In chapter 5 of Freakonmics, Levitt and Dubner take on the effect of parents on children. While there may not be religious protesters and debates in Senate on the topic, by definition, the topic is still controversial. Parents would say that their actions greatly affect a child and how they turn out in life. Most realists, or more progressive people would say that parents do not effect their child, and peer pressure changes the child more. Parents will naturally hesitate to admit that they don't have complete control. They have to justify the $235,000 that they spend to raise the kid for 17 years (not including college). While parents do have an affect on their chid, it is not as much as they think. A lot of realists, who have become adults firsthand, would obviously have the experience to say that parents don't matter as much as they think they do. It makes sense, if parents had as much of a hold on their kids as they think they do, would kids be out doing drugs, drinking heavily, growing up to be criminals, drop out of school, or be different from their parents at all?
The authors probably decided to cover this topic to throw some facts into the mix. They do not show extreme support for either side, so they probably did it to give people debating it more to talk about. They are basically dealing arms to both armies and sitting back to watch the battle. Although, they do seem to slightly favor the parents, by revealing what actually helps kids and what doesn't, but, their list shows that what parents are affect a child more than what the parents do.
Personally, I think both sides of the argument have a point. Parents certainly do have an effect on their child, and while it does matter more than a realist would tell you, it is not as effective as the parents think. Kids take what parents tell them and apply it to who they are and the context they have. For example, in the book, it says that having books in the house can help a child do better in school. A house filled with books wouldn't help a child who doesn't like to read. On the contrary, a child who loves to read but doesn't have a single book in the house will find ways to get books and read. A child is not only affected by who the parents are, but who the child is, long before they realize who they really are and who they could be.
Chris, i enjoyed your analysis of this chapter, and you have shown both sides have very good arguments. On the contrary, I do believe parents have an influence on their child as they grow older. Doing further research on the topic, a study done by the students of Duke University showed that children especially as adolescence, are more receptive to their parents because they want guidance on whether to go to college or go into the workforce, helping them whatever goal they wish to achieve. But again, good job!
ReplyDeleteChris, I also liked your analysis of the chapter. From a personal level I always look up to my parents so I can say personally that parents do have an influence on the child. Then again, peer pressure also has an affect on the child as peer pressure convinces children to do certain things like do drugs and drink like you said.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ricky. I too look up to my parents. They guide me and teach me through life. And yes, peer pressure does play a role in leading children into a life of drugs. I feel as though children having trouble with parents do have a higher risk of turning to drugs because they don't have their parents to tell them not to do them, or they take drugs out of what some people may call "teen angst"
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Ricky as well because almost every kid looks up to their parents and they should be positively influencing their kids. However, peer pressure can affect a child's behavior. Like Katie said, if a kid doesn't get along with their parents or they are going through a fight, then they might turn towards drugs to rebel against their parents. Peer pressure does play a huge role in a child's development and the way they act.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ricky, Katie and Mike that peer pressure does play a huge role in developing who people become, but I would argue that the morals and beliefs that parents can instill into their child from an early age can affect how they deal with the peer pressure that surrounds them, since kids that have friends that do drugs may not do it themselves.
ReplyDeleteChris, I enjoyed reading your view on the role of parents. Although the book says that who the parents are affect the child more than what they do, I would have to disagree. I believe that the two have an equal, balanced affect on the child. Parents definitely have a large impact on who the child is. Having a firefighter father, and a PTO mom, I would say that my experiences with them have shaped me to who I am today, but if they were abusive, involved with drugs, or alcoholics, I'm certain that I would be a completely different person. Agreeing with the comments above, peer pressure definitely has a large impact on the child as well. The family relationship versus the societal relationship with the child probably work against each other, like a sort of tug-of-war. Sometimes one has a greater impact, and sometimes they have an equal impact. This all comes back to the role the parents play on the child. who they are and what they do determine a lot.
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