In "The Rocking-Horse Winner" how does Paul behave like other kids and how doesn't he? How do you account for these differences?

Paul, like all small children, seeks for approval and love
from his parents.  So, he does things in order to please them.  This is what prompts the
rocking-horse riding in the first place.  He senses his mother's "cold" heart, and in a
conversation with her, learns that she wants to be "lucky," or rich, more than anything
else.  He figures that if he can get her money, then her heart will soften, and she will
finally love him.

Paul is also like a small child in the
way that he trusts people.  He trusts the gardener and his uncle to work with him in
winning these huge amounts of money; that is pretty trusting, if you ask me.  An adult
would expect scamming to occur, but Paul just innocently lets the gardener handle all of
the money, and deal with it.  Very child-like and
naive.

One other way that Paul is like other children is
that he doesn't really express greed or desire for a lot of money--his desire for the
money is to win his mother's love, not to get things for himself.  He is very selfless
and childlike about money and what it means.

Despite these
traits, Paul is really more serious than most children.  He is calm, serious, earnest
and mature for his age.  He doesn't seem to play or take things lightly.  Also, he is
very focused and determined.  Most kids can't focus on one thing for more than ten
minutes.  Paul spends hours on his horse, focused and determined.  Kids also tend to
give up pretty easily and get frustrated when things aren't going their way--not Paul. 
He rides and rides until he gets the right answer, even if it takes a very long time. 
He is also unduly  burdened with the cares of the world; his parents' desire for money
weighs on him, and he takes the responsibility on himself--that is not like a child at
all.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good
luck!