The Biology of Child-Rearing

In the chaotic exuberance of copulation, the dark secret power of DNA is expressed. Woven into that chemical explosion is the ever-present force of nature’s desire for reproduction, the genesis of a further ‘self’. The discharge of universal energy into a life
form is achieved.

Willing, trapped, unthinking, or just disinterested – many of us lurch our way through parenting our offspring. Challenges (and not just immediate ones) are forced into the
crevices by societal and financial constructs.

Up until recent times, there was very little choice, and many of the future generations arrived in the present by lusting chance. Modernity has changed that – with the introduction of choice – although there are still tragic situations whereby choice is painfully absent.

Prepping the offspring to deliver an iteration of that individual’s DNA is an unconscious/conscious tension between nature and nurture. It’s an unquestionable fact that you can’t nurture a sprat into a mackerel – with nature playing an equipotent role.

Crying, cooing, and pooing punctuate the darkened lack of sleep for some, while blissful and disinterested babies are blessed upon others.

Lurking always in the background is DNA’s prepping – teaching brains to identify danger or, better still, food. Torturing, taunting, and teaching the ‘servants’ to respond.

The servant’s response is powerful in shaping the developing self. Heightened arousal of the servants – the degree of which is reflected by their own journey and genetic variances – will impact on the arousal of the ‘new self’.

That arousal, if heightened for whatever reason, will cause sleepless nights but, in the longer term, may increase the desire for awareness.

Food in those early times is the most important commodity, safely deployed to the servants.

Over time the gradual transfer of hard-won wisdom – from the servants to self – instils the ability to feed, master safety, find a match and repeat the process.

The relentless step in the journey of DNA is complete.

Almost without exception, every element of the servant’s experience and experiment is
imprinted into the new self. For some, responsibility as the servant can be a burden too heavy to contemplate and sometimes bear. In such cases, the transmission of life skills can become a confusing set of disruptive mixed messages – shaping and challenging the development of the new self – and ultimately leaving the self with inadequate means for a positive societal contribution.

For most, however, the golden years of child-rearing glow even brighter as the distance from that episode in life increases.