In her presentation, Professor Grigorenko will briefly review the historical conundrums surrounding the conceptualization of the etiological forces driving child development. She will then focus on the modern conceptualization of childhood as the continuous transformation of the genome under the pressure of environs. Although throughout the life span the environs (the contextual layers that form the molecular, cellular, tissue, organismal, ecological, social, cultural environments) tend to differentiate and become quite discrete, prenatally and at early childhood, this differentiation is greatly restricted and modulated (completely in the former and substantially in the latter) by maternal and early care environments. There is a growing amount of evidence that these early environs are highly influential for individuals’ long-term health outcomes. Yet, the mechanisms of the influence of early environs on the child genome and the emergent cascade of these influences are not well understood. This general thesis will be illustrated by specific examples from the developmental sciences, with a general outline for both fundamental and applied issues that will need to be addressed by child developmentalists in the near future.