Traditional competitive children's’ games as an instrument of socialization in Tovariševo

Aleksandar, Krel

Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU

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http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0350-08610553349K

2005-2020/03/06/18:12:11

Children’s games are one of the key features of childhood. The games help children to develop in physical and mental sense (perception, language, physical development), to express emotions and to fulfill certain important social motives such as needs for socialization, achievements, aggression, love and confirmation. At the same time, the games stand as an important instrument of socialization. A number of the traditional children’s games were never a subject of formal educational program, instead they represent a spontaneous expression in socialization of children. Based on a research in Tovariševo, this paper explores means of socialization among children using competitive games as an example. These games transmit explicit and implicit messages and values of the society to the children and they also help to form and model a child’s personality. In doing so, the games also help to maintain and preserve certain forms and values of the traditional society, which are being implanted from an early age into every individual from the community.

Tovariševo, socialization, gender stratification of children, physical development, social, social integration, social stratification, traditional competitive children’s’ games