From the time I have been a small child, people have come into my life to influence me in both positive and negative ways. My parents both held down full time jobs; therefore I have benefited from the care and experience of a wide range of people. My parents have been advocates for me in times of need by giving me good advice and helping me with school work. At times I was felt like I was being scrutinized by them too much, but for the most part, I am grateful for their help.

From the time I was three, daycare was my second home. Although I had some vexatious habits due to hyperactivity, I was generally a well behaved child and was amicable the majority of the time. My teachers taught me that sharing and taking turns was the correct way to behave. I usually loathed taking naps in the afternoon and sometimes begged to be allowed to run around outside.

Once I started school, my neighbors became babysitters for me after school. I would walk to their house every day until my parents came home. I usually solicited help from Diane, with my math homework and she was never too busy to assist me. She had an astute mind for math concepts; needless to say, I learned a lot.

Often times I think that my caregivers were ineffectual in the values and ethics they try to instill in me, but I find myself listening to them and realizing they are right. As teenagers we all want to be independent and free from people telling us what to do. However, this is the time in our lives we need guidance the most. The people in society, who are criminals, are nefarious citizens who are not good people. Teenagers need to stay away from these people so they aren’t influenced by them.

The message is loud and clear and that takes more than one person to successfully raise a child. The parents that try to do everything on their own will only be disappointed in the end. The sad malady in this scenario is that parents only suffocate the child by not exposing them to other important people in their life.