How and why do children differ in their sensitivity and resilience to environmental influences?
Introduction
The environment in which children are reared plays a significant role in shaping their growth and development. Although the behavior of children is genetically predisposed, it is the environment that helps to trigger the expression of that behavior. How children respond to environmental factors such as family factors, parenting styles and socioeconomic conditions varies from one child to another. There are some children who do well when the environment is positive, but never get to adapt well to a negative environment. Other children are not much affected regardless of the condition of the environment. This essay discusses how and why children differ in terms of resilience and sensitivity to influences of the environment. Sensitivity refers to the emotional, mental, and physical response to both external and internal stimuli. Resilience is the ability to overcome difficult circumstances.
Differences in Children’s Resilience and Sensitivity to Environment
According to Jarrett (2016), some children can be likened to orchids in the sense that they wither when subjected to harsh upbringing and flourish when the environment is positive. This is unlike their dandelion counterparts who are not much affected in both situations. The home environment and parenting style heavily affects the orchid children. For instance, if the children are exposed to poor parenting, they find it difficult to manage and cope with the stress associated with such a situation. However, if the home environment is friendly to them, the children do well. On their part, the development of dandelions is less dependent on style of parenting and conditions in the environment.
There is a close relationship between the temperament of children and how they respond to various parenting styles. Orchids have highly emotional temperament (Jarrett, 2016). This explains why they are ever sensitive on the kind of parenting they receive. Children’s temperament interacts with parenting style in three ways. Firstly, children who are vulnerable to harsh upbringing are sometimes not affected in any way by positive upbringing. Secondly, some children tend to be extra sensitive to good and bad parenting. Lastly, some children benefit from positive upbringing even though they are not vulnerable to negative upbringing.
Children’s temperament is rated based on negative emotionality, surgency, and effortful control. For instance, children who exhibit high negative emotionality during infancy tend to be highly sensitive to either good or bad parenting. Children with difficult temperament based on aspects of effortful control, urgency, and negative emotionality measured in infancy are also sensitive to bad and good parenting (Jarrett, 2016). Thus, the quality which is considered to be certain children’s frailty can also be strength if it is supported in the parenting context.
Jarrett (2016) observes that the orchid concept can be disputed on the ground that it raises issues due to lack of reliable evidence. There is no proper evidence that can be used to show that a child who is suffering within a harsh environment can thrive if exposed to a positive environment. It is also not clear whether negative emotionality is a consequence or cause of sensitivity towards parenting. Some research as well documents children with certain types of genetic variants that are likely to exhibit sensitivity signs to parenting.
As far as Boyce (2019) is concerned, dandelions are the majority. These children are fairly resilient. This enables them to cope well with both adversity and stress. On their part, the orchid children are a minority. Such children are more sensitive to their environmental context. They are biologically reactive to the surrounding circumstances. This makes the children susceptible to both good and bad environments. As a result, they find it difficult to effectively deal with different stressful situations they are faced with. However, the orchids can thrive if comfort is provided on a regular basis. An example is having dinner every night.
Dandelions are more durable and enduring than orchids. Their strength and hardness enable them to prosper in any environment (Boyce, 2019). They exhibit the characteristic of resilience and that of adaptability. Since they are less reactive, these children are able o overcome challenges and difficulties. On the other hand, orchids are delicate. They are shy and reactive (Boyce, 2019). This makes them more sensitive to their environment compared to the dandelions. As a result, these children need special nurture in order to achieve the best. If left unattended, orchids easily fade. To these children, the world is sometimes overwhelming and frightening. However, with supportive help and love the children survive well.
Orchids possess a tender responsivity which makes them to absorb the surrounding circumstances. If they are brought up in a family which is abusive or dysfunctional, they become “identified patients” (Boyce, 2019). On the other hand, these children are a source of both creativity and insight. This means that extraordinary sensitivities that render orchid children excessively susceptible to adversities and hazards of life also make them receptive to promises and gifts of the same life. There is no way it can be said that orchids are broken dandelions. It is important to note that these children are completely different. They can be likened to a subtle flower.
Kurcinka (2015) likens Boyce’s orchids to spirited children. This is due to the difficult temperaments that these children have. The spirited children can be distinguished from other children based on their persistence, intensity, and sensitivity. The children also tend to be a bit uncomfortable with any form of change that crosses their way. These children tend to adapt well when face with challenges. They try to be persistent in ensuring that they find their way out. When everything around them is good, the spirit children make use of the opportunity to flourish. This is unlike the dandelion children who are not spirited in any particular way.
According to Boyce (2019), two children who come from the same family are likely to lead lives that are different. There is no doubt that their experiences tend to vary by gender, order of birth, and genetic variations. The way all these factors interact with the environment also matters a lot. These elements can be used to define dandelions as children with tendency to succeed in many of their situations. They can as well describe the orchids who possess a great potential for success, but are likely to fail in case they are faced with hardship or are not raised in an appropriate manner.
Boyce (2019)’s findings are based on an experimental research that sought to test the responses of children to different situations. He found that orchids and dandelions differ dramatically in their responses. Orchid children respond to adversity and stress in an exaggerated manner. An example is how they respond radically to loud noise. However, the same children tend to be withdrawn and shy win the face of experiences that are not familiar. Thus, orchids’ health outcomes can either be the best or worst. Even so, they can be associated with a healthy picture if they are raised in families or schools that are supportive and caring.
On their part, dandelion children can be hard to raise due to their unpredictable nature. As far as Boyce (2019) is concerned, raising these children creates room for various mistakes. The children do not react to stressful situations in an adverse way. They are extroverted, and their health can be described as being average. These are the main characteristics that make these children resilient. Their resilience enables them to survive well regardless to the circumstances or conditions to which they are exposed. Thus, dandelion children are never demanding. They require little attention from their children.
There are various factors that cause differences between dandelion and orchid children. One of such factors is genetic differences among the children (Boyce, 2019). The genetic differences help to determine their adaptive stability. Genetic characteristics play an important role in the development of children by way of creating their predispositions. However, it is important to note that genes alone cannot determine the outcome of children’s development. Genetic factors act in combination of other factors in order to shape the life of a child. It all depend on the factors in the environment in which the child is raised up.
David Dobbs’s orchid hypothesis holds that genes that are responsible for troubling human behaviors such as anxiety, depression and violence can also be responsible for the best behaviors (Kottke, 2010). However, this is only possible if the genes are combined with the right environment. For instance, children who are genetically predisposed to violence may not necessarily express their aggression and hostility. What can determine their behaviors is the environment they are exposed to. In case the environment does not support violence and other negative acts, the children will probably grow up well without any problem.
Dandelions possess special genes that make them hard (Boyce, 2019; Winconek, 2021). The genes enable them to survive in any kind of environment regardless of the surrounding circumstances. No matter the conditions they are exposed to, they can adapt well as time goes by. Unlike dandelions, orchids are in possession of weak genes that make them fickle and fragile (Boyce, 2019). However, these children can bloom if they are given the greenhouse type of care. All in all, genes play a crucial role in determining the way children’s sensitivity to the environment and their response to different forms of stimuli.
Children’s socio-emotional health also helps to determine whether they become orchids or dandelions. For instance, orchids can be either the healthiest or the sickest children around. When they are brought up in a bad family environments that is not healthy, these children perform worse in terms of healthy, cognitive, and academic measures. In contrast, the children tend to perform well if the family environment in which they are brought up is optimal. This means that children of orchids have a big responsibility of getting things right when they have chance. They can do so by creating favorable family environments that can enable the children to thrive (Boyce, 2019; Belsky et al., 2020).
Socioeconomic differences as well matter a lot in the lives of orchid children. Children who are born and raised in countries where the gap between the rich and the poor is large rarely do well. In contrast, children who grow up in countries with less wealthy disparity and equitable circumstances often do very well (Belsky et al., 2020). Thus, income inequality is an important factor in influencing the lives of children. It influences not only the national health of children, but also their wellbeing. Therefore, it is necessary for countries to improve their socioeconomic children in order to ensure that children develop well.
Additionally, the kind of teachers who handle children both in kindergarten and pre-school levels of early child education influences their lives (Boyce, 2019). It has been established that if an orchid is taught by a teacher who creates an accepting atmosphere and cultivates an inclusion culture in which every child feels valued and wanted, he or she has a high chance of thriving. On the other hand, a sensitive orchid who experiences a cold and authoritarian teacher is likely to get depressed and have other serious problems that can have a negative impact on his or her mental and physical health, and academic success. In this case, it needs to be pointed out that although dandelions are also affected by teachers’ quality, they rarely suffer serious and long-term consequences.
Using the evidence of developmental science, Boyce (2019) suggests that the origin of the differences that exist between orchid and dandelion children is their early experiences of adversity and psychological trauma. The experiences hinder normal development of the brain, raise obstacles that interfere with the normal learning process, and affect children’s physical and mental health. This explains why children brought up in poor families, those who are exposed to violence, and children mistreated by parents are vulnerable to compromised development. Such children tend to have poor health outcomes, and they often do not do well in their academics.
Boyce (2019)’s cumulative findings are useful to both parents and teachers. Teachers and parents often embrace egalitarianism by treating children the same way. They try to avoid showing favor to some over others. In as much as it is necessary to stick to the principle of equity, it is important to understand that children are different in terms of the way they grow and develop. Due to this, they require different levels of attention. This does not mean categorizing children into resilient and vulnerable children. It is all about understanding the individual variations of children, and trying to understand their sensitivity to various phenomena in their immediate environment and the world at large.
For orchid children, Boyce (2019) recommends certain strategies that teachers and parents can use in order to ensure that they are nurtured well right from their childhood. To begin with, these children need comfort since many of them tend to be alarmed when they meet new people or are exposed to new situations. The parents of orchids need to give them steadfast and unconditional love. They also have to give them affirmation and show them acceptance. For teacher, they can play an active role in encouraging the children. They also have the responsibility to give them the opportunity to play and have fun. Children who grow up under such circumstances are likely to develop well and become responsible adults.
Winconek (2021) supports Boyce that is important for parents to be careful in how they raise both orchid and dandelion children. For orchids, all that matters is providing a nurturing environment. This will help to ensure that these children thrive. It is important for parents to keep an eye on them in order to determine whether they are struggling. This will help them to determine what is supposed to be done. For Dandelions, this is not the case. The unpredictability of these children makes it difficult for parents to know what can work well for them. It takes time to understand what motivates them and makes them comfortable.
Boyce (2019)’s theory has useful social policy implications. The researcher argues that there is need to come up with better ways of supporting young families that are in need. This undertaking can help to sustain them. some of the policy change recommendations that the investigator makes include providing parental love, ensuring that children access universal healthcare, giving support to preschool education, helping young families to get minimum sources of income, and training parents, teachers, and healthcare providers on how to create environments that are conducive for children to learn and grow up well.
Conclusion
From the arguments above, it is evident that children can never be the same in the way they respond to environmental influences. Even if they are brought up in the same environment, some tend to be sensitive to environmental factors while others become resilient. Those who exhibit sensitivity are resemble orchids in that they thrive if the environment is favorable, and fail if exposed to harsh conditions. On the other hand, those who show resiliency are referred to as dandelions. This is due to the fact they are not less or more affected by environmental influences. Therefore, parents, teachers and other caregivers need to understand these differences. This will help to ensure that they become aware of what can work best for the children under their care.
References:
Belsky, J., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E. & Poulton, R. (2020). The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life. Cambridege: Harvard University Press.
Boyce, W. T. (2019). The Orchid and the Dandelion: Why Some Children Struggle and How All Can Thrive. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Jarrett, C. (2016). Some children are extra sensitive to parenting style, bad and good. Retrieved from https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/10/12/some-children-are-extra-sensitive-to-parenting-style-bad-and-good/
Kottke, J. (2010). The Orchid Hypothesis. Retrieved from https://kottke.org/10/01/the-orchid-hypothesis
Kurcinka, M. S. (2015). Raising Your Spirited Child, Third Edition: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks.
Winconek, S. (2021). Tulip, Orchid and Dandelion Theory: Kids and Sensitivity. Retrieved from https://www.metroparent.com/daily/parenting/parenting-issues-tips/tulip-orchid-dandelion-theory-kids-sensitivity/
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