Preamble
The article's title is "Preamble," and it was written by H. Emerson Blake. In May of 2015, the paper was published. The author believes that placing too much control and rules on children does not benefit them, but rather causes all of the problems that arise in the end.
Story of a Child at a Children's Camp
The article tells the story of a child who was sent to a children's camp with strict rules that made him despise the holiday. The child tells his mother that he thinks he'd be great at his grandmother's house. This is because the grandmother did not have so many rules and would grant him his freedom to do everything that came to his mind such as go fishing, wander in the woods, traipsing through the swamps, and swimming. These activities seem to be dangerous, and that is the reason parents do put in place stringent rules that are meant to guide the kids into being in safe and secure positions at all times.
Author's Thesis
The paper ends by the author admitting to the fact that the children have to be allowed to get integrated with the environment so that they can understand and even realize various things that are not known to us (Colletti, 270). In that case, my thesis for this essay is that Blake's use of rhetorical devices to persuade us into siding with him on the issue is because of his efficient utilization of anecdotes, authoritative sources, as well as an analogy.
Use of Analogy
The use of analogy in the article has been excellent, and it makes the paper more persuasive. For instance, the writer says, "I do not remember much but except (a) there was a lot of rules and (b) I hated it." The connection between the existence of too many rules and it being disliked makes us understand the points that the writer is trying to pass to us readers. This automatically makes us know the reason why the child did not want to stay at the camp but instead opted to be dropped at his grandmother's place where there were fewer rules, and he could do all he thought about or felt was right for him to do at that very moment. This also shows us that the many regulations limited the freedom that the kids had on the way they should interact with their surroundings. Moreover, the connection also makes us understand the fact that the parents and guardians are very much worried about the security and safety of their young ones to levels that their protection turns out to have deleterious impacts on their freedom. In that case, I would say that the use of analogy in the article is professional and exciting because it has helped the author's message to be understood better by the readers, thereby making it very persuasive and attractive to those who are reading it at any time.
Use of Authoritative Sources
Secondly, the use of authoritative sources has been very proficient in the article. For instance, the author tries to give us information about individual incidences where the parents were too protective, and they were punished for the mistake. Blake talks about a mother in Florida being incarcerated for allowing her daughter to walk alone in the wood, and he also gives us information about the Maryland report about the parents who had to let their child take the road home alone from school. In this case, all the author is trying to say to us is that there should be a guide on the level of freedom and protection that a child should be given by his or her parents (Thomasgard, 75). In the stated case above, the parents could have thought by letting their children have some freedom and do certain things on their own would be very good, but they only went on to be punished for the case. This makes the readers think widely about the level of freedom or protection that the child has to be given by the parents for them to be on good terms with their children as well as the children's rights protection bodies that seem to be very vigilant. The author tries to make us understand the fact that the issue of child protection is bothersome and something has to be done to educate the parents on the best techniques they can employ in taking good care of their children and making sure that they are safe and in secure areas at all times. Therefore, from the discussion, it is apparent that Emerson expertly uses authoritative sources to make us know that child-rearing and protection issues are something that is very disturbing and requires advice for one to adequately protect and at the same time give his or her child the freedom they deserve.
Use of Anecdotes
Thirdly, there has been the expert employment of anecdotes in the paper, which makes the document very impressive and at the same moment very persuasive. The author tells us a story about that time he was staying at his grandmother's place. He admits to the fact that he loved the place mainly because there were fewer rules that were put in place to make sure that he is secure at all times as compared to the camp where the contrary was correct. He talks about the good times he had when his grandmother allowed him to go swimming at the lake, traipsing, walk through the bushes and woods, and capture all the animals he wished to catch and any time that he wanted. This made him happy but very insecure and unsafe, which is the reason the parents have stringent rules to have this under control (Thomasgard, 74). Moreover, the anecdote tries to make us understand that the aged people could not be the perfect people to be given the task of caring for the children, as well as other people such as relatives, who may have less interest in the well-being of the kid compared to the parent.
In conclusion
In conclusion, the article is very persuasive, thanks to the intensive and professional use of authoritative sources, anecdotes, and the use of analogy which offer grounds for us to base our judgments on whether the strict parent is the best or the considerate one regarding giving the child more freedom. I think that Blake's use of authoritative sources stands out as the most appealing rhetoric technique that makes any reader know or even have the feeling of how severe or complicated the issue is to the parents as well as the regulating bodies.
Works Cited
Colletti, Christina JM, et al. "The relationship of parental overprotection, perceived vulnerability, and parenting stress to behavioral, emotional, and social adjustment in children with cancer." Pediatric blood & cancer 51.2 (2016): 269-274.
Thomasgard, Michael, and W. Peter Metz. "Parental overprotection revisited." Child Psychiatry & Human Development 24.2 (2013): 67-80.
