Parental Influence Essay

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Influence 1 Running head: PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN Parental Influence on Children Deborah Byars Mid-Continent University Influence 2 Parental Influence on the Development of Children At conception, the human egg and sperm meet and fuse into a zygote, the one cell beginning of human life. Immediately after conception, the zygote begins the infinite amount of mitotic divisions to produce an embryo, fetus, and eventually a baby. Throughout each phase of growth and development, the DNA of the child directly influences its development. The child’s genome will become its most distinguishing feature; its DNA is different from everyone else’s DNA. However, the child’s genome is directly influenced by the chromosomes the biological parents of the child passed in their egg and sperm. In this sense, the child will develop based on the genes it received from his or her parents; the child’s body shape, eye color, hair color, complexion, and temperament as well as numerous other characteristics will arise based on its inherited genes. Therefore, it is evident that parents directly influence the development of their child in the genetic sense. Once the child is born, however, the child enters into a new environment in which the parents are the sole means of survival and interaction with the world. As a result, a key question arises; to what extent do parents influence the development of their child beyond genetics? How do the environmental interactions with parents influence the development of a child? Studies show that parents greatly influence the development of their child in all areas. Parental influence on development is most notable in the areas of psychosocial development.
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