An animal learns and processes information in some uniquely different ways. For an example, let's take the puppy dog playing Frisbee.

No matter how the master, (for the most part), throws the Frisbee the puppy goes after it with the same enthusiasm and retrieves and returns with it. If it is too high and misses the catch, intentional or not, the enthusiasm remains for the moment intact and retrieval takes place.

The point here is that the dog, (and other animals as well), SEEM not to have that much of a capacity to "think about their thinking". IOW evaluation of self is not made in proportion to performance.

Evaluation IS made of the act, (needed, to learn what to do or not do the next time), BUT evaluation of the "SELF" is NOT made in relation of the act. The dog, and other animals as well seem not to so readily engage in "thinking about their thinking".

So what is the point here? Try this, Children learn much more from observation than they do from direction, and almost from the moment of birth, long before any sense of language comes into play.

They hold their hands up to be held, they cry to be fed or cared for, they make a face for attention, they smile to get your attention, they attempt to imitate you and others, they teach themselves to hold their bottle, to play patty cake after you, these and many other things long long before the ever speak a word of language!

They not only mimic or try to mimic 'your' actions, but also the actions of others including fighting, yelling and screaming.

What humans seem to do, (and other animals seem not to do), is be in a constant state of mental arousal of the external as well as the internal. A "constant" processing if you will of all that is going on, real as well as imagined. Think about this for a moment, what percent of your waking moments are idle?

And the child, even an infant is near always in a state of processing. There seems to be a constant state of 'thinking' and 'feeling' and 'behaving' going on at all times. The baby is learning what to do and what not to do by observation long long before ANY language skills are in place. The Aristotelian pattern of reasoning self forms it's self if you will. Starting at birth it seems.

Now lets move from the puppy dog to an outfielder in a baseball game. It is the bottom of the ninth with two out in the world series. The batter hits the ball high and straight at the outfielder. He first thinks 'the ball is coming at me', and then thinks "I must catch it" all of which is quite sane until he starts to think about his thinking, like, what will it be like "IF" I don't catch it! What will others think of me if I miss? What will my team mates think? And the fans? AND WHAT will I think of ME?

Other animals don't engage in this incessant evaluation that seems to be so "natural" for human kind. When the puppy dog comes back from 'missing' the catch HE doesn't come back with all the baggage! His love for you is 'unconditional', and EVEN more important is his love for 'himself' is unconditional.

This is the kind of thinking that is put in place when The FOG'S (Fear,Obligation, Guilt, and Shame) is used to establish discipline.

Parents that are critical of their children are committing 'child abuse'. They are teaching the child to be loathsome of themselves for their shortcomings. To a degree this comes naturally, now it gets exacerbated. The FOG'S is a very powerful tool to manipulate people and is unfortunately often over used, albeit some times un-wittingly.

Check out this link, this book "Science and Sanity" it was written in 1933 and the most recent printing was the fifth one in 1994,

http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/pennvalley/biology/lewis/akbio.htm

Later I will delve into some of the greater errors of parenting and a bit as to why they are and remain in place. There is ways to go here, others thoughts and ideas are welcome as well as questions.