What role does the family play in a child’s relationship with peers during middle childhood? How do parents foster or inhibit friendship formation for their children? What are some important distinctions between parent child and peer relationships at this period of life? Are friends at this point of your life more similar or different than your parents?
People often rate early adolescence as one of the most difficult stages of development. Please describe some of the issues that you and your cohort of teens faced. What were some of the fads, slang or favorite expressions, peer group issues, school controversies, and typical parent controversies while you were in the ages of 12 to 18 years? Identify aspects of early adolescence that might be “developmental” as compared to aspects that are a result of “historical pressures. “