SFL 240 2nd rough draft

Reading
Beyond Cognitive Ability Development
I believe that it is important for mothers to read with their children not simply to increase cognitive ability, but I believe that reading with my child helps relationship development. Reading together is a memorable family activity that costs nothing but time and love (Johnson 76). The beauty of reading as a family is that the energy it takes to read with children cannot be subsidies by money. Unless a parent is willing to read with their children no matter how expensive the books are on the shelf the books will always remain on the self and completely useless if the parent does not sacrifice the time and energy to read with their child. I want to spend time with my children and to show them that I am willing sacrifice my time to be with them.
When I read with my children I will be able to convey the meaning of values and morals to my children. A parent is able to convey and teach beliefs to their children while they read. Parents teach more than the strategies and mechanics of literature but they are able to express their worldviews and values while reading (Neuman, 498). This can be done simply through the books that are read during reading time and the voice fluctuation.
Gatekeeper of What is Read
The parent is the gate keeper of what books are read during reading time with their child (Davison & Lawson, 2006). The books read to children should be age appropriate. Children will be able to emerge into literacy if not only the foundational knowledge and writing skills are developed but the complexity is developed according to the appropriate level (Schickedanz, 1999). It is important to me that when I read to my children we can stop and talk about the characters in the story so that my children can being to develop reasoning and analytical skills. I want my child to wonder why Alexander was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (Viorst, 1972).
Voice Fluctuation
I like to imagine that how I read a story to my child has a simular affect as good music does during a movie. In a movie the audience becomes fully engaged in the characters and plot because of the intensity and mood set by the music (Chen, Kuo, Chu, & Wu, 2006). Just like music brings a movie to life how the reader can bring the story to life is by will bring the characters to life. The way a reader depicts the characters through voice fluctuation does more than maintain interest, but it develops a sense of how the reader views society and the morals in the story (Hanney, Lesley, Kozlowska, Kasia, 2004). Because children can match a parent’s happy voice and face by the time they are six months old my children will be able to know when I am reading a happy or sad character (Flavell). Without even being consciously aware I can covey subliminal messages to my children about how I believe the characters in the story should be acting. I want to read to my children with voices that have energy and rhythm because I recognize how I read to my children influences how they feel and think about what I am reading.
Importance and Personal Significance
There are many opportunities for children to learn to read in classrooms, in preschool, with teachers, but I think that parents are encouraged to read with their child for more than just cognitive development. The books that I chose to read with my children and how I read to my children will greatly influence the morals and views that they develop. The more opportunities that I take with my children to spend time and energy with them the more opportunities I will have to teach them and show them how much I love them. Money can send children to the best school, private tutors can drill children in the most rigorous manner, but nothing can teach a child how much their parents love them as spending time with them.
Delay Gratification
The Development of the self
The development of the self as an individual is a vital and presumably gradual development that begins in early infancy (Bertenthal, Bennett I, Fischer, Kurt W., 1978, 44). It is simply the ability for an individual to recognize and identify themselves as a unique individual with personality, strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes (Wong, Alan S., 2003). It is important to me that my children are aware that they are an individual because I want them to utilize agency in making choices while they are aware of who they are, their specific personality, each of their strength and weaknesses, as well as what they enjoy .
The Development of the future-oriented self
The development of the future-oriented self, or the concept that an individual’s current actions will affect the future, has become so centralized to the theories of socialization and even the very essence of the development of an individual’s identity that future-orientation seems to coexist with the reasoning behind one’s behaviors (Elster, 148). It seems impossible for an individual to comprehend the idea of a future self if that person cannot grasp their individual identity in the present moment. I want my children to know that they are an individual and I hope that by helping them to recognize that they are an individual that they will begin to set goals for themselves. I think that part of helping my child to discover who they are is to talk about them with them to help encourage private speech (Berk). I want to asking questions like; “How come you liked soccer practice so much today?”, “What did you learn in school today?”, and “Why did you enjoy Grandma’s house?” to help my children explore private speech. By doing this I hope that they will begin to develop a sense of identity.
I think that it is important that my children assets their own skill level and set their own individual goals. In a study done on sixth-grade children who struggled with math the children who set their own performance goals had higher self-efficacy than the children who had goals set for them and the children who had no goals at all. (Schunk) I want my children to set their own goals, because it is important to me that they learn how to delay their gratification and put what they desire in the future above their initial wants. I want my children to be aware of who they are now and who they want to become so that goal setting can be introspective and help them to learn to develop themselves and not a matter of outward performance or judgmental comparisons to their peers. As a parent I can only rely on my child’s grade accomplishments or what I believe is their ability level, but my child can rely on their own self-efficacy beliefs and my aspirations when they set goals for themselves. (Autumn, Pages 663-676). I want my children learn to develop themselves and that is why I want them to begin setting goals in minor areas such as academics, athletics, diet, and performance.
To help my children place value on high morals and positive social interaction I need to model delayed gratification. The strongest influence on what my children will value is the values that I model in my behavior. (Whitbeck, Les B. page 829). I want my children to have high moral values. Children learn to value even such simple things as food. In obese children they struggle with delaying their gratification for food related items possibly because of the strong value of food in their lives. (Bonanto, Boland)
Children who can learn to delay gratification have been shown to be better able to control their ego tendencies and are considered more socially adapt. (Funder, Block, Block) That is the type of children I want raise.
Importance and Personal Significance
It is one of the most stereotypical sociology studies: give a child one M&M and tell them when you come back if they have not eaten the M&M they will get three more. I remember when I was in Jr. High and I came home from my sociology class and told my mom about the test. She smiled and said, “You waited until I got back to eat the marshmallow when I tried that test with you.” In Jr. High I felt puzzled by how pleased she seemed that I passed such a strange test, but now that I have begun to feel the pressure of college exams I can understand how vital it is that children understand how to delay gratification. I want my children to understand the importance of delaying gratification and I want to develop this understanding by talking to my children about their potential and by being an example of setting and obtaining goals myself.


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