Nurture and Nature Effects on Child Development

Nurture and Nature Effects on Child Development

Nature refers to the genes in a child, those which they inherited from their parents, and they define the physical appearances of a child as well as helps in building their personality traits. On the other hand, nurture refers to the various environmental factors having an impact on a child’s personality traits, how a child was brought up, their social relationships as well as childhood experiences[1]. There are different psychological approaches regarding nurture and nature with regards to child development. While some believe that nature is responsible for shaping the behavior of a child, others believe that nurture plays the biggest role; however, both have a role to play in the way the behavior of a child develops.

At the very beginning, the development of a child starts when the male sperm penetrates the outer membrane of a female’s ovum. Both the sperm and the ovum have chromosomes containing the blueprints for human life. These chromosomes have genes known as DNA which carry the genetic codes that make up human life. This genetic components control how a person looks, their temperaments and abilities. According to the nature theory, the characteristics of a child are inherited from their parents[2]. They may include their traits, whether they are patient or not, their height and their personal temperament. From the moment a child is born, the first indication of genes is demonstrated through emotion when they cry a few minutes after birth. It has been revealed that children feel sympathy and empathy for others and that is why they cry when people around them cry. These emotions are something that comes naturally to them because children are born with it.

The child’s brain and physical developments are inborn in that there is nothing that can be done to alter that. Humans cannot change their course of development. The physical developments in a child stem from nature, first, a child learns how to control their head, then starts learning how to sit on their own, crawls as they gradually gain more strength in their legs and eventually start walking. Naturally, as a child reaches 2 years, he or she is expected to be able to carry out some simple tasks such as climbing and using utensils such as cups and spoons while eating[3]. This is a clear indication that the child can now coordinate with his or her eyes and hands. At the age of 2 towards two and a half years, a child will be able to play around, dance and jump. These physical developments take place simultaneously concerning their brain developments.

A child’s language development is also influenced by nature. Once a baby gets exposed to his or her native language, they will be able to recognize it. However, for a child to be able to learn and understand that language, they have to be constantly exposed to it and spoken to most of the times. This is same as any other languages that a child becomes exposed to. The knowledge comes naturally to them.

On the other hand, nurture theory states that the genetic component of a child determines the future personality of a child. The pioneers of this theory believe that when children are born, they usually have a clear mind. However, the environment in which these children are brought up in, the experiences that they encounter and the people around them influence them and shape them into what they will grow up. The nature theory states that in as much as nature plays a role in the determination of a child’s personality, the factors in the environment to determine who they will turn out to be in future. A perfect example is that children who have grown up in abusive families have a higher chance to become abusers themselves since all they have known and interacted with the whole of their lives is physical abuse. They tend to normalize these behaviors and end up exhibiting them as well in future. This indicates how the environment that a child grows in is likely to affect their behavior[4].

The factors in the environment that are likely to influence the behaviors of children include the style of parenting, the home exposures such as what they see going on whether positive or negative in their homes, the modes of eating introduced to them by their parents that influence the child’s food preference and the interactions with those who are around these children. How a child is brought up by their parents determines who they will become in future and what character they will adopt. This explains why there are children who seem very disciplined while there are others who are uncontrollable, depending on the environment they were brought up in.

For a child’s brain to develop, it has to be stimulated[5]. This stimulation can be through anything that causes the brain to operate using the five senses. The brain of a child grows as the child grows, therefore stimulating the brain is important for them to develop their brains from a very young age. This stimulation can including talking to the child so that his or her listening skills are improved, pointing out objects around the child’s environment to see whether the child recognizes them as well as having his or her play with toys so that they can improve their motion skills such as moving towards an object. This stimulation also plays a role in helping a child relate between objects and speeches such that they will be able to point out at specific objects and speak out their names[6]. A child’s vision can also be stimulated to sharpen their senses of sight. Children have to be exposed to different environments that will improve their skills of interaction as they grow up. It is, therefore, evident that nurture and nature have some effects on the early development of a child. This is very true because given that a child could have inherited certain personalities from their parents, such as emotions, the circumstances that bring out these emotions come from the environment. This, in essence, means that for one specific natural action to take place, a nurtured action has to come before it. Lack of nurturing in a child could lead to children only learning one language. They are born with natural abilities, but because of their nurturing, they tend to lose them.

Whereas some researchers believe that nature plays a role in shaping the behavior of a child in their development, others think that nurture plays a most significant role. However, both nature and nurture have a role to play in the development of a child in terms of their behavior. Since this two are interrelated, it is, therefore, necessary that parents get to bring up their children in the best environment so that their minds can be molded into achieving the best they can in life.