During a child’s development, parents always try to steer them on the right path.

However, there are outside factors that contribute to this development as well. Middle child

development, they are at an age where they can be accompanied by many influences out in the

world. This is the age where they tend to be in school, make friends, etc. Thus, one of the main

outside factors is the influence of peers. In my opinion, middle child development is when

children start to branch out and are growing more independent, which is why they experience

more peers. In addition to this, they start to form better connections with others and emotionally

learn the importance of friendship.

In chapter six, “the Peer Context in Middle Childhood,” Willard Hartrop talks about

socialization in a child’s earliest interactions with other children. This is shown in the peer

system that he goes by, which can be represented as a matrix of contexts and components. The

vertical axis of this matrix consists of a hierarchical ordering of various social contexts. The most

basic of these are interactions, i.e., meaningful encounters between two or more individuals.

Relationships are interactions between individuals (known to each other) that persist over time

and that involve expectations, affects, and characteristic configurations of interactions. Groups,

subsuming both interactions and relationships, possess structural and normative dimensions that

are not evident in either of the other contexts; most commonly, groups are polyadic rather than

dyadic. Macrostructures are higher-order social contexts, including entities that we commonly

call institutions or societies. Thus, peer relationships in middle childhood are discussed with an

emphasis on child-child interactions and their changes with age; close relationships and their

significance; group formation and functioning; and interconnections between the peer system

and two macrostructures—the family and the school. Peer interaction and the socialization of the
individual child are examined in relation to conditions of the setting and the identity of the

individuals with whom children interact.

In the article, “Friendships in middle childhood: Links to peer and school identification,

and general self-worth,” Rachel Maunder discusses how children’s relationship is important for

well-being and school adjustment. She examined this by doing a study that surveyed 7- to 11-

year-olds (n = 314) about their friendships, best friendships, friendship quality and indices of

self-worth, identification with peers, and identification with school. A defining characteristic of

friendship is that it is reciprocated. Thus, the benefits associated with friendship vary depending

on the quality of the relationship. Middle childhood is a particularly important developmental

period for peer relations. Social time spent with peers increases, tightly knit cliques develop,

group identity and acceptance become more central, and some aspects of peer relations become

more stable. The results suggest that friendship reciprocity is particularly relevant for children's

self-worth and identification with peers. The findings are discussed in relation to the importance

of fostering the development of reciprocated friendships.

Either good or bad, there are factors outside the environment that parents cannot control.

Based on my research, my opinion does not change. It made me realize how individualism

within middle child development becomes. These children are trying to find themselves as well

as form relationships with those who are similar to them. One strategy that helps with this

outside influence is make sure your child stays true to who they are as a person. Peers can

definitely steer them away from that by making them behave their way. Another strategy that

manages this influence is to make sure your child's self-esteem is in a positive place, seeing that

some children are less likely to be accepted by their peers than others. Peer acceptance can

determine a young child's ability to gain social inclusion among counterparts.

 References

Willard, H. (2020.). The peer context in middle childhood - Development during middle childhood -
NCBI bookshelf. Chapter 6. National Center for Biotechnology Information.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216783/

Maunder, R. (2019). Friendships in middle childhood: Links to peer and school identification, and
general self-worth. Wiley Online Library.
Libraryhttps://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjdp.12268#:~:text=Middle
%20childhood%20is%20a%20particularly%20important%20developmental%20period,
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%202003%20%29.