly
the same age (same stage of
development and maturity),
similar social identity, and close
social proximity. Learning to get
along with others who are the
same age and status is
important.
· Typically, children encounter
peer group influence around age
three or so.
· The peer group functions so
that children learn to give and
take as equal.
· The peer group has its own
system of modifying behavior
through rewards, and
punishments, which mostly
come in the form of acceptance
and rejection.

6.  The peer group also teaches a set of lessons that
children don’t get from adults; some of these
lessons lie in areas that are sensitive and taboo.
Most of sex education comes from peers.
 The peer group serves as a step in developing
independence, as children move out from their
parents and family into a new set of circumstances.
 The peer group is centered around its own
concerns and not necessarily bound by adult
norms. It has its own hierarchy

7.  The main methods of socialization are: Operant Methods, Observational methods,
Cognitive methods, Sociocultural methods, and Apprenticeship methods. The
socialization process doesn’t start until a child starts an attachment to another
person. Attachment means the child cares and trusts a person and is able to start
the socialization process through developing relationships.
 Operant Methods: The child learns because of the response that he or she receives
as a result of his or her behavior. Examples of these methods are: reinforcement,
extinction, punishment, feedback, learn by doing.
 Observational methods: Children learn by watching other people. They observe
what others do, and then imitate the behaviors they see (Modeling).
 Cognitive methods: The child’s learning and thinking emerges from information
processing. Examples of these methods are: instructions, setting standards, and
reasoning.
 Sociocultural methods: Traditions, customs, symbols, habits, routines, and group
pressures that are passed down to our children. It affects children either because of
how parents grew up so it is what they know or from other groups and peers who
believe in those methods.
 Apprenticeship methods: The task or action is first taught by an expert, then
through guided participation, the child works with the expert to figure out the task.
The expert only guides them with help, but the child attempts to do it on their own
and hopefully accomplishes the task.

8.  Peers influence other peers in many ways. It first starts out as peers
interact or play near each other at school, they see each others
movements and actions but might not form a group of friends just yet.
They may influence their play and interactions but they don’t yet form a
group of friendships. Or there is sometimes the peer group that the
parents set up, maybe a play date, which is controlled by the parents to
set up their children to play together.
 Eventually children on their own will began to interact with one another
and form groups or pairs of peers. These groups have their own activities,
interests, rules, and expressions; which is called a “subculture” as it
states in chapter 2. The influence of gender is big for peers because most
of the time children choose their same gender to play with or form a
group with. You will usually see the girls playing with the girls around the
coloring or dramatic play area, or you will usually see the boys playing
with the boys around the Lego and block area.
 Another influence is behavior, peers will act out what they see their own
peers doing, for instance “A child starts banging pots together pretending
he is playing the drums, then the rest of the class sees that so they start
banging their pots together.” Another influence is communication and
what their peers say. This definitely influences a child because if their
peers say something, then they will usually repeat it back to their
parents.
 Children often take interest in what their friends have or what their
friends want, for example, Johnny says: “My mom bought me a dream
light, it’s so cool, all the cool kids have one!” Then the other child goes
home and says, “Mom, I want a dream light like Johnny and his mommy
bought it for him.”

9. Bullying is the act of hurting one person or a group of people
repeatedly as a way for the bully to feel superior. Usually the bully
is bigger or stronger than his/her victim.
Bullying is not just having a single disagreement with someone; it is
when someone continues to pick on someone else. Often, bullies do
not care about their actions and the effects of their actions on the
person they are bullying. When being bullied, the victim usually
feels that he or she does not have any power to be able to stop
being bullied.

10.  Bullying occurs in every single country around the world. Unfortunately
everyone has probably experienced bullying themselves or knows someone
who has experienced being bullied. In the American school system, recent
statistics show that:
 1 out of 4 kids is bullied.
 1 out of 5 kids admits to being a bully, or doing some "bullying."
 8% of students miss 1 day of class per month for fear of bullies.
 43% of kids fear harassment in the bathroom at school.
 100,000 students carry a gun to school.
 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
 More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to
school.
 80% of the time, an argument with a bully will end up in a physical fight.
 1/3 of students surveyed said they heard another student threaten to kill
someone.
 1 out of 5 teens knows someone who brings a gun to school.
 Playground statistics: Every 7 minutes a child is bullied; Adult intervention -
4%; Peer intervention - 11%; No intervention - 85%.

11.  People can get bullied for many reasons or for no reason
whatsoever. Bullying can be very serious, or it can be as
simple as name calling.
 People get bullied for many different reasons. People can get
bullied because of:
 How fast or slow they learn
 Their choice of lifestyle
 Being perceived as being too tall, too short, too unattractive,
too thin, too overweight or too plain
 Their race or religion
 Where they live
 Who their parents or siblings are
 Their choice of clothing or hairstyle
 Who their friends are
 The way they speak
 The fact that they wear glasses or have braces
 Their disability

12.  Did you know that bullying isn't just someone
punching you in the face or a bully calling
you a name that you don't like? Bullying is a
lot more than that. There are even different
types of bullying.

13.  1. Physical bullying includes any physical contact that would hurt or injure a person
like hitting, kicking, punching, etc. Taking something that belongs to someone else
and destroying it would also be considered a type of physical bullying. For example,
if someone was walking down the street and someone came up to them and shoved
them to the ground, that would be physical bullying. In elementary and middle
schools, 30.5% of all bullying is physical.
 2. Verbal bullying is name-calling, making offensive remarks, or joking about a
person's religion, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or the way they look. For
example, if there was a group of kids who made fun of another kid because he
couldn't run as fast as everyone else, it would be an example of verbal bullying.
46.5% of all bullying in schools is the verbal type. Verbal aggression is when a bully
teases someone. It can also include a bully making verbal threats of violence or
aggression against someone's personal property.
 3. Indirect bullying includes spreading rumors or stories about someone, telling
others about something that was told to you in private, and excluding others from
groups. An example would be if you started a rumor that a boy in your class likes
playing with dolls, and if the reason that you made up the story was because you
thought it was funny. This would be indirect bullying. Indirect bullying accounts for
18.5% of all bullying.
 4. Social alienation is when a bully excludes someone from a group on purpose. It
also includes a bully spreading rumors, and also making fun of someone by pointing
out their differences.
 5. Intimidation is when a bully threatens someone else and frightens that person
enough to make him or her do what the bully wants.
 6. Cyber bullying is done by sending messages, pictures, or information using
electronic media, computers (email & instant messages), or cell phones (text
messaging & voicemail). For instance, if you sent a picture of a snake in an email to
a person because you know that they are afraid of snakes, that would be an example
of cyber bullying. According to a survey done in 2003 only 4% of bullying is listed as
"other types" and this would include cyber bullying. Even though this number seems
small, the growth of this type of bullying is going up fast because of the spread of
technology around the world.

14.  Many people think that
bullying is a normal part of
childhood or that "kids will
be kids." However, research
shows that in fact, bullying
can cause negative
academic, physical, social,
emotional, and psychological
consequences on victims,
bullies, and witnesses. These
consequences can be short-
term or long-term. Bullying
can also greatly affect the
overall climate of a school.
When Kids are Bullied….

15. Victims
 Anxiety
 Stress
 Sadness
 Sleep Difficulties
 Low Self Esteem
 Headaches
 Stomach Pain
 General Tension
 Depression
 Anxiety Panic Disorders

16.  In the social area, victims have few friends or none at all
 Being a victim can result in poor school attendance, because many
victims become afraid of going to school.
 They are also scared of riding the school bus or using the bathroom at
school
 Victims often receive lower grades due to attendance problems, and also
due to their stress and worry. Another possible result of being bullied is
that victims may become violent, towards themselves or others.
 Some experts believe that school shootings are related to bullying.
Students who committed school shootings were over two times as likely
to have reported that they were victims of bullying.
 Victims are more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders and depression,
and these disorders can continue into adulthood. Sometimes the
disorders can also cause difficulties with the victims' family, friends, and
co-workers in their futures.
 In some cases, the bullying may be so severe and may go on for so long
that the victim has thoughts of suicide, (which is also called suicidal
ideation), or he or she may actually commit suicide. Victims are also
more likely to have attempted suicide than their non-bullied peers. The
term "bullycide" is used to describe a victim's suicide that occurs due to
extreme bullying behavior by a bully toward that victim.

17.  Children who bully others also experience many short term and long term
consequences of their bullying behavior. They are more likely to get
involved in other harmful activities, both as a child and as an adult. While
they are still young, they may steal or vandalize property, start or join in
on physical fights, become injured in a fight, skip school, carry a weapon
in order to scare others, or use alcohol and other drugs. They are also
five times more likely to be taken to criminal court and to be found guilty
of a crime than are their peers who do not participate in bullying
behavior.
 Most bullies do not just "outgrow" their bullying behaviors when they get
older. Instead, the aggressive behavior continues into adulthood
 The bullies' need for power tends to carry on into their grownup years. As
adults, these bullies misuse this power by becoming involved in sexual
and racial harassment, child abuse, domestic violence, etc. Their need
for power can also show up in how they parent their own children. In
turn, their children may even bully other children in the future.
 Bullies are more likely to have an antisocial personality disorder, an
antisocial personality disorder involves a long-term disregard for others,
delinquent behavior, violence, aggression, and violation of the rights of
others. In other words, since bullies do not learn appropriate social skills
when they are young, they grow up to be antisocial adults. They will have
poor relationships with others, including family members, friends, co-
workers, etc.
 Victims aren't the only ones who may become depressed, think about
suicide, or carry out suicide; in some cases, the same can be true for
bullies.

18.  There are also consequences for children who are
bystanders or witnesses to bullying. They suffer from
frustration, fear, low self-esteem, and a loss of control.
They may also feel a huge sense of guilt about the bullying
they witness, especially if they do not "S.A.V.E." the victim
and the bullying continues. Sometimes their guilt is too
much for them to accept. In these cases, the witnesses
may go from empathizing with the victim to later thinking
that the bullying is acceptable. This is their way of
preventing themselves from feeling more guilt in the
future; they will simply not even recognize that someone
is being hurt.
 Witnesses also develop a lot of anxiety and stress. They
worry that they will also become a victim and therefore
their feelings of safety and security at school decrease.
This leads to negative feelings toward school, which can
also contribute to problems with learning and
achievement.

19.  There are many reasons why kids bully. Did you know that bullying behavior is
often a cry for help?
 According to Frank Peretti, there are two basic reasons why kids bully.

 One reason a child bullies is because he (or she) "has a deep troubling need of his
own" and is picked on or feels that he does not have a very successful life. Bullies
may be experiencing trouble at home, be underachievers in school, and for
whatever reason they feel they have to make themselves better by picking on
someone else. On the outside bullies may look fine, but they may be very lonely or
may deliberately try to hurt themselves or have trouble eating or sleeping.
 Another reason kids bully is that they may fall into a trap by thinking that bullying
is just "the cool thing to do," especially in front of their friends. Sometimes bullies
are those kids who are good students, athletes, or the kids who seem to have
everything going for them. In Time Magazine, it was reported that even though
bullies often will have high self-esteem, they "tend to be victims of physical
damage as well." Most bullies live in families in which parents discipline them
"inconsistently or through physical means."
 Unfortunately, there are people who reward others who bully. The bullies are
made to feel that they are "fitting in" with the others, or are "being cool" when
they are acting like a bully.
 Another reason why kids bully others is that adults don't give kids the skills they
need to be able to tolerate and appreciate the differences of others.
 Bullies also tend to continue their behavior throughout their lives. Their bullying
actions become a cycle, in that bullies have children that they bully, and then
their children become aggressive, and then they bully others too.

20.  Look for changes in the child. However, be aware that not all
children who are bullied exhibit warning signs.
 Some signs that may point to a bullying problem are:
 Unexplainable injuries
 Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry
 Frequent headaches or stomach aches, feeling sick or faking
illness
 Changes in eating habits, like suddenly skipping meals or binge
eating. Kids may come home from school hungry because they
did not eat lunch.
 Difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares
 Declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting
to go to school
 Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations
 Feelings of helplessness or decreased self esteem
 Self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home,
harming themselves, or talking about suicide

21.  Kids may be bullying others if they:
 Get into physical or verbal fights
 Have friends who bully others
 Are increasingly aggressive
 Get sent to the principal’s office or to detention
frequently
 Have unexplained extra money or new belongings
 Blame others for their problems
 Don’t accept responsibility for their actions
 Are competitive and worry about their reputation
or popularity
 www.Stopbullying.gov

22. Kids Talk About Bullying
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
39fiuigmL-w
 http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/0011
7/typesbullying.html