share or exchange? To start with the obvious, one would have more money spent on clothes, the other might wear more bangles… They might have watched the same serials, heard the same film songs… they might pick up different kinds of slang from each other… Now you are left to follow up the difficult areas, like the sense of security within the family, the neighbourhood and on the street... Activity The presence or absence of which of the items below do you think would affect you most as an individual? ( possessions ) television set/music system … ( space ) a room of your own… ( time ) having to balance school with household or other work… ( opportunities ) travel, music classes… ( people around you ) is especially true in the contemporary world, in which change is so pervasive.
Moreover, the very existence of a diversity of socialising agencies leads to many differences between the outlooks of children, adolescents and the parental generation. Can you identify any instance where you felt that what you learnt from the family was at variance from your peer group or maybe media or even school? Peer Groups Another socialising agency is the peer group. Peer groups are friendship groups of children of a similar age.
In some cultures, particularly small traditional societies, peer groups are formalised as age-grades. Even without formal age-grades, children over four or five usually spend a great deal of time in the company of friends of the same age. The word ‘peer’ means ‘equal’, and friendly relations established between young children do tend to be reasonably egalitarian. A forceful or physically strong child may to some extent try to dominate others.
Yet there is a greater amount of give and take compared to the dependence inherent in the family situation. Because of their power, parents are able (in varying degrees) to enforce codes of conduct upon their children. In peer groups, by contrast, a child discovers a different kind of interaction, within which rules of behaviour can be tested out and explored. Peer relationships often remain