1. Understanding children
Glancing at Genetics
Understanding children

2. All living things consist of cells.
Chromosomes: structures within cells that carry genes
Genes: a string of chemicals that provide the detailed set of instructions for the biological makeup of life.
25,000 genes go into the blueprint of life
People across the world are more similar than different, in that about 99.9 percent of the genetic codes are identical.

3. How? Genotype: instructions to make a person
23 chromosomes from the biological father and 23 chromosomes from the biological mother
Unique for everyone, except for identical twins.
Phenotype: way that genes are expressed in a person

4. Investigating the link between genes and temperament…..
Temperament: refers to the general patterns of emotional and behavioural responses that can be detected in infancy and sometimes continue into adulthood.
How do we know that genes influence temperment?
Studies
Twins raised apart, still have the same temperment

5. Researchers have identified three temperaments in particular:
Easy: Infants with this temperament style usually are in good moods, sleep regularly, eat normally, and adapt to new experiences readily. Parents find them easy to take care of.
Difficult: These babies cry and fuss a lot. They don’t have regular, predictable sleep patterns; they awaken more than other infants do, and they aren’t easy to soothe when they’re upset. Parents know when they have a baby with a difficult temperament, because the infant is stressed and stressful to take care of.

6. Slow to warm up: These babies are less active than easy or difficult babies, shy, and withdrawn. They take a while to adjust to changes but eventually adapt.
*infants can be in multiple temperaments

7. Emphasizing Experience
From the minute they are born, babies observe the world.
The developing brain is inherently designed to explore and acquire information about the world.