Comments on: Parenting Children Using Genetic Tests

By: Genetics = Real Science

Genetics = Real Science — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:38:06 +0000

[...] That’s the kind of argument some shady companies are making about direct-to-consumer genetic testing. It reminds me of the ruckus earlier this year over companies that offer genetic testing to parents who’re interested in having their children tested for athletic prowess and other abilities. [...]

By: gg gardner

gg gardner — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:09:47 +0000

I would like to know what genetics might have had to do with this story. I have two adult daughters. They both sing as well as anyone you have seen on tv or cd’s I don’t sing but I write real well. My father, their grandfather sang and wrote. Does this mean that my want to sing, and my talent for writing and my fathers being able to sing and write, could that be why they can sing so dam— well?

By: Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:40:08 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Susan. Your blog looks very interesting! I hadn’t thought of the pressure to get it right that comes with only having one child.

By: Susan Newman, Ph.D.

Susan Newman, Ph.D. — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:32:16 +0000

I believe there is a greater tendency to test your child or children if you have one or two. Parents of only children often feel they have one chance to get it right, and the availability of, for example, genetic testing for athletic leanings, may be too hard for many parents to resist. The same could be said of overly competitive parents–huge numbers in today’s society.
I write about the intense pressure that can occur in smaller families: http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons