This paper discusses genetics and development in terms of how genetics influences a child’s development. The first section examines the role of genetics in development and how the genes of the two parents influence the traits of an offspring. The second section examines how abnormalities can contribute to genetic and/or chromosomal disorders.
Genetics and Development
Genetics is a scientific discipline that deals with how individuals inherit their physical and behavioral attributes. Generally, genetics is a branch of biology that deals with the science of heredity, genes, and differences in living organisms. It's the process with which a child inherits traits from his/her parents and the molecular organization and function of genes. The question of what determines the development of a child has been an issue that has attracted considerable concerns and debates across educators, biologists, and psychologists. This issue has attracted huge concerns because it's impossible to explain each and every factor that eventually determines who a child becomes. Notably, the development of a child involves a mix of various influences such as parenting, genetics, individual experiences, family relationships, friends, and school. One of the most important influences on a child's development and growth is genetics, which primarily is the process of traits inheritance from parents to offspring.
Child Development:
Child growth and development is a process that consists of some building blocks, which are components that combine in an infinite number of ways (Cherry, n.d.). As a result of the variations of building blocks in a child's development, educators, psychologists, and philosophers have been constantly engaged in the debate of nature vs. nurture debate. Many researchers agree that child development is a complex interaction between his/her genetic background (nature) and his/her environment (nurture). In essence, some developmental aspects are strongly affected by biology whereas other aspects are influenced by environmental factors. From the onset of an individual's life, biology provides the platform for his/her path through physical and mental development. This biological platform consists of hereditary and environmental influences that shape the child to what he/she eventually becomes.
Role of Genetics in Development:
As previously mentioned, genetics play a crucial role in the growth and development of a child since it deals with how an offspring inherits physical and behavioral characteristics. A person's genes contain the genetic information that controls various characteristics like the color of hair and eyes. Genes, which are inherited from parents, are basically single units of genetic material that is found inside chromosomes. While every cell in a human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, one of every pair of chromosomes is in inherited from each parent. This implies that every individual have two copies of each gene in every cell with only one exception i.e. X and Y chromosomes, which determine the sex of a child. In essence, babies with X and Y chromosomes will be male while those without a Y chromosome will be female, which means that males only have one copy of every X chromosome gene ("Genetics: Introduction," 2012).
The role of genes in the development of a child can be attributed to when parents pass down genes to the child. This process begins with the development of the embryo where the process with chromosomes for a new life begins when the male reproductive cell interact with the female reproductive cell. The genes developed from the chromosomes process contain the DNA, which is primarily the map of the human being. Besides the male and female reproductive cells, the pair of 23 chromosomes helps in keeping perfect balance when the combination of these genes begins.
The process with which the genes from two parents influence the characteristics of an offspring can be understood through differentiating between a child's genetic inheritance and the actual expression of the genes i.e. genotype and phenotype respectively (Cherry, n.d.). While a genotype refers to all of the genes inherited by a child, phenotype is the actual expression of these traits. A child's genotype represents the basic blueprint for how he/she grows up though the expression of these genes is dependent on the way they are put together. The expression of the inherited genes is based on the interaction of the specific gene with other genes and the ongoing interaction between the child's genotype and environmental factors. The genetic interactions involve the battle for dominance since each gene contains conflicting information. On the other hand, gene-environment interaction is dependent on the child's exposure for the rest of his/her life.
Genetic Abnormalities and their Role in Disorders:
You’re 72% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.