Researcher Carmela Garcia Manas explains that children are followers, enforcers and creators of social norms. Carmela talks about an important finding from her research of just how highly influenced children are by the presence of the adult.

To read and listen to the whole research series visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/articles/sustainability/

Tune into next week's episode on: The essential skills for social sustainability 

If you enjoyed this episode you might also like to listen to Carmela's previous episode with Zanna Clarke, Principal of Miss Daisy’s Nursery Schools, on 'Life skills over academic achievement' - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/life-skills-over-academic-achievement/ 

Episode break down:

00:00 - What do children understand of normativity and social norms?
03:00 - Children as followers, enforcers and creators of social norms
03:30 - 'Rich' or 'poor table'
09:05 - Children are highly influenced by the presence of an adult
14:19 - What does subordination mean?
16:00 - Conforming to social norms can become dangerous
19:00 - Children look for fairness
22:50 - How do we encourage children to question the adult?
27:00 - Allocating time for reflection
30:40 - A big change was seen at the end of the research
32:20 - House swap and property inflation in play!
36:00 - Value and demand
36:45 - Children's resourcefulness and adaptability: The sophistication of play
38:30 - Next episode...

For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com