Environment
While nature believers think that the environment doesn’t play a big part within the bringing up of a child and how it affected the development of the child.
But nurture believers think that environment plays a huge part on the upbringing, an example of this could be that children within a poorer family are more likely to commit crime. As well as people within a poor area are more likely to commit crimes and be in poverty.
Another is that your finical status has a big part to play on your upbringing, if your family are rich; it is thought that you will be your happy while this isn’t proven. Again your class status is also a big part of the nurture debate.
If you are within a high class status, you have more opportunities within life, again this isn’t proven. If you are within a lower class status you can be treated badly and again this isn’t fare.
Illness
Environment has a huge effect on illness within the nurture debate; if you live within a poorer estate you are more likely to caught common colds and illnesses easily. Another would be that you don’t inherit diseases; you gain them from your environment and family members.
The Story of Genie
Genie was the story of a young child who was abused and is a prime example of nurture vs. nature.
While genie brain was working ‘She was hungry to learn words’ the doctors didn’t know if she had a normal learning capacity.
The doctors knew that nature and nurture would both have a part of the educational needs of genie, while the right side of brain worked correctly, her left side the speech side wasn’t working, it was thought that because she wasn’t taught(Nurturing) to speak correctly her left side ‘turned off. Another example of her right side working would be ‘Genie began to become emotionally attached to some of the scientists’ this showed that some of her brain was working as she wasn’t taught to like the scientists, she knew how to like them.
It was thought that because she wasn’t taught how to speak that scientists found out that the left side is used more in younger life to learn the language.
It was thought that nurture was used a little when she was abused as she knew when not to moan, scream or cry again when she was abused the second time she repeated the cycle.
Nature vs. Nurture
I think Nurture is more important than nature as proven with the feral children Genie, all children need teaching and love, I think that the environment impacts how well the nurture is done.
As well as class and financial status making a huge impact on how well the nurturing is completed.
D1 Evaluate the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of the individual
To show how nature and nurture is developed within each life stage. I will be describing the PIES for two life stages.
The nature vs. nurture debate is talked about a lot within the life stages, mainly is nature or nurture used more in the upbringing of children.
Childhood life stage
Childhood is a life stage describing children aged three to five years.
Physical Development
At the ages of three to five years old children should be running and climbing as well as hopping and skipping. Children will also begin to develop a favourite sport and began using their left or right hand more.
Nature
Here the child’s personality will become more noticeable as well as the child’s temper if they have one to start. This could become more noticeable as they are beginning to start school and meet new people.
Most children’s body fat will start to move around the body, this creates a slimmer child; this is because they lose their fatty tissue from when they were toddlers.
Example of nature for physical development
An example of nature within physical development would be two parents with heights of 5,3 and 5,11 have a child, when the child begins school, the child notices she is shorter than some of the older children. This is because of the parent’s shorter heights, as they are both quite short the child will then be short as well.
Nurture
The child’s ability to run, skip and hop could be affected by the way they are brought up; the child will also talk in a way that their parents/carers talk. This is nurture as this needs to be taught for the child to complete the task needed.
Example of Nurture for physical development
An example of this could be a child that does a lot of sporting activities for the child’s age, comparing to a child that doesn’t do that many sports, the other children will be better at running, skipping and hopping.
Intellectual Development
At the age of three all children should enjoy using paint, crayons and drawing as well as being able to wash their own hands and feed themselves.
Nature
The main natural thing that is developed on their own is their behaviour, here a child’s behaviour and interests well start to develop; this can be shaped by their friends and family though.
The child’s ability to adapt could also be natural as they could be very outgoing and confident. At this age it would be natural if the child enjoys building dens and becomes interested and uninterested in activities quickly.
Roles are also natural, an example of this could be two children playing dress up and one child dresses up as the ‘mommy’ while the other child is the dog, this is because the first child is bossier and wants to take on the role of the parent.
Example of nature for intellectual development
An example of nature in intellectual development would be, a child at a playground creates his own game and likes to play on his own, and this is natural as the child automatically does it.
Nurture
At this age a lot of tasks have to be taught to the child, this could be getting dressed to using a knife and fork correctly. If this isn’t taught by the parent/carer this could affect them when they start school as they would be behind in their development compared to other children.
Another task to be taught to the child would be the child’s routine, children need a stable routine to get ready for preschool/school, and this includes brushing teeth, washing themselves and getting ready for morning or night time.
Example of Nurture for intellectual development
An example of nurture is two families, one consisting of a mother and father, who both have jobs and the other a single parents with four other children. Both families have a child at the preschool, the lady with the four children, her child is quiet and withdrawn for many activity’s, this would show how the child’s environment has affected her developing her speech.
Emotional Development
By the end of three years a child should have developed emotionally so they are ready for school, this is thought to be easier for the parents and child if the child has been to a pre-school or play group beforehand.
Nature
Emotionally the child’s natural instincts such as their emotions and feelings should be noticed and the child should be able to easily show how they are feeling.
Another natural skill they have would be imitating others, this could be adult and child roles, these can be roles such as Doctor, nurse and mother as well as many more.
An example of nature in emotional development
A child dresses up as a lollypop lady and asked the children to cross the pretend road, this shows the child has a creative and imaginative mind; this can be increased by books and television.
Nurture
Children’s emotional development is increased by their parents, if a child is spoken to a lot they are more likely to be well spoken and have a wide vocabulary. The child should also be taught what is theirs. Another emotional that is taught is temper, if the child knows that if he/she cry’s and screams she/he will get what they want, they will do it so they get what they want.
An example of nurture in emotional development
A child is throwing a temper tantrum in the local park as they want an ice cream, instead of telling the child that he would have an ice cream at home, the parent buys him an ice cream so he stops embarrassing her in front of other parents.
Social Development
A child’s social development increases as soon as they start their preschool/school, this is because of the other new children they meet and begin to become friends with.
Nature
At the ages of three years to five years the child will began to develop friendships and preference of which gender they like to play with, this could be that a boy likes to play football with the other boys or a boy who likes painting with the females in the class.
Socially the child has developed quickly as they start school or preschool, this is because they are becoming independent, and this could be from choosing their own clothes to eating certain foods.
Example of nature in social development
A young child begins preschool, he is crying and won’t let go of his mother but over time he starts to become independent as he now has begun choosing what trainers to show his friends at preschool, this shows that the child is now instead of being upset when going to preschool he is excited to see his preschool friends.
Nurture
At the ages of three to five years children began a huge life change, starting preschool/school; this can impact the child lots as the child can develop different feelings and emotions. The child should be taught by he/his parents/carers that school isn’t a scary thing but a way of learning new things and meeting new people.
The child will also need to be taught over going to preschool/school about sharing and caring with other children.
Example of nurture in social development
A three year old boy called Sam who is an only child begins nursery, at the nursery Sam is told off to not sharing the toys with his friends, Sam doesn’t understand why he has to share as he wasn’t taught at home due to there being no one to share toys with. Here the parents would have to step in and help teach Sam how to share and why sharing is important.
Adolescence
Adolescence is the stage in life where a person changes to their puberty stage and ends up going into adulthood.
Physical development
Nature
As a child grows into a teenager they start to develop and grow taller this is called puberty, Puberty is a natural process that can’t be stopped, puberty is different for boys and girls.
For girls going through puberty, they could find their hips widening (this is for when they give birth) and they could start growing hair.
Another change is with their breasts, girls will find that they will need to start wearing a bra, bra’s help stop sagging skin and pain within the muscle.
Females will also start to develop periods, periods are eggs that aren’t fertilised, and this is shown with blood and mucus.
Within males they will start to develop facial and genital hair and a change of voice, the voice will deepen as they go through puberty.
A change with both males and females is height and weight, some teenagers could develop rapidly becoming tall within a matter of months while others could gain weight, females are more likely to gain weight as fat is needed for their breasts and hips. Again spots are also a sign of puberty seen on both males and females.
An example of nature in physical development
A young girl has begun puberty, she has noticed a smell coming from her armpits, and she asks her parents who tell her it is caused by your stress levels and emotional state. A young girl now has noticed she is going through puberty and starts to shop for her first bra.
Nurture
Teenagers need to be steered into the right direction as because of all their emotions they can become depressed and unhappy, teenagers are more likely to drink and do drugs when they have a poor family bond. Another thing that needs to be taught to children is their schooling; they need to be asked of what their goals are in life and what career path they would like to follow.
Teenagers are more at risk of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy as they began to step into adult hood mistakes can be made, this could be lack of knowledge with contraception.
Teenagers are also at risk of eating disorders, this could be blamed on the media and there version of the ‘perfect’ male or female. This can be stopped by teenagers discussing their problems with friends and family.
Example of Nurture in physical development.
A teenage girl becomes sexual active with her boyfriend, the teenagers are worried about pregnancy as there friend has just had a unplanned baby, to stop their worries the teens stop by a family planning centre for information about preventing pregnancy, if they didn’t have these steps in place, the couple could of ended up with a child which would affect their teenage years dramatically.
Intellectual development
Teenagers are thought to be advanced as some do well in school and move on to higher education or a future job.
Nature
It is a natural thing for teenagers to question your motives; this could be from simply why does the clothing need to be at that temperature? To why do you want me to clean up? Teenagers will start to think about future life as an adult, here there goals and wishes in life should be discussed.
Teenagers have the abilities to expand their logic and reasoning abilities as well as being advanced in some subjects.
Teenagers are at the stage in life where they are risk-takers; this could be from jumping on the back of a bus to running across the road when it is busy.
Adults tend to notice teenagers began to become emotional and their intellectual development could stop if their emotions take over, this could be from them not listening in school to problems at home.
An example of nature in intellectual development
A group of teenagers are at a friend’s house party drinking and smoking, one boy drinks a bottle of strong alcohol and thinks it won’t have an effect on him, hours later the teenager is found passed out asleep on the floor. This is caused by the teenager’s belief that nothing bad would happen to them, this is a natural thing at this stage in life but can be changed with the right information.]
Nurture
Teenagers need to be helped with regard to their educational needs and future plans, career advisors are used within most schools and colleges to discuss future plans.
Intellectually teenagers need help from teachers to complete their lessons and pass their exams, as well as for help with any problems they might have.
An example of Nurture in intellectual development
Two teenagers are at different grades within their class, the lower graded student wishes to gain a higher grade; this can be achieved with the help of teachers and staff within the teenager’s school.
Emotional development
Nature
As teenagers go through puberty their hormones also change, a change in hormones can make someone feel happy or sad as well as other emotions. Teenager’s emotions are all over the place as they begin puberty as their bodies are adjusting to the change.
Teenagers are more likely to have arguments with friends and family due to the hormone changes.
An example of nature in emotional development
A normally happy teenager has found herself feeling tired most of the time and has noticed it is affecting her friendships as she is too tired to go out to see them, this is caused by her change in hormones and how her body is dealing with the changes.
Nurture
Some teenagers within the 21st century take part in illegal activities such as drinking alcohol and smoking; this can also have a huge effect on their emotional wellbeing as they can become addicted to drink or drugs.
Teenagers are also peer pressured into taking part in these activities by their friends; this again can cause the teenager to become emotional as they have to choose.
Teenagers can freely gain information about peer pressure as well as drugs and alcohol from their doctors or local centre as well as asking their parents.
Teenagers are also and the age where they began to create feelings for one another, this can be any gender or age.
It is stated that teenagers are more at risk from depression, mental and emotional problems.]
An example of Nurture in intellectual development
A teenager has begun to feel ‘funny’ and has noticed he feelings and emotions can change quickly, instead of worrying he asks his parent who then tells him about puberty and offers to take him to the doctors, too be on the safe side. The teenager is now reassured that nothing is wrong with him and it could be a normal thing.
Social development
Some teenagers are thought to be quite sociable and find to make friends easily.
Nurture
It is normal for a teenager to have arguments with other teenagers and adults; this is a part of life as not everyone agrees with the same thing.
Some teenagers find that peer pressure can be hard and that they have to partake in illegal activities, with others can say no.
Teenagers find romance and friends more important at this age and it can be more important than other things such as education.
Teenagers can be influenced by other teenagers on what they wear and what music they listen too.
It would be a natural thing for teenagers to begin to create feelings for one another; this could be male to male, female to female or female to male.
An example of nurture in social development
A teenage male notices his friends have begun socialising with females and some have gotten into relationships with one another, when he feels left out, he asks his friends why this is happening.
His mates tell him it is normal that soon he will find a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Nature
It is a natural thing for teenagers to sleep for 9+ hours, this can affect their schooling and they need an alarm clock to wake them up. It is also a natural thing for teenagers to spend more time with friends than family, even though this can be for many reasons.
As teenagers get ready to leave school and start jobs or higher education, the need for independence from parents/carers is high as this can make the teenager feel trapped.
As teenagers start becoming young adults, they develop their understanding of what’s right or wrong.
An example of nature in social development
A teenager boy aged 16 is caught with stolen bike and is arrested and bailed. Half a year later at the court case the teenager realises what he did was wrong, this is because as he has grown up so has his understanding of what’s right or wrong.
BTEC Extended diploma in health and social care
Year One
by
lindseystorey (student)
