NATURE VIA NURTURE
Neuroscientists have long debated whether the development of a child’s brain and the resulting traits displayed by the child such as intelligence, talents, temperaments and emotional resilience is the product of their genetic blueprint alone or does the environment in which they are raised and the experiences they have play a role. In recent years, however, studies have revealed the intricate interactions and collaboration between so-called innate or natural attributes of a child and the environmental conditions that influence the expression of these attributes.
The science of epigenetics shows how environmental influences – children’s experiences actually affect the expression of their genes. This means nature vs nurture is no longer a debate. Instead we know that the expression of certain genes depends on how that trait is nurtured as the child is developing and growing.
According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University: “Experiences very early in life, when the brain is developing most rapidly, cause epigenetic adaptations that influence whether , when, and how genes release their instructions for building future capacity for health, skills, and resilience. That is why it’s crucial to provide supportive and nurturing experiences for young children in the earliest years.” Furthermore, “services such as high-quality health care for all pregnant women, infants, and toddlers as well as support for new parents and caregivers can – quite literally affect the chemistry around children’s genes. Supportive relationships and rich learning experiences generate positive epigenetic signatures that activate genetic potential.
We see this nature via nurture interaction in our Bountiful children that we have followed up through the years.
Andyrose
Andyrose was enrolled in the Bountiful program when she was 2. She is now a 12 year-old young woman who loves to paint. She has won many poster-making contests, received academic honors and has won singing contests too. Andyrose’s mom, Roselle reports that she (Roselle) comes from a family of singers and that she and her siblings, cousin and uncle formed a band that performed in events and her brother is a performer at a Disney cruise. Roselle loved to paint too when she was a young woman. She concedes that Andyrose is a much better artist than herself because they have nurtured her abilities since she was very young and encouraged her to join contests since she started school.
Andyrose as a toddler
Andyrose with her paintings
On a visit to Andyrose’ home, I found it filled with all kinds of toys and children’s books. It has become a hub for all neighborhood kids to play and interact. Their house would usually be the venue for the distribution of supplements and teaching of health lessons. Upon inquiring, I learned that Rosselle used to buy stuffed toys and other toys in bulk, wash and clean them, and resell them. With a mother working at home, supportive extended family all around, and an abundance of educational toys, Andyrose and her siblings received a lot of nurturing, growing, and learning since their earliest years.
The house where Andyrose grew up
Abish and Garrette
Abish is the first born of Joyce, a community coordinator for Bountiful. Garrette is the second born. Joyce loves to sing, dance, and play the piano, so naturally she filled their little home in Iloilo with music as she and her husband started a family. She would also read to them on a regular basis and bring them to the public library whenever possible. She deliberately scheduled time for specific activities with the children, like art, music, math, dancing, drawing, and coloring. She grabbed every opportunity in church, school, and the community where her children could participate and showcase their talents. As they started going to school, Joyce would encourage them to join various academic, sports, and cultural contests and help them prepare. Applying lessons learned from Bountiful, Joyce relates that she made a lot of do-it-yourself materials because of a limited budget. She would also ask neighbors for used activity books.
Joyce and Javer with their 4 children: Abish, Garrette, Caleb and Zyron
Joyce with the kids at the public library
Today, Abish and Garrette are both consistent academic achievers. Abish has won competitions in singing, dancesport, and journalism. At 14, she is now studying at the University of the Philippines High School. Garette, now 12, has qualified for the Philippine Science High School. Both schools are known for their high standards of excellence and stiff qualifying exams
Abish, after winning a dance competition
Garrette working on a math quiz
Bountiful’s Focus
Not only their inherent natural abilities but both good nutrition and early cognitive stimulation played major roles in the growth and development of Andyrose, Abish, and Garrette, and their consequent outstanding school performance. Good nutrition and early cognitive stimulation are what we want every child enrolled in Bountiful to have. It may seem normal for many families in developed countries to read to their children, but this is not the case in our communities. We like to teach the mothers to be intentional in stimulating their children’s brain development. We want to have children’s books in every home. We want every mother reading to her child. Joyce and Roselle, both Bountiful volunteers, are shining examples to other mothers in the program of intentional parenting. They are proof that one does not have to have plenty of money in order to nurture their children’s talents and abilities
In the Philippines’ 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), an alarming 18 million senior and junior high school graduates were detected to be functionally illiterate, which means they cannot read, they cannot understand, and comprehend a simple story. Although this result reflects a flawed educational system, the way poor Filipino children lack nourishment and proper nurturing in the first five years of life could also have a bearing in this issue.
Mothers, fathers, grandparents, community coordinators, local government units, and churches all together can form a unique support system in which these children’s innate gifts and talents and bright futures can be nourished. It truly takes a village to nourish a child, and it starts with you and me.
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