wer replicating their every step. In addition, I was notorious for putting on her shoes and purse and then proceeding to the front door; only to turn around and continually repeat the steps. When I was almost 5 my mom had my baby sister. So while mom was busy taking care of her, my cousin and I made an elaborate set-up in my bedroom for playing house. This consisted of a kitchen set, baby doll, highchair, and stroller. Of course, I was always the mommy and he was the daddy. We would take turns taking care of the baby, doing much of the same things that we had seen my mom and dad do with my little sister and each other. These examples indicate the preparatory and play stages of the significant others in the development of role taking, according to George Herbert Mead or what is also known as anticipatory socialization. When my conduct was deemed to be within acceptable limits I received plenty of approval both verbally and through gestures such as praise and smiles. On the other hand, if my behavior was not deemed to be socially acceptable in my mother's eyes, I would get be given a stern look and mean tone from her with the threat of "just wait until your father gets home from work". Upon returning from work, dad changed clothes and helped to keep me occupied while mom finished preparing dinner by setting me on his lap and reading me stories or take me into the back yard and playing games. I almost always looked forward to dad returning home from work because of the time we spent together when he was home. However, if I had a bad day, such as not listening, talking back or was overly aggressive toward my cousin, then my anticipation of dad coming home was more of dread because I learned at a very young age that he was the one to administer the discipline. Depending on the severity of the infraction, as well as my age, I would either get yelled at, get a spanking, have dessert taken away, or have to eat peas or ...