The Importance of Socialization

Humans, like other mammals, are helpless at birth. The newborn infant is highly dependent upon others for mere physical survival. If left alone, the infant would soon die of thirst, hunger, heat, or cold. To put it simply, the human infant lacks those instincts, or unlearned forms of behavior, that in other species serve to exist. Unlike newly hatched fish or ducks, which are capable of providing for their own needs in their new environments, the human infant is highly dependent upon others for satisfaction of basic human needs. Human young, born with an incomplete nervous system and having a long maturation period, will not survive unless adults feed them, protect them from the environment, and provide constant care. Socialization is a very important process that will mostly define a child’s acceptance and good relationship with things within the environment. Good socialization skills are developed when humans are exposed to as many things as possible. The more events that a child encounters and has positive reactions to, the better response he/she will have when these events are repeated throughout the course of life. It is important that you make the socialization process as entertaining and rewarding as you possibly can. This means that during this process, your infant will need to accept being handled and being touched by other humans so that she will not fear strangers (healthcare providers, or people whom they are introduced to.) This will prove beneficial when you have to take the infant to the health clinic per se. Make sure that all the experiences a child is introduced to are pleasurable experiences. That way the child will build a good association between the event and the reward.
Human contact us necessary not only for the infant’s physical well-being, but for healthy social and psychological development as