In bringing up children, every parent, regardless of
ethnicity, income, education, or geographic location,
watches eagerly the child's acquisition of each new
skill. However, it is often tempting to hurry the child
beyond his natural learning rate, which can set up
dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in
the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby
might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child
might be encouraged to learn to read before he
knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the
other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or
without any learning opportunities, he loses his
natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out
new things for himself. Parents vary greatly in their
degree of strictness towards their children. Some may
be especially strict in money matters. Others are
severed over times of coming home at night or
punctuality for meals. In general, the controls imposed
represent the needs of the parents and the values of
the community as much as the child's own benefit.
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