Factors that Influence Development

Walking through the halls in a neonatal unit in a hospital you might hear comments such as, "He has his mother's eyes" or "His nose is just like grandpa's."

When making these observations on physical appearance, the family is acknowledging the biological impact of a child's genetic predisposition.

However, as a baby develops, parents still might place major emphasis on their heredity instead of environmental and cultural influences. For example, consider the following statements:

"He's stubborn, just like his father."

"You get your sense of humor from your mother."

"Well of course he's is bad at math-neither of us is any good at it!"

Many parents have a tendency to connect their children's abilities and personalities with their own. For example, a father might assume his child will like the same things he does, project his own aspirations onto his child, or blame himself when something goes wrong.

As a counselor, you must be aware of these tendencies when supporting parents and when working with their children. Objectively identifying factors influenced by biology and those that are influenced by a child's environment and culture is an important step in the counseling process.

In this week's Discussion, you will begin to "counsel" the family assigned to you by your Instructor. Review this week's media presentation, "Early Development," to review their family dynamics. Consider the biological, environmental, and cultural influences that might be impacting the infant or toddler (0-3 years) in the family.

Note: Identify the last name of your assigned client family in the title of your post.

Post a description of your client (infant/toddler), including the biological, environmental, and cultural factors that are influencing this infant/toddler's development and why. Then, explain how awareness of these influences could provide context to enhance treatment within the family. Finally, describe at least one challenge you might experience when counseling this family.

Readings

· Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

o Chapter 1, "Organizing Themes in Development" (review pp. 2-37)

o Chapter 2, "Epigenesis and the Brain: The fundamentals of Behavioral Development" (pp. 40-67)

o Chapter 3, "Cognitive Development in the Early Years" (pp. 78-123)