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Article Review

Motherly Advice
Did your mother read to you when you were six weeks old? Did she teach you how to do math problems when you were two? Recently, I read the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel and found an editorial on child development. Kathleen Parker's article, "First Three Years Aren't That Critical" tells us that parents today are putting to much emphasis on what the media and medical journals are saying, instead of using common sense. The article emphasizes that parents are going overboard on these new studies using good argumentative techniques. Although I found not all of what she said was accurate, I still felt she got her point across. Parker uses evidence from scientists and medical books, to further persuade the reader to side with her opinion. Parker uses good persuasive techniques by showing that not everything you read in the media about child development is true or factual. Parker also shows that she is not one-sided on the issue and gives a personal comment about the opposing viewpoint. I feel the author proved her point that parents are being ridiculous in how they are raising their child these days.
In the first few paragraphs, author attracts the attention of the reader and explains the main point of the article. The author begins the article saying that she "Pity[s] today's parents who want to do the right thing." The sentence attracts the audience to continue reading the article because the sentence sparks curiosity in why the author pities today's parents. The article continues, "They [parents] buy child-rearing books, explore over psychology articles, play Mozart in nurseries festooned with alphabet cards and the periodic table." Parker shows good persuasive technique by describing an exaggerated scenario of what parents are doing these days to try to develop their child's mind.
Although the scenario is not believable, the exaggeration helps to prove that parents are being excessive in the way they develop their children. Parker states her...