Identity In Early Childhood

Identity is commonly referred to as who a person is. Lots of times the identity that people are given are not what the actual identity of somebody is. Since a person’s identity can never truly be defined by anybody but one’s own beliefs, identity should be defined as a way one’s self sees themselves according to their situation and place in life. An individual’s identity is molded during their childhood by the experiences they have, influences from other people or ideas, and the environment in which they were raised.
Childhood is a time when people see and experience new things much more often than an adult would. Since children are exposed to so many new things, they are forced to interpret whatever is happening in order for them to …show more content…
These are big influences, but probably the most influential part of the creation of a child’s identity is family. When a kid needs somebody to ask a question or look to for help, it is usually the parents because they are the ones who were there for them their entire lives. In Ernest Hemingway’s “Three Shots,” Nick Adams calls his father in from a fishing trip because he was scared of being alone out in the woods. Since young children have not grasped their entire identity, parents are able to help them find it. Sometimes it’s what the parents want, but either way the guidance kids receive from parents molds their identity. In the story, Nick realizes that he will be able to go to his dad or another loved one from help. In the future, Nick will go to his father more and his father can mold his son’s identity. It is not all the time that a kid has the correct guidance or even any guidance at all, but they will always look to somebody or something else to help them find who they are. Parents are not always able to have the influence on their kids lives that they want because of other influences in the kid's life. Social distinction is something that starts at a young age, usually when school starts. Athleticism, intelligence, and many other categories are part of a kid’s life in school. Their identity is affected by whether or not they …show more content…
The things they see around their neighborhood in comparison to other places as well as the identity of wherever they are growing up effects the creation of their own identity. Say a kid was growing up in a place that to them seemed like home, but for others it was a place they wouldn’t ever want to live. That kid would someday wonder why and realize that there are so many different places to live that are “nicer” than theirs. Not only does living in certain areas of town effect the kid's view of themselves, but it also affects how other people see themselves. The article “The Oregon Trail Generation: Life Before and After Mainstream Tech,” by Anna Garvey builds on the idea that growing up in certain time periods has an impact on a person’s identity. The article even labels generations as “Gen X” and the “Oregon Trail Generation.” Labeling an entire group of people based off of when they were born can make a kid seeing this labeling believe he or she has to fit into the rest of their generation’s ideas, which may have the biggest impact on a child’s identity more than anything else in this paragraph. A different way that kid’s mold their identity around is from their family environment. The family environment is not the influence family has on the kid, it is the ideas and things they hear in which they are free to perceive in any way they want. If they were to see and hear that doing something