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Ehle- Feedback to Jenna Unit 4

Family Matters:

children should have a structed family when growing up!

By: Jenna Willard

                Children think that having parents that care or worry about them is such a pain, but in reality having a parent that loves you so much that they care about you really affects that child while growing up and later in their lives. Parent’s role during a child’s life when growing up is crucial for the way they will behave when they are child, and an adult. A well structured family is a necessity for a child to live a healthy life during their developmental stages and also as an adult. There have been many studies about what types of parenting helps affects a child during their lives. To begin, investigation from different studies show that a child needs they care and love from their family to live a “normal” life. (Try rephrasing all of this. I read this and I wasn't really sure the point you were getting at. Also, define normal for the sake of argument)

            A parent must give their child more than just food, shelter, and clothing (possibly work this into the definition of normal?). A child needs to receive love and affection from their parents in order to give the child the  have proper self- esteem. A child needs to feel secure in the family structure, and also feel needed and wanted by their parents or loved ones. This shows the child how to love themselves and others. Harry Harlow, a famous psychologist in the 1950’s, conducted an experiment with monkeys and whether or not an infant needs nature or nurture. 

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His experiment involved infant monkeys and two surrogate mothers, ;one made with wire and food and the other made with cloth. The monkey was given the option to which mother he would prefer to be with. Despite the time the monkey had to go to the mother with food to eat, he spent the rest of the time cuddling with the mother who was made out of the cloth. “During the experiment, the monkeys were frightened by strange, loud objects, such as teddy bear beating drums, the monkeys raised by the terry cloth surrogates and rubbed up against them and eventually claimed (is this the right word?)down. When the monkeys were by the wire surrogate and this occurred they reacted differently by throwing themselves on the floor, clutching themselves, rocking back and forth, and screaming in terror” (The Adoption History Project). The monkeys were isolated for the first eight months of their life which life the monkey permanently damaged (Is this another experiment or the same?). “They concluded that the impact of early maternal deprivation could be reversed in monkeys only if it had lasted less than 90 days, and estimated that the equivalent for humans was six months. After these critical periods, no amount of exposure to mothers or peers could alter the monkeys’ abnormal behaviors and make up for the emotional damage that had already occurred. When emotional bonds were first established was the key to whether they could be established at all.” (The Adoption History Project)

                Besides having the nurture of a parent, a child needs to have a stable living arrangement if the child is going to contribute to the society.  A family is responsible to feed and clothe the child. A proper education is essential for a child. Some form of religious belief should be discussed in the home. Someone the mother, father, or any loved one does not really matter who should be employed. Parents should teach their child how to react in social environments, that way they do not become isolated when they encounter other people. It is important for the family to do things together, “a family that plays together stays together” (Learn about Child Development). Most importantly a family needs to teach their child how to love.  Having a well structured family gives a child the chance to learn how to act with people when they are a child and an adult.  (You repeat child a lot in this paragraph, and it disconnects the reader)

            One study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, did a surveyed on whether a child’s family life has more influence on the child’s development through the age of four and a half than a child’s experience in a child care. “Child care clearly matters to children’s development, but family characteristics — and children’s experiences within their families — appear to matter more,” stated from Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This study was worked on for 15 years; researchers from ten sites around the country had followed the development of more than 1,000 healthy children across the United States. The study included children from ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged households, and more than 80 percent of the children apart of this study grew up in two-parent families. “There were many results that came from this one was that children that received higher quality child care were better able to think, respond, and interact with the world around them, and had somewhat  better reading and math skills rather than children who received lower quality child care. Children who had spent 30 or more hours in a child care per week showed problems in child care and in Kindergarten (but not at home) had more episodes of minor illness. Overall, children who had attended child care centers had somewhat better language, social skills, and better pre-academic skills involving letters and numbers, but they showed somewhat more problem behavior when they first entered school than other children who experienced different types of child care settings” (National Health Institute). Child care centers are a good way for children to become involved and interact with other children, but it is important for a child to spend time with their family and learn from them more than at a child care center.

Jenna, I feel you repeat yourself a lot just to prove the point, which I find unneccesary because I believe most everyone would agree a child needs structure and love. What is the problem, and how are you going to solve it? Oh, and the point is actually confusing. You said at the beginning (in the title) a child needs structure, however, you speak on how they need love and structure? -Andrea