Topical vocabulary. to raise / bring up children; child rearing; to develop socially vital values; to develop a sense of responsibility; to form positive character traits and

Children

to show initiative and independence; to be mature; to reproduce patterns of behaviour; to learn by imitation; to assert one’s independence; to build love towards…; to progress in one’s development; mental development; physical growth

Family atmosphere

an environment of love and security; to grow in the atmosphere of care, affection, respect, patience, reassurance / fear, tension, neglect; happy home backgrounds; friendly atmosphere

Parent-child relations

to treat children…; to encourage children to get along with others; to concentrate on a child’s strength and not his weakness; to gain independence from parents; authoritarian approach; to use a child as a scapegoat; to have a negative effect on a child; unsatisfactory relationship between…; to blame / physically abuse a child; to make emphasis on obedience to authority; to maintain parents’ approval; to be praised; to exaggerate praise; to be constantly criticized; to impose smth on a child; to interfere in children’s affairs; to be attached to…; to experience love and acceptance from parents; to moralize; to be on the child’s side; to approve of…; to show concern for…; to be aggressive / rude / tough with smb; physical punishment (spanking, beating); to scream and yell at…; to lock children up; to tell smb off; to answer back; to teach manners; to ignore a child; to lack contact with parents; lack of adult guidance; to keep anger under control; to cause great damage; to avoid labelling children (stupid, silly, foolish); to win smb over; to insult / hurt one’s feelings, self-respect; to prevent crises; to lose one’s temper / create tension / let steam off; to live up to smb’s expectations; to feel part of the family; to be pushed into making up lies

Problem children

to grow depressed / repressed / frustrated / self-centered / unsociable / lonely / neglected / fearful / irritable / naughty / wilful / unruly / resentful / arrogant / rough; to become a nuisance; to develop anti-social habits; overdisciplined / emotionally disturbed children; to show resistant and aggressive behaviour; youth violence, crime

1.Read the following text and find answers to the following questions:

Why are children regarded a vital part of a family?

How does the birth of a child influence family relationships?

What is the ideal purpose of raising children?

What is understood by primary socialization?

What qualities should a family develop in their children?

What effect may unsatisfactory relations between parents have on children?

For most people, children are the key to a happy family life. Sociologists regard the raising of children as the primary function of the family. Childbirth is not just a biologic fact. It is equally a social phenomenon. People have to readjust their roles as they become not only husband and wife to each other but also parents to their child. The birth of a child also influences relationships between the new parents and their own parents who take on their new roles as grandparents. In most cases grandparents tend to be indulgent toward their grandchildren, while the parents themselves are stricter. Obviously, the specific social adjustments people must make after the birth of a child differ according to individual circumstances and cultural attitude. No matter what pattern is followed, however, ideally the children are brought up to become productive members of their society. To achieve this, they must get proper education within the family and, later, within the institutions of the society as a whole.

The American sociologist Talcott Parsons believed that the two most important functions of the modern family are the primary socialization of children and the stabilization of adult personalities through marriage and the raising of children. Primary socialization refers to the training of children during their earliest years, whereas secondary socialization refers to later influences on the development of the child's personality and learning activities, such as his involvement with teachers and with other children at school.

Primary socialization is in most societies carried out essentially within the family as part of child rearing. In the modern family, parents take responsibility for raising and teaching their children such basic things as language and correct behaviour. Toilet training, teaching children how to eat correctly, and encouraging children to get along with others are all aspects of child rearing. However, it is not only these routine aspects of behaviour that children learn. They are also encouraged to develop such socially vital values as independence, motivation for achievement, cooperation, egalitarianism, integrity, responsibility, etc. These values may differ in different societies. However, there is one basic principle.

The development of social values must be achieved in an environment of love and security, which ideally should be provided by the family.

Few families are ideal, however. Studies of the families of emotionally disturbed children have shown that unsatisfactory relationships between husbands and wives can have negative effects on children.

Sometimes a child is used as a scapegoat. The parents blame or even physically abuse the child in order to cover up their own difficulties. In such a case, the child often fails to develop the values the parents wish to see in him, developing instead antisocial habits which lead to problems in later life. Moreover, such people may reproduce the patterns of behaviour they experienced in childhood in their own families and may treat their children in the same way.

Some western psychologists believe that many problems of families in highly developed countries rise from weaker ties with relatives and community as a whole, whereas in less developed parts of the world families traditionally receive more support from these sources.

One more problem, from the point of view of the British psychiatrists R.D. Laing and David Cooper is connected with the fact that the modern family forces upon children a too strong emphasis on obedience to authority. Overdisciplined children may not be able to show enough initiative and independence in their adult life.

2. Explain the meaning of the following words and word combinations used in the text:

to readjust roles; primary socialization; secondary socialization; stabilization of adult personalities; child rearing; egalitarianism; integrity; emotionally disturbed children; overdisciplined children

3. Do you agree with all ideas expressed in the text? Discuss the following:

Children are the key to a happy family life.

The raising of children is the primary function of a family.

The birth of a child affects family relationships.

Children should be brought up to become productive members of society.

Normal development of a child can be achieved only in an environment of love and security.

It is parents who are to blame for their children’s unhappiness.

A family should not be isolated from relatives and community as a whole.

Children should have enough freedom in their development.