How does social environment impacts

child’s behavior?
Sawan Kumar @SawanSEP 14, 2020, 17:21 IST

The environment plays a crucial role in shaping behavior. Children are like wet clay
which can be molded in any shape so environmental influences the initial behavior
shaping of a child in many ways like from the way the family is structured to the way
culture is structured, nearly every facet of life shapes the behavior. The environment
has little control over genes, proteins, and time that control the development of the
brain but it does shape how children use their new mental abilities. A child tossed into
a social environment, for instance, likely experiences many new situations, leading to
a myriad of latest feelings. The way a child deals with feelings depends on the
environment, he spent his time.
Children are influenced by the physical surrounding of a social environment which
includes housing, facilities for education, health care, employment, and open space
for recreation as they spend the majority of their time and start to interact. Children
learn from their environment by imitating the social behavior of the people around,
and what they see in their day to day environment influences their social behavior.
A child’s social environment is largely dictated by where their parents live and where
the child is sent for initial education and the social environment largely determines
with whom children form social relationships and the quality of those social
relationships, as many of the relationship children form are within their family or
neighborhood. The social structure affects the nature and quality of the relationships
in which parents and children engage, as the social environment largely determines
who, how often, and on what terms parents and children will interact socially.
Developing and maintaining positive social relationships characterized by trust,
mutual satisfaction, respect, love, and happiness is fundamental to a good quality of
life and behavioral development. Living in an organized social environment increases
the chances that a child will develop social relationships. Social behavior and the
ability to develop positive relationships with others were traditionally conceived as
skills that would develop naturally. Social skills can be actively taught, for example
when a parent or teacher reinforces and encourages good behaviors, the probability of
these behaviors occurring is enhanced. Teachers and parents may also actively
encourage children to apply social skills learned in one social setting like the
classroom to other settings like a home or the playground.
Individuals living in social environments characterized by positive social relationships
are more motivated than those that don’t like peer support, is one of the determining
factors of a child’s motivation to pursue social goals, while teachers’ support
increases a child’s motivation for both social and academic goal pursuits. Parents’
support influences children in terms of their level of interest at school and their
pursuit of goals.
The environment molds the behavior of children to face the situations coming in their
life and makes them prepared to sustain in the competitive world. The behavior
developed in children when they are young will always define his character and will
always reflect in his actions throughout his life.