Nature Or Nurture

[nailit]

Are your kids like you? Or are they different?
How much does nature/nurture define how your offspring turn out?
Thanks,

[andy-hughes]

That's a really really wide question!!!

Two of my children are step-children, so that are not like me for obvious reasons, but they both have traits of their mum.

Our youngest daughter I do have a biological connection to, and she is very like me.

I think nature and nurture affect any individual, and how much of each is unique to each child and adult.

[pixie374]

In some ways... It's a mixture of both and also the combination of personalities, especially for babies and young children between them and their mum.

[-Talbot-]

None of my kids would say boo to a goose ... no idea what's gone wrong.

[-SharonA-]

I have two boys. One looks like me and the other like his dad.
But that's is it. They are like chalk and cheese in personality. My youngest one is so serious about life and yet my eldest is so laid back.

[Mamyalynne]

My two are definitely a combination of me and their Dad.

Both are far more ambitious and widely travelled than me too.

We all share a keen sense of humour.

[pixie374]

^^ Yes, the position in the family too.

[Prudie]

My daughter is a mix in nature (personality)of both parents plus something from elsewhere however I think you can nurture your own values into your children, not always successfully.

[jourdain2]

Definitely Nature. Both were nurtured the same - as near as possible (4yr. age-gap so 1 at school when other was a baby). No.1 is calm and emotionally controlled, applying intellect all the time (scientist father) but understanding emotion.

No. 2 is volatile, reacts emotionally, but can be controlled in logic when it applies to work etc.. Everyone says that No.2 is just like me, but no.1 benefits from having the understanding of artistic reactions, combined with a logical approach.

It has to be nature. The nurture really was as near as could be the same - but No.2 was a difficult and demanding baby from conception. :(

[andy-hughes]

Talbot - // None of my kids would say boo to a goose ... no idea what's gone wrong. //

Why does that mean that something has 'gone wrong'?

[Cloverjo]

Interesting question.
My son is like me in that we're both very shy and can be awkward in company. But he is laid back and doesn't really worry about anything, while I worry about everything.

[Kidas]

I'm a twin. My sister was born 10 minutes after me.

My older two sisters were born over 3 years earlier; they are also twins (They are identical, while I am fraternal with my sister).

We became subjects in a series of studies of twins by the University College London (UCL) into this subject. How much is genetic; how much is environment.

My older sisters carry the same genes and had a very similar upbringing. Any differences in them provide a control as to the effect of different experiences, even in the same household.

My twin sister and I carry different genes, and also had a similar upbringing, so differences (there are very many) are down to genetics, combined with the environmental differences noted in the older twins.

After years of research, it came down to 'A bit of both' The point is that 'a bit' varies with individuals. In some cases nature is stronger; in others environment.

Here's some recent results:

https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2015/05/nature-v-nurture-research-shows-its-both

and some discussion of the UCL studies:

http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/bsh/2016/08/05/new-evidence-supports-the-use-of-twin-studies-to-explore-the-effects-of-nature-and-nurture-on-human-behaviours-in-childhood/

[sherrardk]

I think it's mostly nature - four of my children are very similar in looks and personality (a mixture of myself and himself) and one of my children is completely different in looks and ways. The two youngest (one of the ones who is similar to the others and the one who is massively different) are twins so they probably got nurtured in the most similar way. My female twin looks like my own twin but apparently has 100% my personality when I was younger (which is a bit of a worry as I regard her as my wild child).

[woofgang]

Have no kids but my two dogs are litter brothers...had 7 weeks together with the breeder and then came to us. They have had about 97% of the same experiences and have been treated as alike as possible and they are definitely two different characters. Now what I find interesting is that its because they are two different characters that they get along so well together and we get along as a family. If they were both the same, I think there would be far more disagreement....so maybe nature's role is to allow flexibility for the individual to adjust to what cannot be changed in their environment? Apparently as a baby grows and develops, as many nerve connections are reabsorbed by the body as are created.

[jno]

Kidas, did you see this story?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/science/space/mark-scott-kelly-twins.html

[ummmm]

My kids have very different personalities but I can see me in all of them. My youngest is probably the most like me. We used to argue like cat and dog but we'd be friends again within minutes.

I agree with nurture to an extent. I'm shy so tried to bring up my children not to be, it worked, I think, but it could also be nature. Who knows?!

[NoMercy]

My mother is an identical twin and she and her twin couldn't be more different.

My mother has a tendency to sulk but she is otherwise generous, kind and warm hearted.

Her twin is mean spirited, self pitying, selfish, very jealous, bitter and twisted and not remotely interested in anyone or anything unless it's all about her.

[1ozzy]

All of my four offspring carry some traits that can be seen in their mother, myself, grandparents etc.

But they are all very different people, some common behavioral patterns. That part I put down to the way they were nurtured.

[-Talbot-]

Never explain a joke or tic comment.