by C.K. Matthews

Created on: November 24, 2009

The development of a child's personality is influenced by a multitude of events and circumstances. Economical and social factors play a direct role of influencing children's personalities. One could compare a child's personality to the computer and the Internet as a computer learns from what is imputed into it and an Internet's search engine presents results by what is most popular.

Children learn from a variety of sources but the major influence on the life of a child is the personality of the adults around them. The second major influence is the other children they encounter. Children learn what they are taught by these influences.

When one puts keywords into a search engine on the Internet the results are determined by a number of factors. The more popular a site is the more likely it will be presented on the first page of results. Children respond by what is most popular to their surroundings. Children may behave with other children differently than around adults because certain behaviors that are not popular with adults are very popular among children.

As complex as the development of a child's personality is there are steps a parent can take to foster a positive environment. Not everything the child will encounter within this environment will be positive however, there are steps parents can take to overcome negative influences.

*What Are Some Negative Social Influences

There are several theories regarding how violent media such as video games, movies and music affect children. The key factor to consider when deciding to allow such influences into the environment is the age of the child. The younger the child is the less able he or she is to translate what it is being seen or heard as real or imaginary. What they see or here becomes a real part of what they believe to be true. This is why many young children suffer nightmares or night terrors.

Public schools and childcare centers are another source of negative influence for the child. A parent cannot be with children 24 - 7 and become dependent out outside sources to care for their children. While parents do their best to find quality care negative things will happen throughout the child's time spent away from their parents. Teachers are trained to provide skills to students and guide their behaviors but they are still human and as such are prone to making mistakes.

Peer pressure - as children get older they tend to be more mobile and independent. Older children tend to spend much of their time away from

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