Chapter 2

Children and Their Identity!

What are children like?

Curious about themselves and others Construct social identities Overt and covert messages teach Who is or isn’t important Make sense of what they see and hear Develop their own pre-prejudgments Who belongs Power

Curious about themselves and others

By 6 months children notice differences in skin color and associate that with who they know

By 2 years old they know gender and apply it By 3 years they begin to ask questions about how

they fit with others By 4 they show awareness of family structures and

economic class By 5 they clearly want information about what will

stay the same and what will change in their own lives both physically and emotionally

Construct social identities

All people born into an identity Will form personal identities as well as how

they fit into social identities Begins in toddlerhood (2) Identities can harm or support Our own beliefs set our ideas about what we

can or cannot do and will impact our ability to thrive

Overt and covert messages teach

Over=those things said or declared– Primary caregivers– Media– schools

Covert=tiny unseen messages– What we do not what we say

Who is or isn’t important

Being visible makes them feel important

Make sense of what they see and hear

Children will form theories based on what they see and hear

Often incorrect based on lack of knowledge

Respect their thinking but correct the incorrect theories

Develop their own pre-prejudgments

Absorb EVERYTHING They learn incorrect ideas, stereotypes and

biases Watch so closely and silently that adults

forget they are around Learn most from covert messages Address these early or they will stick After age 10 it is almost impossible to change

thinking

Who belongs

From watching they form ideas about status

What they see is what is real

Power

They know who is boss just by watching Internalized oppression=ones belief about

their relation in their own group that results in behaviors

Internalized privilege=ones belief about their relation in their own group that results in a sense of entitlement

ALL related to power and if their group has it or doesn’t and who has the power in the group or over the group