feral children

(noun)

A feral child is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and has no experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language.

Related Terms

Examples of feral children in the following topics:

  • Feral Children

    • Some feral children have been confined in isolation by other people, usually their own parents.
    • Feral children may have experienced severe child abuse or trauma before being abandoned or running away.
    • The fact that feral children lack these abilities pinpoints the role of socialization in human development.
    • Tragically, feral children are not just fictional.
    • Analyze the differences between the fictional and real-life depictions of feral children

  • Deprivation and Development

    • Thus, social deprivation may delay or hinder development, especially for children.
    • Feral children provide an example of the effects of severe social deprivation during critical developmental periods.
    • Feral children are children who grow up without social interaction.
    • In several recorded cases, feral children failed to develop language skills, had only limited social understanding, and could not be rehabilitated.
    • Attachment theory may explain why social deprivation has such dire effects for children .

  • Elements of Socialization

    • Such children are called "feral" or wild.
    • Some feral children have been confined by people (usually their own parents); in some cases this child abandonment was due to the parents' rejection of a child's severe intellectual or physical impairment.
    • Feral children may have experienced severe child abuse or trauma before being abandoned or running away.
    • Feral children lack the basic social skills which are normally learned in the process of socialization.
    • There are, unfortunately, a number of examples of such children that have been well-documented, including:

  • Children of Divorce and Impact of Divorce

    • Children at this age have more of a difficult time adjusting to the parental divorce than younger or older children.
    • Often children experience feelings of anger, grief, and embarrassment.
    • Teens experience some of the same feelings as school-aged children.
    • Constance Ahron, who has published books suggesting there may be positive effects for children, interviewed ninety-eight divorced families' children for We're Still Family: What Grown Children Have to Say About Their Parents' Divorce.
    • The best practice to avoid problems for children is to spend more or equal time with them while minimizing the amount of transitions for the children.

  • The Functions of a Family

    • In some cultures, marriage imposes upon women the obligation to bear children.
    • From the perspective of children, the family instills a sense of orientation: The family functions to locate children socially, and plays a major role in their socialization .
    • In some cultures marriage imposes upon women the obligation to bear children.
    • From the perspective of children, the family is a family of orientation: The family functions to locate children socially, and plays a major role in their socialization.
    • From the point of view of the parents, the family is a family of procreation: The family functions to produce and socialize children

  • Ray Rist's Research

    • Although public schools are free and open to all children, there are still educational setbacks for children of a lower social class.
    • Interestingly, Rist found that social class was the underlying basis for assigning the children to the different tables.
    • Middle class students were placed at Table One, while children from poorer homes were placed at the other two tables.
    • They emerged as leaders in class activities and even ridiculed the children at the other tables, calling them "dumb."
    • Eventually, the children at Table Three stopped participating in classroom activities.

  • Day Care

    • Day care, in which children are cared for by a person other than their legal guardians, contributes to their socialization.
    • Child care is provided in nurseries or crèches, or by a nanny or family child care provider caring for children in their own homes.
    • In some cases, good daycare can provide different experiences than parental care does, especially when children reach two and are ready to interact with other children.
    • As a matter of social policy, consistent, good daycare may ensure adequate early childhood education for children of less skilled parents.
    • National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) instead defines "early childhood" as before the age of eight.

  • Childhood

    • Play is essential to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children.
    • However, the reality is that children are increasingly playing indoors.
    • On average, American children spend forty-four hours per week with electronic media.
    • Parents are also keeping children indoors in order to protect them from their growing fear of stranger danger.
    • Play is essential for the cognitive, physical, and social wellbeing of children.

  • Homeschooling

    • Homeschooling is the education of children at home, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school.
    • Parents can have a number of motivations for wanting to homeschool their children.
    • A homeschool cooperative is a cooperative of families who homeschool their children.
    • Co-ops also provide critical opportunities for social interaction among homeschooled children.
    • In these co-ops, children might take lessons or go on field trips together.

  • The Nature of a Family

    • In most societies, it is the principal institution for the socialization of children.
    • A "conjugal" family includes only a husband, a wife, and unmarried children who are not of age.
    • In contrast, a "consanguineal" family consists of a parent, his or her children, and other relatives.
    • A "matrilocal" family consists of a mother and her children.
    • Generally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption is practiced in nearly every society.