It’s not all in the genes, but what isn’t in the genes isn’t from the parents either. Socialization—acquiring the norms and skills necessary to function in society—takes place in the peer group. Children have cultures, too, which absorb parts of the adult culture and also develop values and norms of their own. Children do not spend their waking hours trying to become better and better approximations of adults. They strive to be better and better children, ones that function well in their own society.
