5 Things All Mother Need to Know About Child Development

If you’re a mom, you want the best for your child. Ideally, you want them to become a flourishing, exuberant human being, full of the joy of life.

Unfortunately, that happens only rarely in our society. Most people are so bound up by their problems and issues in their lives that they can’t appreciate the time that they have.

The key here is to learn more about the development process. We take a look at some of the things all mothers should know about the process.

Life Outcomes Aren’t Determined By Genes

Genes play a role in the shape of the nose and how tall your child eventually grows, but, beyond that, their influence is rather limited. Researchers, for instance, think that 80 percent of the variation in how long people live is down to environmental factors, not their DNA.

Knowing this can put the pressure on, but it’s also an opportunity. It means that life is far more deterministic than many imagine. What’s interesting is that kids arrive on Earth with more capacities than we think. For instance, despite opinion to the contrary, they have the ability to control their impulses and focus their attention on things in their environment.

Hearing is Critical for Speech Development

Children come into the world as a blank slate. They don’t know beforehand that they have the ability to hear. Thus, if there’s a problem with their hearing, they won’t tell you about it. They will just assume that the world is silent.

Unfortunately, this can lead to language development issues. If children can’t hear the world around them, they won’t develop speech.

The trick here is to get their ears tested at regular intervals from a young age. Audiologists offer a range of tests that determine whether sound waves are being interpreted by the brain, something you can learn more about by reading online.

Neglect Leads to Health Problems in the Future

If you neglect your child, it leads to more health problems in the future, both mental and physical. Children that come from abusive homes, for instance, seem to be much more likely to develop cancer and heart disease when they get older.

Resilient Children Rely on Relationships

We live in an individualistic culture. In some ways, that’s a good thing: we each have a lot of freedom to choose how we spend our lives. However, for children, ideals such as these aren’t the most psychologically important. What matters to them are the relationships around them.

Children who know that they can rely on their parents develop multiple character traits that will help them in later life. Things like strength of character and coping skills develop more freely in children who are assured of their parents’ support.

Young Children are Affected By Their Environment

When a newborn baby is lying in the crib, it is hard to imagine that they might be affected by their environment, but they are. If their bodies sense danger around them, it will affect the way they function biologically, which can, again, lead to poor health outcomes in the future.