How parents introduce their children to others impact on their personalities strongly. There are many examples that may clarify the concept better. Let us consider:
A parent is introducing his/her child to his/her relative/friend and says with a smiling face-
a. She is too aggressive. Please be careful…she could harm you through her sharp nails. (the child is only 2 years old).
b. My son is too shy. You can see he is not behaving properly in front of you.
c. My son is too hyper. Please do not stop him from doing anything. He will create a scene.
d. My son too submissive. He cannot say ‘no’ to his rivals.
e. My son is extremely scared of strangers. He will scream if I leave him for now.
f. She is too rash, could bite and hit blindly. So be careful guys.
g. She is very social being, would like to show you her room and toys.
h. She is very fond of books.
i. He likes to destroy things all the time. Very destructive mindset, he has.
And all the relevant similar comments that parents pass on to others make a deep impression on their parent’s children who are passively listening the talk between you and the significant others. Therefore, it is highly recommended to strengthen those traits of personality in your statements that you really want to observe in your off springs later on. Otherwise, your mentioned traits would reinforce the same quality among them and they would love to adopt them as a part of their personality.
Mona Aeysha, PhD, is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist, have been working as a Teacher, Counselor and Researcher in several institutes of China, Pakistan and Cambodia. Her major areas of interest are: self –esteem, self-concept, conceptual psychology, belief psychology, self psychology, preferential psychology, cultural psychology and women psychology.
You are always welcome to contact her via email if you have any query in this regard.
Thanks
Dr Mona