Children's social development: Developing selves and expanding social worlds

Abstract

During the preschool years children become more independent in talking about their experiences and expressing their ideas. They also start to spend more time outside the immediate family circle and engage more with their peers. Play becomes an important activity and a significant socialization context among peers. The chapter focuses on children's peer interactions and socialization in play and the development of self, as it is expressed in children's stories about the events experienced. It highlights the changes in social cognition and in the experiences of boys and girls as conveyed in their accounts of experienced events. Cultural differences observed in these aspects of children's lives are also discussed.