Nature and Nurture in Child Development

8/7/2019 Nature and Nurture in Child Development

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Every single person has a specific and unique nature that is determined

by the effect of two major influences.

The first, is the genetic influence (nature) that contains our physical

appearance and gender.

The second major factor is environmental influences

It comes from different experiences and events that have occurred in our

lives, and our interactions we have with others within our surroundings


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Genetic InfluencesTraits or characteristics we inherit from our parents

Determined by the chromosomes in the nucleus of the cells

Chromosomes exist in all cells of the body and contain our genetic

information and is responsible for our physical appearance

Create unique individuals from random selection of traits and

characteristics from the genes of our parents.


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Genes inside the chromosomesThere are two important chemicals that work together in transferring

genetics

The two chemicals are called DNA and RNA and are organized into

structures called chromosomes

They determine physical appearances such as eye and hair color, baldness,

etc

DNA is found in the fertilized ovum and keeps a memory of the parents

appearance and passes it down to the child

RNA helps by carrying the genetic codes to the ribosome

The ribosome will then form new proteins that will help the child growto its full potential.


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Role of Nature in Child DevelopmentIncludes physical appearance of a person, but it covers more than just

genetic makeup, it also affects the inner self of a person

Children are born with a set personality, characteristics we call

temperament

Temperament affects the childs reactions and responses to certain peopleor actions in his or her life


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Temperament TypesThe first type is the difficult child

Often irritated, feisty, moody, and show other forms of negative reactions


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The second type is the easy or flexible child

He or she is usually happy or calm, flexible, approachable, having

emotional control and regular sleeping and eating patterns.


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The third type is the slow to warm up child

This child is sometimes fussy, inactive, and withdrawing in new situations.

Shy around new people

React negatively towards new changes, situations or new people

However, the more exposure to new changes a child has in his or her

developing stage, they will develop adaptability and their responses to

change will become more positive.


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DimensionsThe three different temperaments are broken down to nine dimensions

The 9 dimensions are measured from mild to intense responses from a

child

The first is activity, where the child is always moving and doing some sort

of an activitySecond, Rhythmicity is the regularity of physiologic functions such as eating

and sleeping.

Thirdly, approach/withdrawal is the nature of the childs responses to new

procedures such as new people, places, situations, foods, or toys.

Fourth, adaptability is the ability to adapt to fit new circumstances.Fifth, is intensity and it is the level of energy in responses regardless of

quality or direction


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DimensionsThe sixth dimension is mood, it is the childs amount of friendliness andunpleasantness in certain situations or towards people.

Seventh is the persistence and attention span of a child. It measures length

of time certain activities are pursued by a child without being distracted.

The eighth is distractibility and it is how a person can concentrate with or

without being interfered by irrelevant thoughts or external actions.

The ninth and final dimension is sensory threshold, it is how easily a person

is aroused by sounds or light, necessary to affect the child and evoke

responses.

The three types of temperaments which are made up of the 9 dimensions

fit 65 percent of all children in one of their patterns. 40 percent are

generally easy to work with, 10 percent are looked at as difficult or feisty, 15

percent have the slow to warm up temperament, and the rest of the 35

percent are a mix of all three categories.


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The three different types of responses from children often lead to

different reactions and responses from their caregivers and the

people around them

The easy child, whos attitude is playful, joyful, and is continuously

responsive to the people around them is likely to receive a great

deal of positive and loving attention back


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The difficult child is quite different. They are fussy, difficult to soothe,

have problems eating and sleeping and have an overall negativeresponse to people and actions in his or her surroundings.

The caregiver of this child may be stressed and full of anxiety and

respond back to the child in a less positive way because it takes more

time, energy, and effort to please a difficult child


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The caregiver of a slow to warm up child may be frustrated at first, but will

be extremely pleased with the child as they will gradually grow happier andshow more positive reactions later on.

A child giver is extremely important to a child in its developing stage. They

spend the most time interacting with the child, and their responses are

important as it will have a positive or negative presence on the child


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Temperament

Temperament is different in everyone due to genetics, however there are

factors that contribute to temperament

One of the main factors is the gender of the child

From a young age, in a school full of children, boys seem to engage in

more physical and verbal acts of aggression than girls.Research and reports show that this pattern of aggressive behavior in

boys is true across many cultures and socioeconomic groups

it has been argued that this type of aggressive and competitive behavior

shown may be triggered by peers, family members, and other surrounding

factors in his environment.


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Temperament TypesGender is only one of the factors, there are many more that can affect types

of temperament in a child

Childs involvement in out of home activities and parental influences

Children who spend more time out of there home will likely be less held

back and more outgoing

Over controlling parents will result in a child remaining withheld over a

period of time

Cultural characteristics and differences also have their effects on

temperament

Gender, physical appearance, temperament, are all characteristics of childs

nature. However, the set personality a child is born with can definitely be

shaped or affected for the better or worse by his or her environment and

surroundings.


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Environmental InfluencesThe way a child is nurtured is strongly affected by their environmental

surroundings and the people they interact with

A childs experiences, fears, and different types of behaviours and

habits are picked up and developed through the environmental

influences they have throughout their lives.

five different types of environmental influences that affect a child either

in a negative or positive way.


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Prenatal EnvironmentExposure of toxic substances to the child that may alter or affect

developmental processes

This includes any family member, caregiver, or anybody who uses toxic

substances around the child

A child who is exposed to toxic substances regularly are not only at risk

of physical damage, (Example : inhalation of smoke) but mentally as

well.

It makes the child assume that what the parent does is correct which

allows the child to take part in those acts because the parent has

already taken part

The child may not believe it is fully right at first to take in such toxic

substances, but the pressure from peers may increase his or her

chances of allowing themselves to be at risk.


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Physical EnvironmentThe physical environment is the conditions a child is raised in and

surrounded with

This would include the air the child breathes to the nutritional value of food

the child is given.

The physical environment also includes the childs exposure to injuries,

diseases, accidents, or any other negative affects on the childs body and

health. This would also include abuse from family or other people.


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Social/Cultural

Environment

The social/cultural environment is how a child is raised based on norms,

religious beliefs, values, morals, and standards of behavior that are seen in

society as normal or deviant.

As a child, you observe the things around you and the actions people choose

to takeChildren develop habits based on the values caregivers give them and they

look up to their role models


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Learning

Environment


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Emotional Environment

The emotional environment is the nature of the childs existingrelationships between people and the amount of warm and affectionate

emotional care given to the child

The emotional environment affects the development of the childs self

esteem, trust, identity, and the ability to be involved with more

friendships or love relationships in the futureParent to child relationships are important in the development of social

relationships and creating personalities.


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The five environments are all extremely important when it comes to child

development

A child should be raised with good self esteem and sense of identity and

ability to interact and be involved with others

They should have a sense of what is considered normal or deviant in their

society, and should be given proper nutritional foods and a safe and clean

environment where they can expand their creativity and imagination and

grow to their full potential

Genie is a great example that when it comes to child development, nature

as well as nurture is important in every stage


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It is true that nurture, as well as nature both play huge roles in a childs

development Our genetic influences will determine our physical appearances, gender,

and set personality, however it is our environmental influences, the

people we interact with and our surroundings that have shaped us to

who we are today.

Nature and Nurture in Child Development

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