Read this article published in the May 2014 issue of Sciences Humaines magazine.

From an early age, the little human being is encouraged to become sociable, a human quality highly valued in our society. The early passage through the community has become the keystone of this. Rightly or wrongly?

The race to socialize begins in the cradle. Concerned about their child’s early socialization, many parents are turning to group childcare. From now on, the collective crèche wins the vote and the nanny option is depreciated. Why? The regular presence of peers tends to socialize the child and bring him into contact with the group, while the daily life of the crèche enables him to integrate the rules and workings of community life from an early age. All of these skills will ensure a smoother integration into nursery school, and a more fulfilling social life in the future.

Unhappiness at the crèche

While these concepts are part of the collective imagination, they are not universally accepted. A number of professionals and researchers take a more mixed view of the benefits of community. As psychologist Patrick Mauvais points out: « For the very young child, community is not a need. It is linked to the parents’ social and economic needs ». In his article « Socialisation précoce et accueil du très jeune enfant en collectivité »[i], he highlights the current confusion between community and socialization. It’s a confusion that makes many parents feel guilty for not being able to offer their children this experience, which is considered essential for their social development. What’s more, in the field, actual nursery conditions are often less adequate than those assumed. In a society in crisis, where demand is growing, public authorities are expanding the supply of childcare at lower cost. « In some cases, the host environment can resemble an « anomic » environment.[ii] mainly governed by the arbitrariness of adults and the imperative of their immediate convenience » and children’s groups to « places of solitude and violence ».[iii] where everyone is in constant competition with the others for the adult’s attention, which is constantly slipping away ». Signs of a child’s malaise often manifest themselves within the group. According to one study [iv] conducted by Karen Martinaud-Thébaudin, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Brest, shows that it is the presence of peers, rather than their number, that promotes children’s social development: « The results show that, in childcare settings, children looked after by a childminder and those who regularly attend their childcare setting are more socially competent towards their peers », says the author. Nathalie Nanzer, child psychiatrist and assistant physician at the Unité de Guidance Infantile in Geneva, points out[v] that socialization does not begin in the crèche, but at the very moment when the child starts to pay attention to someone other than his or her mother. Childcare is therefore not the sine qua non of a toddler’s future sociability.

A physiological predisposition?

In parallel with these studies, other research is challenging the very idea that the environment can truly condition the development of children’s sociability. Genes are also said to exert their share of influence. Jerome Kagan, a North American psychology professor and researcher, even makes it a question of the amygdala: children whose amygdala is particularly sensitive are more likely to become agitated in the face of unusual stimuli, and consequently develop a heightened vigilance to strangers. Their physiological responses are also more pronounced, with greater secretion of the stress hormone cortisol and a faster heart rate. The brains of shy children are therefore hypersensitive. However, nothing is set in stone: the environment is also known to influence oxytocin receptors. In psychology, no physiological predisposition is sufficient to predict behavior.

Are traditional societies more socializing?

Geography professor, biologist and evolutionist Jared Diamond compares the education of Americans with that of children in New Guinea.[vi]. The differences are striking: children in these « small-scale » societies are almost always carried rather than left alone in a deckchair, they are raised by extended families rather than their parents alone, while adults don’t let toddlers cry for ten minutes or so « to teach them self-control ». The result of his observations? Babies in these traditional societies cry less, are more sociable, confident and creative. However, educational models remain dependent on the demands and mores of the society on which they depend. In the West, toddlers are expected to be self-sufficient and separated from their parents at an early age, not least to enable the latter to take up a professional activity. [vii]In any case, neither shyness nor sociability are faults or qualities in themselves. They therefore deserve neither blame nor praise. Both can only be appreciated in the light of the culture to which they belong, as a comparative study has shown. [viii] published in 2004 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. In Japan, where discretion, modesty and restraint are valued traits, almost 90% of Japanese people consider themselves shy, and are fine with it. A richly instructive intercultural perspective.

Additional bibliography: Baumeister, A. E. E., Rindermann, H. & Barnett, W. S. (2014). Crèche attendance and children’s intelligence and behavior development. Learning and Individual Differences, 30, 1-10.

[i] Article published in Devenir magazine, volume 15, 2003

[ii] CYRULNIK B.: Les vilains petits canards, Odile Jacob, 2001

[iii] APPELL G.: « Du groupe lieu de solitude et de violence au groupe de communication harmonieuse », Dialogue, recherches cliniques et sociologiques sur le couple et la famille, 1993; 120. ple et la famille, 1993; 120

[iv] Study published in Le Sociographe, issue 14 « Le retour des nounous », May 2004

[v] In an interview published on the http://www.cooperation-online.ch/ website

E. Beaton et al. in Pers. and Ind. Diff. vol. 49, p. 755, 2010`

[vi] The word until Yesterday: What can we learn from traditional societies?Published by Viking Adult in December 2012.

[vii] The word until Yesterday: What can we learn from traditional societies? Published by Viking Adult in December 2012.

[viii] CHEN Xinyin, HE Yunfeng, DE OLIVEIRA Ana Maria, LO COCO Alida, ZAPPULLA Carla, KASPAR Violet, SCHNEIDER Barry, VALDIVIA Ibis Alvarez, TSE Hennis Chi-Hang, DESOUZA, Amanda, « Loneliness and social adaptation in Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese and Italian children: A multi-national comparative study » in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, n°45, pp.1373-1384, 2004.