Parental influences I

The most profound way that you affect your child’s personality is probably the least intentional or premeditated; it comes as a by product of your normal interaction with the child in every day activities. It is only natural for a youngster to do things as she sees them done by those who are closest to her; in essence, your child is busy everyday integration your attitudes and values into her own personality. And because a child’s personality is a combination of many things- her view of herself, her approach to problems, her attitudes towards others, her values, and the way she reacts to frustration and successes- almost anything that happens in the course of a day can add to the sum.

As your child moves from infancy into toddler hood, you begin to teach her socially acceptable ways to behave so she can take her place in the larger world outside your home. The socialization process has a significant influence on her personality. You encourage her to be sensitive to the feelings of others, for example, or to be unselfish in play. The most direct way that you do this is by rewarding the behavior you like and punishing unacceptable behavior. But children learn much more by simply observing how their parents behave in social situations. A little girl, identifying strongly with her mother and her mother’s emotions will probably be overheard repeating the expressions of loving concern to her playmates and dolls that her mother uses with her - or the same displays of sharp impatience, if that is the case