Is misbehaviour encoded in your child’s DNA? We hear about it in the media, claims that some kids are born with genes that put them at higher risk for impulsive, antisocial, or criminal tendencies.

But scientific research suggests something very different. “Problem” genes don’t make kids misbehave, and some of these genes aren’t bad at all. Instead, they are genes that make a child’s development more plastic, more responsive to the environment.

As a result, kids carrying these genes may have a wider potential than others. Sure, they are at higher risk for behavior problems, but only if they grow up in the wrong environment. Give them security, love, and positive parenting, and these kids are actually more likely than others to become well-adjusted and successful.

We can see this in a study that tracked more than a thousand children from infancy to the age of 11. Babies identified as having “difficult” temperaments ended up with the best social and academic outcomes – even better than those of the “easy” babies — but only when they received warm, sensitive, responsive parenting. If the babies grew up with cold, intrusive, insensitive, or hostile parenting, they tended to develop the biggest behavior problems.

Reference:
http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/how-parents-can-unlock-a-childs-genetic-potential-12172014/