Nature vs Nurture

There is an ongoing question wondering if children or people in general are made who they are by the household they were born into or by the way they were raised. I want to put in my two cents on this topic based off of my two daughters who are raised the same and born into the same household but somehow manage to be two completely different people.

Journi who was born in the winter of 2008 was my very high needs baby, she would literally cry for hours on end for no reason so needless to say I didn’t come running every time she cried. She was very dependent upon me and even to this day she still is. But she has grown into a mature and sweet girl, I gave her room to become who she wanted to become but I showed her right from wrong. She now can get herself out of any bind because I never babied her, she has become very independent.

Joelle was the total opposite from Journi; she was the calmest baby ever she almost never cried so when she did I would come to her rescue because obviously there had to be something wrong with her. But she was always an independent baby and she would self sooth and feed herself like she didn’t have a care in the world. Now she is the total opposite she isn’t nice and she is actually quit naughty which I guess it can be because she was actually nurtured a little bit different then her sister was so it could be the way she was supposed to be naturally or it could be the way she was so independent as a baby that she developed this way of doing things herself.

They are polar opposites even in terms of how they eat, Journi who is 7 is a very picky kid and she always has been she’s very thin and particular about what she liked and how she liked it. While Joelle on the other hand pretty much eats whatever she sees, if you put it in front of her to eat she will eat it. This naturally caused her body to be a bit rounder then her sister. A lot of times they can fit the same clothes particularly in the summer time because Journi is skinny but tall so her pants are the correct size but her shorts can tend to be bigger on her if I get her size. So the clothes that Journi wore last year at 6 years old Joelle at 1 can fit now.

So in retrospect’s I think that some kids are just going to be who they are going to be while other kids you can steer them in the path that you want them to go into. But its not always the same for each kid, you may have a kid that no matter what you give them and how you raise them they still turn out to be the opposite of what you assumed they would be. While on the other hand you can have a kid who does exactly what you want them to do. There is no exact science sometimes its nature and sometimes its nurture.

Meet the girls

Journi and Joelle my J and J duo, which is where Team Dynomyte comes from. I'm not sure if any of you were Good Times fans but I pretty much binge watched it when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter Journi. I became pretty fluent in the terminology that was used back then, so if I throw around Jive turkey Just know that this is where it's coming from.

So let me tell you about my daughters, in order of importance, I kid, I think they are both equally important. Journi who is the oldest and the most active of the two, every time she hears a song she creates a dance to go with it. She's 7 and she also is the most honest child I have ever known, even when it hurts your feelings. Today she told me that I looked better with my nose ring in, because I had lost it for a few days and had to wait a while to get a new one. So I guess up until that point her mom was not cute. But I digress, she also is so affectionate that no matter what I am doing she has to be right next to me attached to my hip and if I tell her to give me space her reason is always " but I love you." Because in her mind that means you never ever leave their side because if you are away even for a moment the love fades I guess. Journi is the most thoughtful girl in the world and she is always drawing me photos and making me masterpieces but at what point can you get rid of the million photos you have piled up in a drawer that are all crumpled up?

Joelle who is one and just entering her toddler phase is well, a toddler and you know what they call toddlers right? Drunk adults, or jerks its all the same. Well Joelle is in fact both of those things, I know some people don like to call their kids names I can for sure say that my kids don't take offense. Now tell me if you've ever tried to write a paper , or even a blog maybe with a 22 pound child sitting on your neck? Probably not, although its an everyday occurrence with me and now that she is a new walker she is always falling down and giving me heart attacks. She like  her sister wants to dance to any and everything but she isn't as good as her sister she does more of like a fast double bounce with a grandpa arm and leans to the side. If you could not imagine that then you've got it correct because none of it makes any sense. But she's so cute so when she pours juice in your brand new shoes you don't get all stabby because you love her more than a pair of shoes. Unless they are designer, there is no forgiveness for that Joelle!

My kids are literally the funniest parts of my life so it only makes sense to write about them, anything else would be a disservice to you all. I think you'll have as much fun as we do,  enjoy and you're welcome.