Parenting over Genetics There are multiple factors that go into the development of childrens personalities.

Both environment and genetics play a role. Genes are devices for extracting information from the environment. Every second, the pattern of genes being expressed in your brain changes, often in direct or indirect response to events outside the body. Genes are the mechanisms of experience (Kaufman). While studies show that genetics do play a significant role in the development of young children, parenting is the larger factor in their development because of its direct effects on the development of young children and indirect effect on the interpretation of their genes.

There is no trying to deny the importance of genes. They play a very large part in our lives and all of biology. However studies done to show the importance of genes which are usually studies on twins are exaggerated, misinterpreted and misunderstood by both the media and scientists. Twin studies take variances in genes and environment and determine which plays a greater role in the differences in behavior. The truth behind genes is that the way our genes determine how we are is affected by our environment. Even two people with identical genes can turn out different because the environment can cause their bodies to interpret their genes differently. Because of this, two individuals with identical genes can have even physical differences (Kaufman). The idea that parenting doesnt matter has come about in our time because of the new ideas of the importance of genetics. This is an entirely false and negative idea. In twin studies one factor that is not considered is the fact that all test subjects have families. This is something that is a requirement for all children. To say that parenting doesnt matter is to say that children dont need parents, when it is more than obvious that they most certainly do. Without a family

environment children would never learn a language. Communication is a very important part of the development of children and it depends strongly on the parents (Eleanor). What needs to be taken from this idea is that genes may account for the differences within a trait but they cannot account for the differences in an individual. As stated by David S. Moore, The Parenting factors that are statistically associated with differences between individuals should never be confused with the parenting factors that cause the development of a trait within an individual. Genes account for 100 percent of the variability in a trait in a particular twin study, but this does not mean that environmental factors are therefore unimportant in the development of the trait; parents still matter and will always matter. (Kaufman) When you look at how parents matter, it is apparent that because they are dynamic, where as genes are static, means that parenting is in fact more important than the genes themselves. Genes are predetermined but are still affected by parenting so parents can lead to either positive or negative development of a child regardless of the childs genetics.

In most twin studies the twins all had similar environments. Another factor that these test left out was the effect of the environment of the samples of subjects. Because they all came from families of average or above average incomes that factor of variability was not accounted for. In a study done by Eric Turkheimer 320 pairs of 7 year old twins raised in extreme poverty were tested. In this poverty stricken environment where education is missing heredity happens to account for very little of the subjects IQ. It appears that as education becomes for standard genetics begins to play a greater role in determining IQ. This shows that it is the environment that comes first and is more important in the development of intelligence (Brooks-Gunn). The Flynn effect which was the substantial increase in IQ that occurred during the 20th century is a good example of what is seen in the Turkmeimer study. In the Flynn Effect it was the rapid

change in the environment that led to the change in IQ. An improvement in environment leads to improved IQ. This means that if parents can do the best to improve the environment of their child they can in turn improve the intelligence of their child as an adult. In terms of experiments this brings up an important point, as stated by David S. Moore, Depending on what you hold constant, you can either show a genetic contribution or an environmental contribution. The point is that both are always contributing to the development of any trait, and context matters in which accounts for more of the differences in a trait. (Kaufman) This is why most twin tests simply do not provide the appropriate data to determine the true significance of parenting.

Traits have a varying level of heritability that can range from not heritable to complete heredibility with a full representation of the trait being passed to the offspring. Environment can affect the heritability of a trait so its actual level of herediblity does not matter when considering how it may have led to the development of a child. One of the big problems today is that we still do not know the extent to which the environment affects the heritability of traits or even the extent to which present traits in general are affected by the environment. This is hard to test for because there are so many different stimuli in the environment and you cannot simply test the development of an individual because the only testable factor that is present is the genes of the individual, not the footprint left on the genes left by the environment. So when testing we cannot determine if the environmental factors that affect a certain trait are constant across the different testing situations, or if they fluctuate greatly across the situations. David S. Moore explains the testing problem as, Even if a population of individuals were to develop in a range of environments believed to be the same as that in which a particular study was conducted, the results of that study would not allow us to predict developmental outcomes in the new range of environments because the environmental factors that the researchers originally focused on and

controlled for might not be relevant environmental factors at all. (Kaufman) In tests done the most important factors may never be determined and the extent to which they affect the traits of a child and the childs development cannot be determined with our current knowledge. There is a lot scientist need to discover.

One of the most sought after explanations in the field of genetics is intelligence. Surely many parents would love to believe they are not the cause of their child doing poorly in school. Again it is very obvious that parenting plays a very large role in the development of their childrens intelligence. The issue is more the extent to which parenting matters. Because as well as nurture genetics still plays a role in developing childs intelligence. When testing for the largest factor in determining intelligence the same flaws are present as when testing for other trait factors. In adoption and twin studies the genetic and environmental factors are always tested in correlation to factors and traits and do not express the actual causes of the expressions of the traits. These tests do not involve the exploitation of either specific genes or specific environmental factors so these studies are unable to create a comprehension of the factors and processes that contribute to the development of intelligence. Factors such as the genotype phenotype correlation are never particular or fixed (Kaufman). Because of gene-environment relationships there is a factor were environments set of chains in genes causing individuals to take part in particular experiences, then the environment, then supports the individuals behavior causing the genes and environment to be exponentially correlated make the effects of unknown factors more substantial. A good example given by David S. Moore is, Imagine if you were born slightly taller than others. You get picked for the basketball team, whereas your smaller friends may not get picked at all. This would give you more experience in basketball, which increase the chances youd get picked first for another team. Those who repeatedly dont get picked for the basketball team may invest in

other skills, such as physics or art. This cycle continues to magnify observed ability differences in basketball between those who keep getting opportunities to increase their skills and those who didnt get picked that first time. The rich tend to get richer and the poor tend to get poorer. (Kaufman) It is easy to imagine this process but the actual occurrence is multifaceted.

Based on the many new in depth facts that have been discovered on what really goes into the development of children it is safe to say that it is very important that parenting couldnt be any more important. Furthermore its not just parenting that is important, but good parenting. Its a scary thought for many a new parent, and so it should be because the way we bring up that child not only shapes his or her life, but those who come in contact with the resulting adult. The healthy development of children provides a strong foundation for healthy and competent adulthood, responsible citizenship, economic productivity, strong communities, and a sustainable society. Converging evidence from biology, economics, sociology, psychology, support the concept of the importance of brain development in early childhood as crucial to ultimate adult outcomes (Neiderhiser). One of the most significant facts that back the importance of good parent of children, specifically with toddlers, is the fact that a childs brain grows more in its first 3 years of life then it does in the rest of its life. Everything a parent does during this time will have an effect on that brain growth (Berger, 17-48). Parents need to know the importance of good parenting so that they can begin to educate themselves on proper parenting before it is too late in the process of their childs development. Their children may even thank them one day for setting them up for success. Childrens personalities are the creation of external and internal factors most of which are provided by their parents. These factors are the childs genes and their environment as well as

the environment provided by their parents. All peoples genes extract information from the environment. Genes are the mechanisms of experience and every second, the pattern of genes being expressed in your brain changes, often in direct or indirect response to events outside the body. It is apparent based on many studies and modern day science that genes are significant; however parenting is more significant because of its direct and indirect effects on a childs brain (Steiner, 60). Because of the significance of parenting it is important that it is good parenting and not just any parenting. Parenting will always be the most import factor in a young childs development and the biggest part of a parents life.