I am a father to a 2.5 year old daughter, and her preferences, while influenced by me, are so very obviously to me not altogether of my or my wife’s making.
As a parent, I grow increasingly annoyed at accusations that parents brainwash or wrongfully indoctrinate their kids.
Absolutely agree. But I believe the current thinking is that by the time the average child is 2 years old, their parents are no longer the primary external influence on them.
I think people who say so either don’t have kids or assume most kids are babysat by the TV all day. My wife and I are still the two people with whom my daughter interacts the most, by a long shot. At some point, yes that is true that we will not be the primary influence, but not so at two years old.
I agree with the 2 year old stat for both of my kids, and I’m one of those “you can watch TV when you have your own house” parents for the most part. Siblings, neighbors, daycare. Children beyond the toddler stage pick up an astounding amount from other kids. And those kids may have access to TV, etc, but that’s not really the point. The point is that the world is a big and fascinating place, and parents are not the most exciting thing in it.