by Jaymie Walker

Did you know that there is a complex relationship between your genes and your environment? Both of these things influence your expression of your social behaviour and social competence – daily! Have you ever heard of the gene-environment interaction view? If not, let me explain it to you. For example, let’s say you are confused as to why you and your siblings have such different responses to the same situation. Well, although you are all within the same environment, the fact that you all of have different genetic make-ups greatly affects how you will respond to the situation. There is a great and complex relationship here. Sometimes, genetic and environmental factors can harm one’s development. For instance – fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). A teratogen is defined as anything that many cause damage to development during the prenatal stage. If you consider alcohol as a teratogen causing damage against a fetus, there is a high possibility that the child will be living with FASD. This is a factor that will affect the child cognitively and socially, ultimately placing them in a place of vulnerability. Some ways to improve resilience while in a stage of vulnerability could be to practice the way you talk to and about yourself, focusing on your strengths, and leaning into fear in order to move forward.

Prince George, BC is a part of School District 57. There is a neighborhood in Prince George called “College Heights”. The total population of this neighborhood is 14,180. Of this population, children aged 0-5 make up 1,066. College Heights is known to be a rather prestigious neighborhood in Prince George, with nice houses and lots of near-by amenities. Although this may seem like the case for a lot of neighborhoods, every area has their own levels of vulnerability, no matter what the environment appears to be. In College Heights, the vulnerability level is 37%, and the vulnerability level of Vancouver (35%). In numbers, this shows us that a total of 133 children are considered to be vulnerable in this neighborhood of Prince George, while 378 children are considered vulnerable in Vancouver.

Vulnerable behaviors come in many different forms for children. For example, when considering social competence, a kindergartener may have difficulty getting along with other children and might often make rude comments to their classmates. If this behavior is not looked after, corrected, or nurtured (due to many different factors), the child may be at risk of not maintaining a job when they are older based on the fact that they are unable to get along with their co-workers or their management team. My suggestion to foster an intervention for vulnerable children is to create a sports team. The children on the sports team would all be vulnerable to different social environments, and the coach and organizers of the team would ensure that it would be more than just the guidelines of the sport that would be taught. Ideally, the staff would create a space for socially vulnerable children to come and learn to cooperate, share, and respect their other teammates, their opponents, and the staff. These skills are versatile and will increase their social competency inside and outside of the team environment.

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