I'm reading a book entitled Awakening Children's Minds by Laura E. Berk. It draws a middle line between the old nature vs nurture debate on who or what really influences a child.

"At very young ages, when children are just beginning to acquire culturally valued skills, they depend almost entirely upon interactions with more expert cultural members to make sense of their experiences.

For example, when researchers tested 3 year olds to find out what they remembered about a visit to a museum, the children recalled only information they had talked about with their mothers; everything else had been forgotten."

"Development... cannot take place without parents and teachers as thoughtful and committed participants in children's lives. Parents and teachers are leaders in awakening children's minds and fostering their development."