B. Child Development: It’s not all in the genes; the ‘environment’ is more than you think

Let us begin to look at child development at conception. We know that when the male sperm joins with the female egg, 23 chromosomes normally come from each partner to complete the 46 that make up the usual human total. On these chromosomes are the genes that determine much about us. We used to believe that they directly governed what we would become, along with what our environment brought to bear on us as we developed and grew up. Now we have learned that there are many steps that pass between the gene and the final product, the unique individual we all are.

We once thought the environment’s influence on our development was largely carried out on us after we were born. However, we have already learned that what mothers eat, drink and are otherwise exposed to can influence the fetus, the developing baby, beyond what genes determine.  A now well-known example of this is the effect of alcohol pre-natally, before birth, resulting in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

An even more recent understanding of the influence of the environment on the developing fetus and even beyond is what e now call epigenetics, literally ‘on top of’ genes. No, this does not mean something is added ‘on top of’ the end of the collection of genes we call the chromosome, making it a little longer or thicker. It refers to the fact that the environment, broadly named, exerts influence on the processes set in motion by our genes and changes those sequences of events. This refers to influences on how a baby’s genes are turned on or off, which in turn obviously then effects in some way what a baby will become.  What’s more, it’s now believed those changes are passed on when humans reproduce. These changes occur within individual cells. A now well-studied and commonly understood example of this is the role of stress and trauma on the developing child. As Dr. Bruce Perry so well put it, referring to results in real terms, “Being prepared for a stressful world increases aggression, while being prepared for a calmer world increases love [pg. 137, Born for Love].” For example, a child whose developing attachments are not consistent, e.g. spread between too many individuals with different nurturing styles, as happens in some extended families, or when nannies are regularly changed, is having their brain programmed not for trust, security and stability but for mistrust, insecurity and can turn out to be emotionally unstable as a result. Some of these children are the ones who just cannot self-regulate their emotional responses to anything that comes their way that they perceive as a challenge to their underdeveloped foundations in these important areas. 

Dr. Perry also writes later on this page, “ …many small, unconsidered choices can wear in a groove that makes whatever direction a child starts in… very difficult to change.” This is referred to as ‘automaticity.’ Many things we do are not thought out as we do them; they have become habit, and we all know how hard habits are to break, once we even become aware of them. 

So, we can begin to speculate on the many influences that can be brought to bear in so many ways on the developing child. There are the directions the genes would want to give. There are the external directions on how those genes will act that are being programmed even before birth.  These can be factors ranging all the way from what the expecting mother eats or drinks to what kind of stress she may be under. We now know this last can have longterm effects on how a growing child handles stress, how likely they are to become anxious. 

Then there are the effects of the environment that occur after birth, where nature meets nurture. Indeed, as we have begun to see, contrary to past dogma, past belief, nurture is now understood to influence nature.