Behaviors: Born With It or Shaped by Life?

There was a time I used to wonder what really shapes a person's behaviors, whether it could be something inherited or learned as a child grows, but not anymore. You know, I used to hear people say, "Oh, he took after his father," or "She took after her mother," and vice versa, especially when a child portrays a particular behavior, whereas others believe that behaviors are simply learned.

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Personally, I believe that to a very large extent, behaviors are mostly learned, and if genes have effects on the behavior of a child, then it's just minimal. This is because, when a child is born, his mind is just so clean, but then, as he grows, there is environmental influence, and the upbringing is there to shape his or her behavior. What the child is exposed to contributes to his behavioral changes for good or bad, and then his friendship is there to play another big role in shaping the behavior of that child due to influence .

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You see, there are a lot of factors that shape who a child becomes. Take, for instance, my reverend back then when I was still in school, who had a very badly behaved son. This reverend is very godly, kind, and many more great attributes; his wife used to be a very strict and disciplined teacher too. One can conclude that their children will be well-behaved, but the reverse is the case.

Some atrocities this guy was committing were totally different from the training he received as a child. Their parents mostly feel ashamed of themselves whenever they see the son act badly, yet he received a good training at home , but some factors made him choose a different path.

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I also have a close friend who came from a very toxic home. She never knew what love or care was all about growing up but only experienced her parents fighting seriously and bad-mouthing each other. Fortunately, she grew to be exposed to life, and she chose love, care, and empathy in giving her children what she didn't receive from her parents. One could feel that what the parents did in her presence would affect her negatively , but she made a choice to be different. This is why parents should really act on what they preach to their children because children learn more through actions than words.

The power of influence should not be overlooked; it's powerful and sometimes weighs higher than parental training. It is what it is. Having a well-trained child at home is not a guarantee that when mixed with others out there, he will stick to whatever he learned. Once he is surrounded by negative factors, forget it.

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Overall, parents leading by example, environmental factors, the child's decisions, and the kind of knowledge a child is exposed to will determine the kind of adult such a child will grow up to be, and not necessarily by gene or inheritance .

"This is my response to the #hive learners community prompt on the topic tittled*, BEHAVIOURS

Images were taken from canva