Abstract
At birth, the human infant is not significantly different from other animal infants and especially from our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, except in physical characteristics. Consequently Parenting is not the prerogative of human beings. The lower animals also share the joy and responsibility of parenting, which explains why virtually all aspects of parenting among human beings are also observable among animals, at least to some extent. The universality of parenting is manifest among humans and animals and it is particularly striking between humans and chimpanzee, with which we share over 90% of our DNA (Suntsova and Buzdin, 2020)!
What however, distinguishes man from animals particularly; the chimpanzee is the capacity to learn. With the exception of reflexive and instinctive behaviours, every human behaviour is a product of learning. Whereas the baby chimpanzee requires only 7-10 years to learn all it requires for survival i.e. how to groom, make nests in trees, find food and use tools; for the human child, learning is not only from cradle to grave, it also involves learning more complex behaviours than required of lower animals.
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2025-08-01
Vol. 22 Issue No. 1 August 2025
Articles
Vol. 22 Issue No. 1 August 2025
/ ArticlePARENTING, HOME ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATION OF THE NIGERIAN CHILD
Prof. Felicia A. O. Olasehinde-Williams