Do We Have Any Control Over Child Development?

There are many factors that influence child development, and for most of them, we do have some control. If we have a good understanding of what children need to grow, we are better able to address the needs. Every child deserves the opportunity to blossom. This article will discuss environmental influences on child development, as opposed to genetic influences which are not in our power. The world around us has a major part in shaping the child.

How Environment Affects Child Development

A child's environment - for example, his family or school - plays a huge part in his development. Simply stated, a nurtured child will do better than a deprived child. That may seem like common sense, but you may not realize the little things that make a difference. Some assume that a rich privileged child will automatically thrive more than a child living in poverty. That is not always the case. Some of the main factors that influence a child's development are his family, where he lives, and socio-economic status. These factors often cross over and blend as they are often related.

The Five Areas of Child Development

The wonder of child development is divided into five main catagories:

cognitive (thinking and learning) social and emotional speech and language fine motor skills (small muscle control) gross motor skills (large muscle control)

How Family Affects Child Development

The child's family is the most important factor in his development. Whether he is raised by parents, grandparents, or others, the family provides bonding and first relationships. The successful family preserves the innocence of the child by nurturing and protecting him, or on the flip side, allows him to be exposed to negative experiences which can harm his development. Styles of parenting have a big affect on child development, as well. The family that invests time, energy and love in raising a child will see the most positive growth. Read to the child and with the child. Spend time playing with the child, from floor time with babies to throwing a ball with older children. Talk to the child and let him know that his opinion matters. All of these measures can be taken in any household, no matter the socio-economic status. Obviously, the family that abuses or neglects a child will be detracting from his natural development. But the indifferent family has a negative affect as well. The child left playing video games or watching television all day will not gain the experiences and interactions needed to further his development.

Parenting Tips to Aid Child Development

good nutrition keep active spend quality time together ensure enough sleep consistent and fair discipline limit time on electronic devices read, read, read!

Geography Influences Child Development

Where a child lives is an important factor in his development. How are the schools? What types of services and opportunities are there in the community? Is there access to good health care? Children often spend a large part of the day in school, and can gain much or not, depending on the quality of the school. If there is a choice for schools, parents should do as much research as possible to find which will serve the child best. If there is only one school available to the family, parents can still be active in making sure their child is getting the most from the school. Meet the principal, join the teacher/parent organization, and volunteer at the school. Does the community have a library, parks, and community centers for sports and other activities? When your child is old enough, consider getting him a library card. An early love of reading will go far. Parks and community centers offer space to run and play. This is a critical pastime in today's world of electronic gaming and television. Does your community have good health care? Are there reputable hospitals, clinics and doctors in the area? You may be surprised to hear that a state capital city in the US did not have adequate health care for my disabled child, so we had to drive to another city for services and eventually moved to that city. Check your local library, newspaper, and hospital for child development or enrichment classes. You may find that many are free and open to the public.

Socio-Economic Status Influence on Child Development

There are socio-economic trends that can influence child development. It is true that poorer families are at a disadvantage when it comes to providing the richest environment for a child to grow. Many families must rely on public education that may not be the best in their area. What if a child needs special services to aid development? What if the parents spend most of their time working multiple jobs just to keep a roof over their heads? Children living in poverty may also have poor nutrition, limiting their ability to reach their potential. Get involved with your child's schooling. Check and see if your local school has a child development program. Your community may even have an early intervention program for little ones who qualify. Head Start is a national program in the US that provides developmental assistance to low-income children from birth to age five. When my children were toddlers, we took free classes designed to help child development and parenting skills. It was a county program I happened to hear about from another parent. For the parents who must spend a lot of hours at work, remember it is the quality of time spent with the child that counts. Make the most of your time off with the family. Be sure to eat meals together and really listen to each other. Good nutrition can still be found on a budget. Watch sales and stock up on meat when the price is at the lowest. Consider growing a garden which is a double bonus -fresh produce and a rewarding fun family activity. Even if times are tough, children will thrive in a close-knit loving family.

Presentation on What Influences Early Child Development by Dr. Clyde Hertzman http://chaplinspeaks.hubpages.com/hub/What-Influences-Child-Development

The nature/nurture debate in childhood development The nature/nurture debate is the controversy surrounding the relative influence of environment and heredity on children's behaviour. Particularly, does nature and nurture interact? Questions include; is language acquired because the environment demands it or because it is genetically determined? Are boys more aggressive than girls because of the culture we live in or because it is in their genes? How is emotional development influenced? The debate revolves around nature verses nurture, nature with nurture, nature alone or nurture alone. In 350BC Plato believed that most ideas were innate, a view still held in 1600's by Descartes. Wiggam (1923) stated "Heredity, not environment is chief maker of man... the differences among men are due to differences in germ cells with which they were born." Alternatively, empirical philosopher like John Locke (1632-1704) insisted that the mind is blank, a "tabula rasa". Locke argued that all ideas came from experience. Early studies have focused mainly upon the environmental influence, e.g. in the home. More recently there have been moves towards researching biological effects on the roots of behaviour and development. One reason is new technology allows psychologists and physiologists to study the brain in greater detail. There are many approaches to the nature/nurture debate. The biological approach believes people act the way they do because of inheritance. Behaviourists argue for nurture, although the potential for learning is innate. The cognitive approach does not completely side with nurture, as it supports the view that the structure of the mental system is innate. The psychoanalytic approach also uses both nature and nurture. The innate, is altered by experience, motivations are driven by instincts. The evolutionary approach supports nature whilst the humanistic approach supports nurture. The social constructionist approach takes the view that society moulds us. (http://www.garysturt.free-online.co.uk...es%20and%20issues/nature%20nurture.htm) Biological theorists try to draw a map for nature's influence on a child's development. Although most now recognise an integrated approach is needed. Bronfenbrenner proposed an Ecological Model (1979; 1989; 1993) which consisted of microsystems, exosystems and macrosystems. Microsystems are those the child experiences directly such as family, or day care. Exosystems are those a child does not experience directly but it has some influence over as it effects the microsystems, e.g. unemployment and it's financial and emotional consequences. A macrosystem is the culture in which the microsystems and exosystems exist, such as neighbourhood or ethnicity. Conversely developmental psychologists nearly all agree that biology plays a much larger http://www.markedbyteachers.com/gcse/health-and-social-care/the-nature-nurture-debate-in-childhooddevelopment-1.html

as alcoholism or even intelligence are biologically inherited while other people support the theory that many of these things are a product of the environment in which an individual is raised. Many studies in the nature versus nurture conflict center on identical twins. Researchers look not only at twins raised together but those raised apart to determine whether or not a certain trait is biologically programmed or if it evolves as a result of the environment in which one twin was raised. However, a flaw in research of this type is that, often times, the twins who had been separated by adoption were raised in very similar environments.

Intelligence
The most controversial area in the nature vs. nurture debate is intelligence. The reason for this may be that intelligence (which is a person's capacity to think rationally and deal with challenges effectively) is closely related to achievement, both scholastic and in other situations. While most researchers agree that intelligence is influenced by genetics to a great degree, studies show that twins of all kinds and biological siblings are more likely to possess similar intelligence. In fact, the closer the biological link, the stronger the similarity in intelligence. However, there are also similarities in intelligence between unrelated children raised together in the same household, though these similarities are not as great as those between biological siblings and, especially, twins. What this and other similar research says is that no one definitive factor solely affects intelligence. The manner in which an individual is raised greatly influences one's intelligence. While one researcher, psychologist Arthur Jensen, put forth that intelligence is 80 percent determined by biological factors, other researchers have settled upon figures

This young man has been encouraged by his parents to read the newspaper each day, thus boosting his intelligence. (Photograph by Robert J. Huffman. Field Mark Publications Reproduced by permission.) ranging between 50 and 70 percent. This means that whatever an individual's natural intelligence, it can always be improved or obstructed by his or her environment.

Personality
In addition to physical characteristics and intelligence, researchers have also tried to determine whether genetics or the environment influences an individual's personality. If a really outgoing, social individual has a child, will that child also be outgoing? Some researchers say yes. In fact, scientists have been able to prove that there is a biological relationship in terms of personality where extroversion (being outgoing and social) and neuroticism (being touchy, moody, or overly sensitive) are concerned. How can this be proven? Through studies involving twins living apart. In fact, similar studies have found that many things seem to be inherited from values and political attitudes to the amount of time people spend watching television! This may sound silly and, of course, no one is suggesting that a specific gene has evolved that directly influences a person's preference for watching television. Rather, what researchers are focusing on is that the act of watching television is usually a solitary, passive one. This could be something that is tied to whether or not a person is extroverted. Findings of this type are also confirmed by the fact that scientists have identified a gene that affects brain chemistry and may be the reason that certain individuals engage in risk-taking behaviors, such as bungee jumping or extreme sports, while others do not.

Mental Disorders
As discussed in Chapter 12 on Mental Illness, schizophrenia (a serious psychological disorder marked by scattered thoughts, confusion, and delusions) has been found to have a high genetic correlation, meaning that if one family member has schizophrenia, there is an increased likelihood that another family member (or future offspring) may also develop it. Of course, while an individual may be predisposed to schizophrenia because of genetics, that is not to say that he will ever develop the disorder. Other psychological disorders that may be hereditary include alcoholism and major depression. [ See Chapter 12: Mental Illness.] Most researchers now agree to some extent that both biology and environment play important roles in shaping people. Just as children may share traits with biological parents, adopted children may also share many traits and habits with their adoptive parents. What this information serves to do is help mental health professionals, teachers, and researchers help all people realize their potential for growth and accomplishment in their lives.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/health/Healthy-Living-V3/Mental-Health-Nature-vs-nurture-doesbiology-or-environment-influence-development.html#ixzz2IYb5biu1

The Childhood Development Nature vs Nurture Debate Continues

Is a child's development influenced primarily by genetics and biological predisposition? Or, could the majority of influence be found in the child's environment? This nature/nurture question is possibly one of the oldest theories debated in psychology (Bee, 2004). Today, it is commonly accepted that most aspects of a child's development are a product of the interaction of both nurture and nature (Bee). Both sides of the nature/nurture argument present compelling evidence of how each factor impacts development. It is no longer a question of whether it is nature or nurture, which influence development, but more importantly in what ways, and to what extent. The Impact of Nature on Development Nature, which is also known as heredity, is the genetic code you are born with. It is passed on to you from your parents. Some examples of nature or heredity could be your height, behavior, and IQ just to name a few. The issue of nature having a great impact on a child's development can be illustrated in the studies of twins. Flanagan (2002) explored the Minnesota study in which a set of twins was raised separately. In one case, a set of identical twins was raised apart, known as the Jim twins. They did not meet until they were almost forty and had many similarities even though they were raised apart. There was no real explanation for all their similarities except that nature must play a crucial role in development. "The Minnesota twin study concluded that on multiple measures of personality and temperament, occupational and leisure-time interests and social attitudes, mono-zygotic twins reared apart are about as similar as are mono-zygotic twins reared together" (Flanagan). This is a prime example that nature plays a significant role in our development. Another example of nature is the study of adopted babies. Families with adopted children share the same environment, but not the same genetic code (Flanagan, 2002). The Texas Adoption Project found "little similarity between adopted children and their siblings, and greater similarity between adopted children and their biological parents" (Flanagan). This example also shows how important the role of nature plays on a child's development. Knowing that nature plays a role in a child's development, educators can use this to determine possible disabilities. For example, if two parents have a reading disability, it is more likely that their child may develop a reading disability as well. It gives teachers a heads up on what to look out for. This can help educators be proactive and intervene at earlier ages. The Impact of Nurture on Development The influence of a person's environment on their behavior is a very commonly accepted factor. The question is how much can the environment affect the behavior and abilities of a person. Some basic factors such as nutrition can be shown to have an important influence on the abilities of a person. It has also been demonstrated that fears, through the experiences of children, can be learned. Most importantly, some behaviors, if not learned from the environment, will never develop. Environment plays a significant role in development as humans. When considering a person's environment in influencing ability, nutrition plays an important example. In one study, a group of children were given vitamin and mineral supplements for eight months. They were given intelligence tests before and after the eight-month treatment. The result was improvements in scores as compared to another group whom we not given vitamin and mineral supplements ("Nature vs. Nurture", 2001). The results suggest that environment plays a role in the intellectual ability of people. It is not an illogical leap to understand this will probably extend to physical abilities as well. Another example of environmental influences in the behavior of people comes from a study done to an infant of 11 months. The infant was subjected to a terrible noise whenever he attempted to touch a white rat in the room

with him. The child later displayed fear whenever he came in contact with anything white or furry ("Nature vs. Nurture", 2001). A last example of environmental influences in behavior comes from France in 1799. A boy of 12 or 13 was found running with wolves. When he was discovered he was brought back into society. He never developed as a normal human and had tremendous difficulties in society ("Nature vs. Nurture", 2001). This suggests that much of what we consider human behavior is socially learned. While no one would suggest that nurture is the only factor that needs to be considered in discussing behavior, it is definitely a significant factor in how we behave as humans. By ignoring the environment, we would miss a large part of what shapes and guides us in life. In conclusion, both sides of the nature/nurture debate present evidence which supports its impact on development. Studies have shown that heredity is a major factor in developmental similarities among twins raised separately (Flanagan 2002). Studies have also shown that nutrition plays a significant role in cognitive development ("Nature vs. Nurture", 2001). Most experts agree that most aspects of a child's development are a product of the interaction of both nurture and nature (Bee, 2004). Interestingly, in recent years, new technology has enabled scientists to gain a deeper understanding of the genetic component of development, increasing interest on this side of the debate (Bee). Although no longer an "all or nothing" issue, the extent to which nature and nurture affect development will likely be debated for years to come.

References Bee, Helen (2004). Child and adolescent development (Section 1, pp. 3). Retrieved July 28, 2004, from University of Phoenix website: www.myresource.phoenix.edu Flanagan, C. (2002). Nature and nurture: why are siblings so different? Psychology Review, 8(3), 23. Retrieved July 28, 2004, from the InfoTrac Database. Nature vs. Nurture (2001). Planet Papers. Retrieved July 28, 2004, from the World Wide Web: http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/3492.php

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2.0 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2.1 Introduction Anything that contributes causally to a result is known as factor. (WordWeb) In the matter of factors that influence the child development varies. But they can be mainly divided into two main factors which is nature and nurture factors. Nature factors are factors that carried by the individual from conception to birth. On the other hand nurture factors are factors that affect the individual from after birth often regarding with the environment. All the following information is gain from lecture by Miss Kamalawati, 2007. 2.2 Nature factor 2.2.1 Genetic It is what that have been half inherited by the mother and the father in the form of gene. This gene is a segment of DNA that actually controls the physical, mental and many attributes in the body. The height, type of hair or color, skin color, blood groups are actually being control by the DNA. When it comes to gene you can do nothing about it to change it especially the internal factors such as blood group and also inherited diseases. Besides physical attributes, gene is also affects the character and mental intelligence or IQ of an individual (Whitaker et al, 1997). If the parents are temperament it is said that the child might also inherited it and so the IQ. However to those parents who have mental disability or when there are mutation occurs during the multiplication of gene or cross of gene during the fertilization of egg and sperm might causes mental disability. Mental disability is an abnormal condition that causes significant distress or dysfunction that can involve with cognitive, emotional, behavioral and interpersonal impairment. Example is Down Syndrome. 2.2.2 Maternal nutrition. The second factor is the maternal nutrition. What the mother consume during pregnancy is very important to the health and well being of the baby. Mother should have a well balanced diet that has all the food classes that are required in the correct amount and portion for the needs of the mother and the baby. A pregnant mother should ingest more acid folic, iron, zinc and calcium besides the usual daily food. Acid folic play an important role in the creation of baby nervous system and iron is required because more blood is needed to send the supply to the baby through placenta. Zinc and calcium is needed for the development of embryo. If the mother has a poor nutrition it may affect the growth of the baby physical body and brain cell. Hence when the baby is born the size of the baby is not healthy and deformities might occur. The cognitive development also slows down. 2.2.3 Mothers health What a mother does during pregnancy can affect the growth of the baby overall. So a mother should take care of herself well by having a well balanced diet. Food that contains

high level of sugar and salt should be avoided. Going for medical check-up according to the doctors schedule is a must to ensure the condition of the baby is perfect. Personal hygiene is also very important to avoid getting ill. Try to wear comfortable clothing that does not obstruct the growth of the baby so tight clothes is not advisable. Finally exercise regularly and have enough rest. Unlike before pregnant a mother should sleep more and have more rest because pregnant women is easier tired out and the baby also needs a good rest. 2.2.4 Teratogens The forth factors are teratogens which refer to any agent that interferes with normal embryonic development: alcohol or thalidomide or X-rays or rubella are examples. These teratogens can actually cause abnormalities to the baby because they affect the preventing or modifying normal cell division and differentiation of the baby. By taking drug the baby can suffers from deformation and mental retard. Excessive alcohol consumption causes fetal alcohol syndrome where the baby will suffers from poor growth, distinct patterns of unusual facial characteristic, small head and brain dysfunction. Meanwhile mother should also avoid from smoking or being a passive smoker because the smoke can decrease the amount of oxygen received by the baby. This will cause the rise in fetal heart rate and premature delivery. Prematurely delivered baby usually suffers from low birth weight and are apt to have impairments in cognitive, sensory and motor capabilities. Ever heard that pregnant mother are disallowed to go near or even worse working in the area where radioactive is. It is very important to let the pregnant mother to know that high radioactive level can cause the death of a few moths old baby in the womb. While places with lower radioactive level should be avoided such as photostatting machine and x-rays. Laser rays from the x-rays can caused the deformities of the baby. So be well aware. Other than that for future mothers please be well aware that there is a type of germs called German measles that are not harmful to adults but it is fatal for baby. Therefore the government takes a preventive measure even before the misfortune can take place. Under the measure taken Ministry of Health send doctors and nurse to provide injection named BCG to the female student at the age of 12 besides the one taken during baby. The injection id needed as it provide so immunity to the person that taken the injection. Sometimes a couple before married or planning to have baby also takes this preventive measure. This German measles can cause Congenital Rubella. Infected in early pregnancy can lead to fatal death, premature delivery, congenital defects, spontaneous abortion, deafness, heart defects or mental retardations. Mothers that are HIV positive should be prepared as the baby born has a big chance to be infected by HIV. If this occurs child whole life will be a HIV patient. This usually happens in country where HIV disease is rampant such as Africa that has a high rate of HIV and other examples are Cambodia and Ukraine.

2.2.5 Rh blood factor Rh a type of protein in the blood that contributes to the existence of Rh positive and Rh negative in the blood type. It doesnt contribute much trouble if both the parent of the child belongs to the same type of Rh either both positive or negative. But when it happens that both parent have different Rh blood factor the problem happens. As an example mother with Rh positive carries a baby that is Rh negative due to the heredity from the father. The difference of blood type causing the mothers body antibody system recognizes the babys blood as foreign material or bacteria that trigger the formation of antibody against childs blood. This doesnt bother the first born as the antibody of the mother isnt that strong but if the second born is with Rh negative the child might causes miscarriage or anemia as the mothers body reject the babys blood. 2.2.6 Emotional stress Emotional stress is also identified as one of the nature factors. What ever the mother feels will bring the effects. A stress mothers body will stimulate the production of adrenaline which alters the blood flow. When a pregnant mother is often stressed the baby will have a shortage of oxygen and nutrient supply. Somehow this will implement to the prematurely and low birth weight. Lack of oxygen and nutrient supply is a matter but excessive adrenaline in the blood may enter into the babys blood. The not suppose to exist hormone in the babys body causing the baby having newborn irritability and behavioral problems. 2.2.7 Maternal age According to Dessner, 1973 there is a relation between the risks of fetuss death with the mothers age. It is said that teenage mother having a higher risk of miscarriage than the early twenties mothers. Although teenage is said to be fertile but the condition of the womb is said that have not been perfected for the carriage of the baby. Women older than the age of 35 to have first born will have a higher probability to experience chromosome abnormality. One of the good examples is Down syndrome that is caused by presence of three copies of the 21st chromosome instead of two. This situation is also known as Trisomy 21. Down syndrome effect is mental retardation. 2.3 Nurture Factor 2.3.1 Childs Nutrition and Fitness Food has been put into a very important role in a childs growth. That is when various brains of healthy food for baby and children sprung up at the supermarkets shelf. The main food source for baby is milk. What is the best milk for baby? Of course the mothers milk is the best. Comprising all nutrients and supply antibodies needed by babies where can you get better as cow or goat milk dont provide the instant antibody. Mothers milk comes with the

correct temperature and its free. When the baby is getting older enough protein and calcium is needed to make sure the child will grow up healthy with strong bones and teeth. Of course balance meal is required too. Correct food amount helps child to grow in the correct rate and size. Malnutrition on the other hand causes many problems such as slow growth and many deficiency diseases (J.L Brown & Pillot, 1996, McDonald et al. 1994) .Sufficient amount of exercise is important too. (Wolf et al.,1993). Playing basketball and skipping rope can help the child to grow taller. 2.3.2 Family Family is important as they are the person that support and educate the child. Parents choice for suitable parenting method is significant in molding up a childs character. (Developmental Psychology, 1998)Autocratic is a method where the parent decides everything for the child and the child must follow strictly. Democratic method is the opposite of autocratic where the child is given the freedom to whatever they want. Child is said to be feel neglected and not having the enough attention or love by the parent and lower self esteem. So it seems like neither both of the method is good enough. Like what Buddha said take the middle way where dont give either too many freedom or no freedom to the child in this context. Thus authoritative method a combination of both is born. The child is given freedom but with limitation. The child can have the freedom to test out their ideas and have a better communication but when the child fails the parent is there to support. Using this method it is said the child will be independent, assertive, friendly, cooperative, high self esteem and achievement oriented. 2.3.3 Peer Besides parent who accompany the growth of a child. It is the friend and peer. Peer here refers to friend of the same age. This is the first step taken by a child to the society. Here is the place where the child will try and acquire skills to adapt themselves in a society. Peer is also a place where the child can safety test out their idea. There is also a higher tendency that child find that peer is a more comfortable group to play with. To play in a group there is something such as rules and regulations that need to be learned and obey so that the child will be accepted. This is where the influence of the peer where the child will try to gain acceptance and will act according to the group. At the same time they also learn to respect others right as they learned to socialize. 2.3.4 School Furthermore school also plays a very important role as the school also functions as second educator to the child besides the parent. Providing the knowledge required for the child the school also prepared as a socializing medium for the students. Thus school is also known as agent of socialization. Here the student will get the exposure with adults and also friends

where the socialization between these two parties will enable the child to learn the norm. School rules and regulation enable to discipline the student. Rules of schools serve as a basic where the child learns there is limitation of actions, speech or words. The environment of the school also support and encourage child to interact with one another under discussion and activities that are held by school. Of course moral values are also instills in the students where teachers tried to shape the childs behavior or through motivational wordings that are display at school. Subject such as moral education and civic are also taught to student. Lastly the school culture also affects greatly on the child. 2.3.5 House and Neighborhood Providing a shelter is the main basic of a house. Under the roof filled with rooms for many purposes but how is that affects the child. The environment of the house can be decorated in some ways that motivate the childs interest in learning and culture. Appropriate decorated room with studying table and shelf of books provide a comfortable environment to study. Collection of books or little library in the house can help in instill the interest in reading among children. Besides the decoration the location of the house is also important as various neighborhoods have different culture and style. It is said that children living in urban area are more individualistic compared with children from rural area. Rural area has culture that creates a cooperative and closer relationship between families. The child will try to suit the environment through adaptation. 2.3.6 Mass media Globalization is what that is happening nowadays. The rapid development of science and technology makes things faster and the distance shorter. Where with a simple click on the mouse many information can be gathered through the internet. All these information and technology is a influencing our daily life. They are the electronic media and mass media. They cover a wide range of sources in our daily life such as television, newspapers, radio, internets. These media plays a wide range of function in our life as giving information, updating us with the latest things or events in the world and source of entertainment. Hence they can have a very big influence in our daily life. Useful as they can be but they are able to affect the cognitive development of child. One study found that TV viewing before age three slightly hurt several measures of later cognitive development, but that between ages three and five it slightly helped reading scores (Zimmerman FJ,2005). Kids growing up in families in which the TV is on always or most of the time spend less time reading and being read to, and are less likely to be able to read (Vandewater, EA ,2005). According to an extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed. (AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics, 2001). The stunts showed in television gave the child some kind of fantasy to the child. Repetition of violent scenes on the screen in television also results child being

insensitive towards violent. Children have the tendency imitate the violence they see on TV. Children under age eight cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy, making them more vulnerable to learning from and adopting as reality the violence they see on TV (AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics, 2001). 2.3.7 Religion Believe in god. That is the first thing mentioned in Rukun Negara. God is said to be the most important and influential in a persons life. The teachings of the God must be followed. Religion varies in the world and the four main religions in the world are Jesus Christ, Hindu, Buddha and Islam. But behind all the religion their teachings are all based on good values that all human beings should have in the life and immoral act should be avoided in all cases. In Ten Commandments it is say that should not steal murder, commit adultery and many others. So do other religion that forbids the immoral act. In the teaching of Buddha can be simplified as avoid evil, do good and purify ones mind. 2.4 Conclusion Since back to the ancient civilization the topic of which factors have a greater effect on a child development is often debated even until now. But it is a matter of fact that both play a very important role in childs development. Overall the nature factors always come from the genetic factors, genetic compatibility and also the mothers overall condition. Regarding the genetic factors there is much of the norm of disallowing sibling to married. One of the reason is the chances or probability to gain a unhealthy child is higher compared to others as the both parent are probably having similar recessive gene that contribute to born of unhealthy child. That is why it is advisable to avoid intermarriage to lessen the chance of having unhealthy children. We can see that mother plays a very important role in contributing the developing of a child. As a mother she should be take care not only her physical body such as fitness and fitness but also mentally and emotionally. Also she has to beware of the environment. Hence the mothers action has a very great impact of the childs wellness besides the gene factor. Meanwhile the nurture factor is more to the environment and the people around the children. They hold a great factor as mention in the principle of child that development and learning occur as a result of the child interacting with people and objects in his or her environment. They learn through interaction with the surrounding. From interaction they gain experience that helps them to mould their own understanding of the world around them based on their own point of view.

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Nature or Nurture? Which Plays a Greater Part in Development?

Individual development relies on the interplay of both nature and nurture, and from a cross-cultural perspective the same is likely true. It is not possible to draw valid conclusions about the differences between cultures by attributing the influence of either nature or nurture as the major component. As the following examples illustrate, there are some contributing variables that can alter an outcome (a behavior, an expectation, or an attitude toward something) believed to be caused by nurturing, when at first glance, it may seem like an easy prediction. This debate over nature and nurture is ongoing and extremely interesting. I have penned a previous article on the subject here. Shiraev and Levy (2010) wrote, Even though one might expect that Japanese and Indian societies share similar cultural characteristics such as collectivism and the priority of family values, such similarities may be overshadowed by particular socioeconomic factors such as quality of life, availability of diversified information, and access to computers and advanced technologies (p. 200) . The way I interpret this statement, is that even though nurture would appear to play the major role in the development of children from India, Japan, and England, it is wise to look a little further past nurture as an influence in development and socialization. The influence of a fast-paced, technologically enhanced world also contributes to the way, and the timeframe, in which a child develops certain skills. With global modernization and the increase in interaction of individuals from so many countries, it is probable that many cultures that have access to technological advances will become more similar in lots of ways An additional quote by Shiraev and Levy (2010) is most interesting when considering children and timeframes of expected development and stability. The quote refers to Eriksons theory of developmental stages, and reads role confusion may not be typical for individuals from traditional cultures but becomes significant for immigrants from these countries (p. 202). Considering this example, it is likely that nurture played the major role in a childs development, with some exceptions, such as the sexual orientati on (nature). However, stress about ones own life and what are norms for an individual can still become a significant problem later in life if one has migrated to a country where norms regarding roles in the family are different. For economic reasons, or for the pursuit of education, a woman may be away from the home where she is accustomed to being throughout the day because she needs to assist with the family expenses, or away at night in class because she may wish to pursue a college degree. Either way, this would make life difficult for the woman as well as the man, because the man would not be accustomed to having his wife working outside the home as a contributor to the household expenses, and he might not be accustomed to performing duties associated with raising one or more children (according to the couples country of origin). Even in western society, some men are opposed to having a spouse who works outside the home. This is possibly a pride issue in most cases, and probably a norm passed on through the males own experience being raised in a family where the primary provider was a father figure, or uncle/grandparent in an extended family. Reference Shiraev, E., & Levy, D. (2010). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications (4th ed). Boston: Pearson/Allyn Bacon.

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