Personality development in teens/children - Essay Example

Article Review: Personality Development in Children Why is that child so social? Why is this child so shy? These are questions people, often, ask indetermining how children’s personalities develop. This article attempts to explain some of the elements that contribute to the personality a child will develop. The writer acknowledges that some researchers believe that the most relevant contributing factor is a matter of genetics. Genes cannot explain everything. If it were as simple as that then why is it that brothers and sisters under the same roof do not develop the same overall personality?

(Dogra 2011) Firstly, parental influence is hugely responsible. Children inevitably mimic how they see their parent’s behavior. How parents socialize and interact with others will be reflected in their children. The second major factor is the home environment. Children learn emotional responses, primarily, from their mothers. A father’s presence is, also, important. An absentee father figure or a father often away from home can have a negative effect on the development of a child’s budding personality.

It is, also, important to avoid excessive punishment and criticism, discouraging him/her, comparing them to others, and favoring one child over another. The third high contributor is their educational environment. In school, children learn how to interact with their peers. A large part of the child’s personality development will evolve in how they socialize with other children and how they interact with and are treated by their teachers. The last relevant contributing factor to a child’s personality development is their cultural upbringing.

This can be an incredible impact and can vary from culture to culture. Those children that are raised in the western countries are taught to be independent and more competitive.(Dogra 2011) Children who are raised in other parts of the world, in the east, per say, are expected and encourage to be much less competitive and more cooperative. There so much that will determine who each child will become, a portion of it may very well be genetics, but the majority of it is learned and, more so, felt.

That is why the example that is set for the children in all of our lives is so important.ReferencesDogra, A. (2011, October 11). Personality development in children. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/personality-development-in-children.html