1. Influencing Child Development: Heredity & Environment
Child Studies 11

2. Outcomes
GLO #2: Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Human Development
2.1B: It is expected that students will describe how personal characteristics are inherited
3.1A: It is expected that students will identify the characteristics and areas of human growth and development.

3. Who is an oldest child? Youngest ? Middle child ?
Birth Order
Who is an oldest child? Youngest ? Middle child ?

4. Activity
We will have 3 different groups, based on the colour of the candy that you have..one group is the middle child, one is the oldest, and one is the youngest. List all of the stereotypes associated with your birth order on the chart paper. You will share your list with the rest of the class.

5. Birth Order
Birth order can affect the general health and well-being of offspring.
Laterborns, for example, are less likely than firstborns to be vaccinated (Why?), and in developing countries laterborns tend to be shorter and to suffer higher rates of childhood mortality than do their older siblings.

6. Birth Order…
Birth order also may influence intelligence and personality, doing so through differences in parental investment, as well as through sibling interactions

7. Birth Order..
Research shows that firstborns tend to have higher IQS than laterborns, although this difference is small (IQ is reduced about one point with each successive birth rank in the family).

8. Birth order..
Firstborns tend to have higher IQs than laterborns because firstborns spend more time alone with their parents, and more time in smaller sibling groups.
Children of different birth orders vary in age, size, and family roles. In addition, siblings compete with one another for parental investment (including love, attention, and scarce resources), and parents sometimes favor one child over another even when they try not to do so.

9. Heredity: It’s in the genes!
Modified from

10. What is heredity?
Heredity is the passing of traits from parent to offspring.
You inherit traits from your parents

11. What are traits? Eye Color Hair Color Height Weight Body Structure
Facial Features
Skin Color

12. What traits did you inherit from your parents?
Activity: Genetic Scavenger Hunt!
10 minutes
Be ready to share with the class. 

13. Environment
The other factor that influences child development is the environment.
Environment can also be thought of in two ways: “nature” and “nurture”.
Includes experiences children have in:
their home
School
Community
Some people refer to this as "nurture."

14. Environment (cont.)
The environment can either improve or harm a child's genetic blueprint.
Ex: malnourished children who live in developing countries may not reach their IQ potential because of the impact of their environment ( not enough nutrition) on their brain development.
Some people refer to this as "nature."

15. The Great Debate:
Psychologists have been debating this idea for years:
“Nature vs. Nurture”

16. Domains of Development
Development is described in three domains.

17. Domains of Development
Physical Domain:
body size
body proportions
Appearance
brain development
motor development, perception capacities, physical health.

18. Domains of Development
Cognitive/Intelligence Domain:
thought processes and intellectual abilities including:
Attention
Memory
problem solving
Imagination
Creativity
academic and everyday knowledge
Metacognition
language.

19. Domains of Development
Social/Emotional Domain:
self-knowledge (self-esteem, metacognition, sexual identity, ethnic identity)
moral reasoning
understanding and expression of emotions
self-regulation
Temperament
understanding others
interpersonal skills
friendships

20. Exit Slip
Fill out the exit slip as you watch the video.. This will prepare us our field trip on Monday!