The Influences On Wes Moore's Life

“Family and peer group mezzo systems are dynamically involved in children’s growth, development, and behavior” (Zastrow, 2013, p. 166). The influences on both Wes Moore’s from their family and peers greatly contributed to their decision-making, critical thinking and outlook of life, which played a part in their outcomes. In the beginning of The Other Wes Moore, Wes (2) told Wes (1) when speaking about their fathers that “You father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, my father wasn’t there because he chose not to be. We’re going to mourn in their absence in different ways” (p. 3). I believe that the lack of having a father was the first factor in these men destinies because other male figures in their families stepped up. Wes (1) had a very close-knit large family. The other Wes’s (2) immediate family only consisted of his mother and brother. These relationships with there families set the tone for their lives.
Wes’s (1) father died when he was a young. Soon after that Wes’s mother moved their family in with his grand parents. Wes’s grand parents were excited to have the family living with them and helped his mother, Joy, with raising Wes and his sister. Due to Wes’s close-knit family these positives relationships helped with the influences that his peers had on him. Wes was not the perfect kid growing up but he soon realized that run ins with the law was …show more content…
166). The social development of both men contributed to their outcomes in life, unfortunately one was not as fortunate as the other. Wes (1) had excellent role models and a mother who’s parenting style was very similar to operant conditioning, whereas Wes (2) had negative role modeling from his brother Tony and a mother who seemed to eventually ignore his unacceptable behavior. These two men’s life stories are a testament of how crucial the social development in childhood is to your