We often ask ourselves why we are what we are, why we think the way we think and act the way we act. Are our behaviors more influenced by the genes passed down to us or by the environment in which we grew up? When trying to find out where your behavioral traits come from, you simply need to reflect on the various factors that led you to become who you are today. If only people were more aware of how important something as simple as the touch of a mother's warm hands on their child is, it could have such an impactful effect on their child's psychological behavior in the future. Of all the developmental stages I have gone through so far in life, my memory allows me to remember only one specific stage more vividly than any other, psychosocial development in middle childhood. I tend to remember this phase of my life most vividly because it was around the time my parents divorced and I would say that event definitely triggered a drastic change in my behavior. An important factor that contributes to psychosocial development in middle childhood is the environment in which you grew up. The environment you grew up in can be anything from the people in your life, to the house you lived in, to the parenting styles of your mother and father, and the lifestyle of your parents. employment and socioeconomic conditions. All these factors play a great influence on your development and potential behavior in the future. I found this quite interesting looking back at how my family was structured and reviewing the kind of family atmosphere my parents gave me growing up. Chapter 10 of our textbook Experience Human Development states that “The most important influences of the home environment on children's development come from the home atmosphere.” (p. 326, 2012) G...... middle of paper ...... in the future. Sometimes I wonder how I would behave today if my parents spent more time with me instead of work and if their relationship didn't end the way it did. Maybe if my family shared more activities together like meals or spent more time together, I wouldn't be so kept to myself. Maybe if my parents were more loving towards each other I wouldn't be so anxious about meeting new people or paranoid about relationships. I still find it intriguing how a simple missing factor in a family's structure or atmosphere can create this domino effect that leads to a drastic change in a child's behavior in the future. Something as simple as a child having breakfast or dinner with his family every day can prevent his behavior from going in the wrong direction. If only more parents knew how much they could influence their children.