Of Nature

If you know anything of child development of all, you know of the debate on Nature vs. Nurture - how much of our personality is learned and how much is ingrained in our DNA?  As I watch my children develop, I am continually amazed at the ways their tiny personalities shine through and just how often I find myself thinking, "Where did they learn that?!"

Certainly there are times (such as the moments when Little Girl asserts her opinion: "I say no!") when I see myself in her and I hear the words she's heard come out of my mouth.  Thankfully there have not been any horror stories in those situations yet.

But there seem to be just as many moments when I cannot pinpoint an action I've seen any adult in her life perform and, yet, she instinctively knows to do it.

For example, when did Micaiah figure out that if she doesn't want to do something she should simply walk slower, delaying the inevitable?  I certainly haven't acted this way since I was a child myself.  It's just pure logic she has developed all on her own. Or when she stands on her stool to yell at the dogs out the window?  I certainly know of no dictators she's personally observed and yet somewhere inside her she knows that standing taller gives her more prominence.

And on a different scale, when did Emmett learn that when he spits out his paci, and it somehow lands behind his head as he lays on the ground, that if he twists his little body and stretches his arm as far as it will go he might have a chance at getting it back (now actually succeeding - that's another story, but the fact that he tries never ceases to amaze me)?  He's not exactly watching Mom and Dad struggling with similar issues. 

It just seems there are certain things inscribed in our blood as human beings - our bodies know how to develop and our brains like to keep up pace.  And that logic?  It's just human nature.