This is the story of two families who lived next to each other and the way they raised their children.
The Smith family lived next door to the Petersons in a nice neighborhood in New Jersey. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Peterson had children about 3 years old. Eric Smith and Jerry Peterson.
The Smiths were very laid back and believed in letting Eric go wild and enjoy his baby years because they knew how quickly things would change when little Eric grew up.
The Petersons were different, Mr. Peterson always played with Jerry and talked to him like he was his co-worker. They would also tell Jerry how great he was and how he could be anything he wants to be when he grows up.
When Eric came to the Petersons to play with Jerry and the parents had iced tea and talked to each other about how their parenting experience was going.
The Smiths told the Petersons that Eric would always want to be read to and that he would pick up markers and draw on their freshly painted walls. He drove them crazy, but they loved him, so he was cool with them and they believed he would learn on his own.
The Petersons were shocked and said that they would let Jerry know that he was wrong for writing on the wall and that he should write on paper. Another thing the Petersons would do would be to come up with fun ways to get Jerry to complete tasks.
As the children grew older, Eric became difficult to control and stubborn, and the Smiths didn’t know why when they gave him all the love he needed. Eric had all the toys he wanted, all the coloring books he wanted, and they allowed him to do almost anything he wanted to do.
Jerry, on the other hand, was now very assertive and knew how to get the things he wanted. He was very obedient to his parents and was smarter than all the other kids in his class.
The conclusion of the story is…
Children are like sponges and learn very quickly when they are young. Eric received love and affection, but never received guidance. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted and that became a part of his personality as he got older. Jerry was raised to believe in himself and was used to handling chores because of the fun chores he always completed as a kid. When Jerry got older he was already achieving goals because that’s how he was raised.
The lessons you teach your children when they are young will have an effect on their future.
