It is always said that children learn best learn by observing the behavior of adults and copying it. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

It is a proven fact that minds of children are impressionable and highly receptive. In my opinion, young children are always influenced by people around them and hence they subconsciously imitate the behavior of these adults.

It is observed very commonly that parents may try very hard to inculcate habits in their children by telling them what to do and what not and yet the children do not imbibe any of them. In contrast, what is general routine in the house in terms of every day behavior is unconsciously aborted by the children’s mind and psyche. This is more intensely and accurately observed in language skills as children imitate every sound we make even when they do not know the meanings of any of the words spoken.

Moreover, a negative result of this process is that children adopt a lot of bad habits as well before they are old enough to know that such traits can never help them in any way in their life. Only when they grow up into youth and broaden their academic horizons, they can differentiate between good and bad.

On the other hand, there is an argument that each child is blessed with a basic instinct that is his or her individuality. Whatever the context of growing up, this instinct guides the child and is a stronger force than the behavior of others around him or her. There is credibility to this argument yet the effect of environment cannot completely be negated.

Therefore, in my opinion, children learn a lot from observation of people around them and thus, it is our duty to see that we carry both ourselves with responsibility.