Some people believe that the experiences children have before they go to school will have the greatest effect on their future life. Others argue that experiences gained when they are teenagers have a bigger influence. Discuss both views and give your own opinions.

Today, there is an ongoing debate 1aboutsurrounding the 2stage at which personality development is most crucialstage in which people’s personalities are most crucial: while some believe that it is the formative years before they 3beginattain formal education, others believe that their teenage years are the most important. In my opinion, while our 4teenageadult years certainly have an effect on 5our lives as adultsour future lives, 6muchmost of our personality will have been formed by the early 7yearsperiods of our lives.

8On the one hand, one could argue that as we get older, our outlook on life is most affected as our personalities have already been formed and we can now have the ability to make our own mistakes. By learning 9more about ourselves and appropriate ways to actcertain things about ourselves, and what to do and what not to do, we will 10integrate into wider society more successfullyassimilate into wider society better. For instance, important life skills such as 11filingdoing taxes or investing 12ininto a retirement fund 13can only be taught to adultscan only be communicated to an adult, 14because children may not yet understand such materialsince children would not be able to understand what is being taught to them. Thus, young adults are in the best position to learn about the world and how to live within it.

On the other hand, I believe that one’s childhood greatly affects their outlook on life. Numerous studies have shown that a healthy upbringing can result in 15better-adjusted adultsmore functional people, whereas 16an unhealthy upbringingthe opposite case 17may make individuals more susceptiblewould likely lead to individuals being more susceptible to mental health issues later in life. 18Furthermore, when children are taught certain skills at a young age, when their brains have yet to mature, this could paradoxically lead to them being able to learn it quicker. For instance, we can see that young children are able to learn languages 19much more quickly than fully grown adultsmuch quicker than full grown adults.

Thus, I conclude that while there are many experiences to be gained in 20theyour teenage years that will undoubtedly be pivotal to your future development, I 21nonethelessstill nonetheless hold that the years before school are 22the strongest influence on outcomes later in lifethe most important indicator as to how well you will do later in life.