Self-Concept

"To a large extent, your self-concept is formed by what others tell you about yourself, especially during the formative years of childhood"

I agree with this statement to an extent. Although the first six years are very critical in a child's development, these children can grow out of how they had been raised. For example, individuals that were neglected as children tend to think that no one cares about them and they have difficulties forming good relationships. As children grow older, they may grow a strong relationship with someone and grow out of these difficult times. They may grow up to have a great job and no one would ever guess they had a tough childhood.
But, for the most part, I do agree with this statement. It says in the book, the way the children had been raised greatly affects their self-concept as adults. For example authoritative parenting has a lot of positive aspects such as self-control, ability to cope with stress, and good behavior. Authoritarian parenting has a worse effect on children such as moodiness, fear, and stress. Permissive parenting produces rebellion, low self-control and low achievement. This is average for children. They say that children that grow up in a bad environment are more likely to grow up in a bad environment and if a child grows up in a good environment, there is more of a chance the child will succeed.
My parents always tried to encourage things but they let me decide what I wanted to do. I never felt neglected and I have more of the characteristics of the authoritative parenting. I have good self-control, I have never really acted out and I cope with stress pretty well. My parents always wanted me to dance when I was growing up and I always refused. They gave me the choice of what I wanted to do. They always set high standards for grades and behavior in school but they left it up to me to get good grades and do my own homework but they helped me when I needed help. This showed me that they were there for me but they pretty much 'put the ball in my court'.
That statement does have a lot of truth to it. If a child is loved in those critical years of their life, they will have a better self-concept and better self-esteem.