Parents Influence Essay Research Paper Influence is

Parent`s Influence Essay, Research Paper

Influence is a word that can explain many things in today`s world. Influence

explains why people do the things they do. A child`s influence on how he/she

perceives life will stay with them for the rest of his/her life. But a more

important question to ask is where does that influence come. Does it come from

the parents of that child or does it come from that child`s peer group. Although

children are influenced from the outside world, ultimately a child learns right

from wrong, good from bad, love and caring from their parents. I hope to prove

to you, the reader, that influence, does in fact, come from the parents more

than what people think. First, we must talk about the influence that comes

genetically. The parents DNA already have influenced a child from birth. The

child can be shy, outgoing, perceptive, or absent-minded, but those

characteristics will be shown later in the child`s lifetime. If you look at a

family, you can tell what types of characteristics the children have. Then you

can ask the parents who in their family have those same traits. I am sure that

the parents can think of someone in their family, if not them self, to answer

that question. What about the influence a child receives after birth, if any,

from their parents. Right after birth takes place, the mother typically shows

the child love by holding the baby, kissing it, singing it to bed, etc. Showing

a child love from the day the child is born and continuously throughout

childhood, will have a better positive effect on the child later in their own

life. Judith Rich Harris, in her book The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn

Out the Way They Do; Parents Matter Less The You Think and Peers Matter More

believes that the love a parent gives has no effect on the child later in life.

So far, to this day, studies show that if a parent show love and support towards

their child, that child becomes less aggressive says John Gottman of the

University of Washington. To quote Rosie O`Donnell in the Newsweek article, The

Parent Trap, of September 7, 1998 on page 58, You`re born with a personality

that`s defined by the tenderness, love, support, and care you`re give. She also

goes on to say, Children could just be born and put in day care and become who

they are. But that negates the value of love. O`Donnell believes that the love a

parent gives to their child is the foundation of that child`s personality. Her

thoughts along with other scientists, parents, and young adults around the world

suggest that parents do influence the children of today. Another influence that

parents have on their children is the teaching of right from wrong. Parents

teach their kids that stealing is bad or hurting another person is wrong.

Parents also teach their children that helping another person is the right thing

to do. It is from this concept, that children develop a more in depth conscious.