#1What do the following words mean: interpret the world for the child and

interpret the child for the world? How does this statement reflect the relationship
between parents and children. Give examples of how this interpretative process
works. Specifically consider what this means in situations that do not involve
cognitive or physical challenges.

In Chapter Two, Crosson-Tower describes the responsibilities and rights a family has
for their children. In addition to providing for their basic needs of food, water, and
shelter in order to survive, the author articulates the importance of supporting them
both financially and emotionally. Family units are also expected to guide the children
through enculturation, a process in which the child will learn of the practices and
values of their culture from their role models or elders. Socialization is another vital
process that the family will play the major part in by helping the child learn how to
relate to people as well as what behavior society will expect from them (2013, p.
25). Socialization and Enculturation will require a large amount of interpretation on
the parents part, especially when they are first developing these skills. CrossonTower (2013) concluded by saying, Finally, the family has the extremely important
role of interpreting the world to the child and the child to the world (p. 25). I
believe this could mean literally deciphering what your child said to someone else,
or could mean explaining an odd circumstance or reality your child experienced.
From either perspective, I think this quote is very interesting and feel like it really
hits home for me. My mom always had (and still does) a ream of sayings of sorts
she would tell me when I would find myself telling her about my day at school.
They ranged from You march to the beat of your own drum, or Weird is just
another way of saying unique, and one day youll be proud to be different from the
rest of the crowd to People are like snowflakes, in that each one is special, no two
are alike. Looking back, I felt like I understood what she was trying to convey to
me at the time, but as an adult, the meanings have evolved and my understanding
as to why she was enlightening me with these proverbs have deepened. And I think
the quote in question does an excellent job summing up her motives behind sharing
them with me. I was a rather silly and imaginative little girl, and I remember in
early elementary school age coming home crying from school because some of my
classmates said I was weird or was a weirdo. I always got hung up on trying to
specify exactly what it was that I did or didnt do so I could change or fix it. After
replaying the incident to my mom, she would shake her head and smile, and then
proceed to try to interpret my 1st grade or 2nd grade world to me.
I think another great example would be when my niece had to fill out some kind of
Racial and Ethnic Data questionnaire for the first time at school. She knew her
father was black and her mom white, and she knew that made her mixed with both.

Incidentally, there were several more kids in her class with the same scenario. After
hearing about this, my sister asked her what the teacher told them to do, and she
replied, She told us to pick the other box. She continued on, wondering why
there wouldn't be a box for her to check and what would boys and girls with a white
daddy and a black mommy check? And in that one afternoon, she had begun to
learn the worlds need to define and label ones race. The days of race being
sufficiently described by that of crayon colors would no longer suffice for her. My
sister would have to figure out how to interpret the world for my niece and as in this
case, interpret my niece to the world.

References
Crosson-Tower, C. (2013). Exploring child welfare: A practice perspective. (6th ed.) New Jersey:
Pearson Education. Inc.