By Simran Saroya
The world of a child is just as busy as the world of an adult. Sometimes we forget how many factors a child has to take into account while going about their day. It is important to understand that the child is influenced by many things outside of their immediate environment. Well, how is the child’s development effected by the people and world around them? Let’s take a look at the Ecological System’s Theory. The concept is simple. It is a model that is made up of five systems. These five systems are the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. They explain how everything inside the child and the child’s environment affects their development and growth.
So, in a child’s microsystem they might have immediate family, caregivers, teachers or peers in environments such as their home, daycares, schools and more. This system is the most influential on the child. These are the people and places involved in the child’s everyday life. In their everyday life, there are settings where a child may feel a sense of security, comfort, happiness and love. It is crucial to recognize that the environment that you provide or choose for your child, supports the child’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development. In the world of play, there is a lot more going on than what we see.
The second system is the mesosystem, it is simply two or more microsystems and their relationships. This will have indirect impact on the child. An example of as the relationships between the child and the child’s teacher. Parents may take an active role in the child’s school life by taking part in parent teacher conferences and volunteering in the classroom. This will be a positive impact in the child’s life because his/her microsystems are working together. This could also be a negative impact if the microsystems were working against one another instead of together. This is why it is important to have all supports and people in the child’s life working together to ensure all responses are positive.
The third system is the exosystem. This system looks at external factors and how they influence the child such as the parents job or neighborhood influences. A parent’s promotion or loss of a job may not directly influence the child, but will have an indirect effect. If the father of the child is very busy and tends to come home really late from work and doesn’t have time to spend time with the child, this will have a negative impact on the child. The child might start to feel sad, anxious or guilty.
The fourth system is the macrosystem, this system is a part of our “bigger picture”. This includes cultural aspects and all other influences in the child’s life. Some examples of the macrosystem are: the economy, cultural values and politics. These factors can have a positive or negative impact.
Lastly, the chronosystem talks about the time in relation to development. This could be something such as the death of a parent. Now, your two-year-old will react differently to this than a teenager would. They might not know exactly what is happening or understand it as a child but they may have an empty feeling inside. This could also be growing up in different historical events such as war. This is uncontrollable and just dependent on the time and place you are in.
All five of these systems go hand in hand in the growth and development of your child. Being aware of the external influences as well as internal will not only help benefit your child but also help benefit you.