Nature vs Nurture

Ive had this belief: You are who you are because of the way u were raised -- how much time u see ur parents when ure a baby, how much time they interact with you, the way they interact with you, the relatives whom you play with, the way they interact with you, the kids u meet in school, how they interact with you, what you see and hear on tv, what u see and hear in school, what u see and hear on the internet, the friends around you, how they interact with you .........

In other words, your environment.

And i was talking to a friend of mind and she mentioned about some nature versus nurture debates -- which concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature") versus personal experiences ("nurture") in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.Something about how a person's character could be due to genetics. Whether one is friendly, shy, selfish, fiery could very well depends on genetics.

When she said that, I realised that genetics play a part in human intelligence.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Hyperkinetic Disorder, is a neurobehavioural developmental disorder affecting about 5% of the world's population under the age of 19. It typically presents itself during childhood, and is characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity, as well as forgetfulness, poor impulse control or impulsivity, and distractibility.

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that manifests primarily as a difficulty with written language, particularly with reading and spelling. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction.

Which means to say that genetics do play a part in a person's personality. Something that never crossed my mind before.

"Which, nature or nurture, contributes more to personality?"

Just one of those debates with no real ending.

But i was told that what is important is for parents to understand this "nature vs nurture" theory and to identify the traits/personality of their child and to nurture them appropriately. So if the child is quiet and shy by nature, one of the things parents could do is to engage the child in activities that will boost the child's self- confidence. Or if the child is stubborn, it could be due to the fact that he is born with it and parents should take nescessary steps to counter his or her stubborness while he or she is still at a young age before the child gets out of hand.

In other words, a balance between both nature and nurture. Something new i learned today which, although it's just the tip of the iceberg, would be useful for those us who aspire to start a family of our own one day.