The introduction
Last week I decided to go to the family park. I came there to read a book and to think about my plans for the summer. Happy parents walked with their children in the park and had rest. There were many people there. Some of them played ball game; others read the newspapers. However, I drew my attention to unusual family, and I want to explain the reasons of my interest. The family included two parents, a daughter, and a son. It seemed the children were five and six years old. The family stopped not far from my bench. Firstly, the parents argued about something; the children kept silent. Finally, the parents took seats and the children ran at top speed to the park amusement, which was not far from our place.
The thesis statement
The issues I want to analyze are related to the impact of upbringing on children’s comprehension of the reality and the development of their communication skills. On the other hand, I want to prove the importance of parental behaviors in relation to personal self-determination of a child.
The body: observations and analysis
I compelled attention to these children, as there were some difficulties in their interaction. They quarreled all the time, as they both wanted to be in the lead of the conversation. For instance, when proposing a game, they couldn’t come to an understanding of the leader in their game. In my opinion, that probably means that the parents bring up their children in an egoistic manner. On the other hand, the children imitate their parents’ behavioral pattern. They both were rather upset. I couldn’t hear what they said; however, I drew my attention to nonverbal signs the children used. It was body language, which attracted my attention.
So, a vital form of communication helped me to understand true feelings of the children (Nonverbal Communication, n.d., p. 1). Looking at their facial expressions for anger, I’ve understood that the children’s parents are to step in to prevent unpleasant consequences from happening. Finally, their parents come to them, asked about the problem and helped to resolve it. They supposed that there could be two leaders in their game. The children agreed. Later, they started play fighting. One of the children was in a vulnerable position; while another one decided to commence a counterattack. This is called self-handicapping. (On the Child’s Right to Play Fight, 2008, p. 1). That was exactly what I observed.
Later, the children’s body movements and gestures confirmed my idea that their play fighting was not playful anymore. The parents separate them. Both children remained seated at different benches in the park. They started to raise a hue and cry again. I was sure that they didn’t yet have a clear idea that inner speech was silent and therefore, private (Wiley, 2003, p. 509). However, the issue I observed was perceptual biases. On the other hand, I think the parents define their children as selves, and the children will become selves. That is what can be called a self-fulfilling prophecy (Wiley, 2003, p. 507).
The father told the boy that he was elder and more reasonable, so there was no need to argue with his sister. The father’ beliefs influenced their evaluation of target behavior (Smith et al., 1998, p. 531). In other words, perceptual biases took place. Both parents defended their son. Generally, parents are often described as having a preference for sons (Lundberg, 2005, p. 3). Thus, I saw gender discrimination.
The conclusion: the importance of parental behavior
So, it is obvious that children imitate parental behavior. A child’s upbringing determines his or her future interactions with others. In other words, there are numerous external factors, which form or influence a child’s character and viewpoint. The role of parents is extremely important. They are to be the guides for their children to explain them the peculiarities of communication, the difficulties of the world, etc. It means that parents should always remember that they are the example for imitation for their children.
References:
Lundberg, S. (2005). Sons, Daughters, and Parental Behavior. Web.
Nonverbal Communication. (n.d.). Web.
On the Child’s Right to Play Fight. (2008). Web.
Smith, A., Jussim, L., Eccles, J., VanNoy, M., Madon, S., Palumbo, P. (1998). Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, Perceptual Biases, and Accuracy at the Individual and Group Levels. Web.
Wiley, N. (2003). The Self as Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Web.