Children model themselves largely on their parents. They do so mainly through identification. Children identify --1-- a parent when they believe they have the qualities and feelings that are --2-- of that parent. The things parents do and say—and the --3-- they do and say to them—therefore strongly influence a child’s --4--. However, parents must consistently behave like the type of --5-- they want their child to become.
A parent’s actions --6-- affect the self image that a child forms --7-- identification. Children who see mainly positive qualities in their --8-- will likely learn to see themselves in a positive way. Children who observe chiefly --9-- qualities in their parents will have difficulty --10-- positive qualities in themselves. Children may --11-- their self image, however, as they become increasingly --12-- by peers groups standards before they reach --13--.
Isolated events, 13 dramatic ones, do not necessarily have a permanent --14-- on a child’s behavior. Children interpret such events according to their established attitudes and previous training. Children who know they are loved can, --15--, accept the divorce of their parent’s or a parents early --16--. But if children feel unloved, they may interpret such events --17-- a sign of rejection or punishment.
In the same way, all children are not influenced --18-- by toys and games, reading matter, and television programs. --19-- in the case of a dramatic change in family relations, the --20-- of an activity or experience depends on how the child interprets it. |
