The Effects Pf Media and Cultural Values to the Development of African Child

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THE EFFECTS OF MEDIA AND CULTURAL VALUES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN CHILD By Salami Afeez Alabi Email: afeez_alabi@ymail.com Abstract Media technology is an integral part of children’s lives in the twenty-first century. Media and cultural values have profound effects/impacts on African child development. Each society is organized with different norms and rules which should be respected by all the community members for good and safe living. The paper intends to focus on the effects of media and cultural values in African child development. Definition of Terms: Media, Culture, Values and Cultural Values. Introduction Media can be defined as a mean of providing news and information to the public through either traditional or social media. Media include television, radio, newspapers. Culture is a dynamic process whereby people are actively engaged in constructing group life and its products. Effects/Impacts of Cultural Values in African Child Development According to a report from the US National research council: Culture influences every aspect of human development and is reflected in child bearing beliefs and practices designed to promote healthy adaptation…given the magnitude of its influence on the daily experience of children, the relative disregard for cultural influences in traditional child development research is striking (Shonkoff and Philips 2000 p.25). African Cultural values enable individual to maintain their communities and to survive times of great hardship either in the African continent or in the Diaspora. African Cultural values help in parent-child interaction. Parent-child interaction is a set of observable behaviours, that can act as an indicator of the growth of a secure attachment or an emotional bond, in which a sense of security is associated with the relationship between the caregiver and the child (Bee 1995).

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