Discussion:
Children's Sense of Self
1. As children become more competent in their language skills, they interact more often with peers to learn and to socialize. When children struggle with speech or have reading problems, they often also struggle with making friends. Using the theories from our reading and any other peer-reviewed resource, respond to the following questions.
2. One of the tasks of middle childhood is in developing age-appropriate skills (e.g., academic and social) that help children to feel confident in their overall abilities. Using Erikson's theory of psychosocial theory in your explanation, describe how children's sense of self develops from both social interactions with peers and adults.
3. What are some interventions that can be used to help children who feel inferior to their peers gain more confidence? How does learned helplessness increase feelings of inferiority?