Genetic Testing for Children: Would You Do It?
I received an interesting email on Friday. At first it looked just like any other PR pitch, those pitches that never really bother to answer the very basic question of WIIFM, or “What’s In It For Me?”
But the email I received on Friday was different. It was from a company called My Gene Profile, who offers genetic testing for children. The PR pitch actually did try to answer the WIIFM question by claiming that by becoming their affiliate I would be able to earn some pretty decent money.
But what was especially interesting in that email was the suggestion that parents have their baby undergo genetic testing not just to find out about potential vulnerability to disease, but also to discover their talents and personal traits.
From the company’s website:
“The Inborn Talent Genetic Test reveals the inherited and endowed inborn talents of a child scientifically from the genetic makeup of his/her DNA. The test result will therefore help parents identify their children’s hidden talents that may not be obvious at young age. Furthermore, it also reveals some personality traits that the child may possess, judging from his/her genetic make-up.”
I found this to be more than a little disturbing. It seems to me like this type of genetic testing would cause parents and educators to label a child in the worst possible way. Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success and that the secret to success is painful and demanding practice and hard work.
Personally, I would never subject my child to genetic testing – at least not to this specific type of genetic “social” testing.
What do you think?
PS. I find it interesting that the company approached me to be their affiliate and here I am criticizing them. Will be interesting to see if they respond to this criticism or ignore it (they do have a Google Alert for their name, I assume!) and if they do respond – what will their response be. When companies decide to use social media marketing they need to accept that social media is about having a genuine conversation, and that they won’t always be in full control of that conversation.
Comment of the Day: “I would think that for a child, allowing them to interactively guide the parents with their own expressed interests would be the best way to go. After all, it’s the journey where the true pleasure lies, rather than just focusing on the imagined destination.” Dr. J for Calorie Lab.
Photo credit: peasap
Hire Me as a Blogger
Subscribe to this Blog Via Email or Reader
Filed under Parenthood —
Email This Post,
Subscribe To Comments, Trackback,
The Lawyer Mom responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 10:34 am →
Absolutely not!
And genetic testing is now being done on embryos prior to implantation . . . so the “best” embryos are selected.
I say enough is enough.
Hayden Tompkins responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 10:55 am →
I would genetically test for diseases but I already know that my kids would likely carry the genes for some crazy. My father is bipolar, my mother has borderline personality disorder, and they both have a cocktail of mental illnesses.
People often carry those genes but some of them are not “activated” unless there are environmental factors and/or trauma that trigger them. Basically, what I’m saying is that I am not DOOMED to being crazy just because I carry those genes.
As for testing for their abilities and talents, usually you can find that out by paying attention and exposing your children to a wide range of opportunities.
RC - Rambling Along... responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 10:57 am →
I’m with The Lawyer Mom on this one. No. Not doing it, and don’t think it is a good idea.
I would like my child to have many opportunities to explore many different areas. He will be good at some and probably not as good at other things – but the important thing is he will get to try and learn many skills in the process.
I think some of life’s greatest lessons come from facing challenges in areas in which we aren’t a natural talent.
As for the disease information, I’m still torn on that, too.
Els Withers responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 11:17 am →
Vered: Have you seen “Gattaca“? Interesting and inspirational movie about a future wherein everyone’s opportunities are dictated by genetic profile.
Tracy responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 11:39 am →
I can’t help but think that the money spent on genetic testing (for this sort of thing) would be better applied to sending the children to a quality preschool. Or you know, just exposing the kid to a variety of things and seeing what floats their boat.
Heh, I wonder what would happen if a parent got a report that their child is mediocre and undistinguished in every way. Would they just give up on that kid and try to adopt a better one from a more snazzy gene pool?
Tracy responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 11:43 am →
BTW, in all seriousness, I do read stories about these sorts of “breakthroughs” because of my oldest son’s condition, Asperger’s Syndrome. Although his syndrome has drawbacks, it also comes with gifts – I can’t imagine though how I might have limited him or pigeonholed him if I’d known from before he was born that he has this condition. We might have had intervention earlier, but honestly, I’m glad I had those years of just treating him like my slightly oddball but otherwise “normal” kid.
Patricia responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 12:11 pm →
I considered giving my one daughter a genetic test kit…called 23 and Me. She has Celiac Disease which is 98% passable and her boyfriend has at least one downs syndrome child per his father’s siblings-families. This is just reading DNA not making social commentary…they have always thought a “healthy” child would not be possible for them? They do think more about adoption as they so enjoy children and have much to offer. They did not want to use the kit.
I just am not sure about all these things, even with my ethics background. When I found out that one clinic in NYC was using abortion primarily for couples who only wanted a child of a certain sex (male) and healthy I was very interested in the role that money played in buying sexual orientation and intelligence…just another way to distinguish yourself from the masses? or another way society is losing ground?
Dot responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 12:30 pm →
I already have issues with people aborting fetuses based on tests, but personality and talents, enough already.
Dr. J responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 12:55 pm →
I’m ambivalent about the use of this. There is some value with testing for certain diseases that can be helpful. I don’t support the idea of using it for personality or talents, besides we have natal astrology for that
There are many tests, such as the Myers-Briggs that can be useful for the young man or woman when considering a career choice. I would think that for a child, allowing them to interactively guide the parents with their own expressed interests would be the best way to go. After all, it’s the journey where the true pleasure lies, rather than just focusing on the imagined destination.
Lori Hoeck responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 2:03 pm →
I’m a sci fi buff. Gene preferencing or manipulation almost always has a scary ending in books or films. As Els mentions, the film Gattica gives a good overview of the problems associated with this. If you think status matters now, just think of a caste system based on gene testing. It does seem inevitable, though.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 2:19 pm →
Thank you everyone for your comments. Els and Lori, I haven’t seen Gattica. The thought that this is inevitable – that once we have the technology there’s no way of stopping it even for strong ethic reasons – scares me. Hayden, of course you’re not doomed – and this is exactly what scares me here. Not just the rich creating uber children, but “imperfect” children being aborted, never given a chance, because the parents assume they are “doomed.” Or little kids not allowed to do what they want because they enjoy be good at it anyway.
Dr. J, I LOVED this sentence: “After all, it’s the journey where the true pleasure lies, rather than just focusing on the imagined destination.” Exactly, and especially because if we are truly honest, the final destination is death.
Tara@Sticky Fingers responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 2:33 pm →
I’m really glad you posted on this Vered, because I had that same email from this PR firm and my initial thoughts were not WIIFM but WTF!
I agree that part of the joy of having a child is discovering them for yourself; their passions, their talents, their natural abilities. The thought of being told in a test that ‘your child is genetically predisposed to be a great physisist or a great sportsman’ does not appeal at all thank you very much. I think I’d like to discover that for myself as my children grow up by watching them and loving them.
And who exactly is this supposed to be helping? The children? Hmm, I think not.
Maya responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 2:33 pm →
To me, this is very scary.
Parenting is complicated enough without these things. Really, can we all just enjoy it – the good years we all have with our kids?
The beauty of parenting is in discovering what our kids can be. Society and family expectations are bad enough, why would I want to add another layer of complexity?
Marelisa responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 3:14 pm →
Hi Vered: More and more research is revealing that even things such as intelligence, which was supposed to be completely determined by genes, can go up or down by 15 points (which is a lot) depending on the child’s environment.
If you want to become world class at something you do need to have some talent in the area, but then it’s a matter of practice. The good thing about genetic testing would be that you could discover early on what your child is naturally predisposed toward and get him or her enrolled in classes for that subject at an early age. The bad thing is what you suggest: that a child be labeled as stupid or incompetent in a certain area and the label then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I’m going to agree with you and come down on the side of “no” for this. If you want to know what your child is good at, let them experiment with lots of different things and watch them carefully.
Jannie Funster responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 3:33 pm →
ALL children are inherently talented, expose them to lots of different experiences and help them develop and support them in what they truly love. I agree with labeling as potentially limiting.
Cath Lawson responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 4:03 pm →
Wow – what a cheek. If they’ve read your blog at all, they’re bound to realise you would be against this. I wonder if they sent it on purpose cos they know you’ll blog about it. Maybe they figure that no publicity is bad publicity.
Aydan responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 4:11 pm →
My science-student opinion on this is, not only could it set a dangerous precedent, but we know way too little about human genetics for this to be actually worthwhile. Just because we have the genome sequenced doesn’t mean we have all the genes identified, and genes that deal with personality and intelligence are, I’m guessing, especially elusive. Additionally, we don’t know how many of these genes are regulated or interact with the environment.
If I were having a child, I might have it tested with regards to genetic predisposition for certain diseases so I could know what to watch for as the child grew up, but I think it would be more worthwhile to have myself and my spouse go to a genetic counselor so we’d only have to do it once, instead of once per child.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 6:45 pm →
Thanks again everyone for your comments. Cath, I doubt they did anything on purpose. See Tara’s comment – this was probably mass emailed to hundreds or thousands of “mommy bloggers.”
Davina responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 6:46 pm →
I don’t plan on having children, but I wouldn’t be bothered with this testing. I don’t see it being reliable — only indicating tendencies toward certain talents and behaviours. I believe that life experience itself and the influence of people around a child play a huge role in the decisions they make about what they do with their lives. Plus, I wouldn’t want to know because I know I would try to “make” it happen instead of letting the child live their life and learn.
Brett Legree responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 7:34 pm →
Some of the comments have already mentioned Gattaca (and I am a big fan of that movie, it is very good) – the question for me is not, “would I test my own children?”, but rather, “will corporations of the future test my children – or me?”
Because you are right, research shows that “lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success and that the secret to success is painful and demanding practice and hard work.”
Research also shows that my activities online, or on Facebook, or that “funny cigarette” I smoked at the party on Friday night, or my driving habits, or my credit score, all of these are irrelevant to great success – yet corporations are judging people right now, today, by these things.
Corporations we work for and with, corporations who may choose to lend us money, and so on.
And the scary thing is, I find more and more “apologists” saying it is okay.
Not long ago at work, a co-worker of mine suggested it was okay and in fact a good thing that companies check a potential employee’s credit rating, because “a low credit score is often a sign of a bad employee” (his words).
Never mind that someone may have suffered an illness resulting in loss of medical coverage, leading to bankruptcy. Never mind divorce. Never mind parents with multiple children (I am one, and believe me, it is pretty damned tough sometimes to make ends meet).
So I maintain, the more serious issue isn’t whether we as parents make this choice, it is whether the nameless faceless organizations demand this testing.
Sadly, I expect to see it in my lifetime.
Writer Dad responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2009 at 8:05 pm →
I got the same email, and wouldn’t test my children for a stack of money. No matter what a test result would say, it would only succeed in building a set of walls. I like tests, but not that kind.
Brett, I agree, corporations will eventually demand such testing.
Gattaca is a wonderfully quiet and near perfect sci-fi movie.
Ethan Hawke has never been better, and it’s awesome to see Jude Law before he was Jude Law.
Barbara Swafford responds:
Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 1:35 am →
HI Vered,
Even though our kids are grown, I wouldn’t have subjected them to these types of tests. Even if parents try not to, I think subconsciously labeling would happen which could stunt the child’s potential.
Heather Villa responds:
Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 3:45 am →
I think this is horrible. Children already get too many labels put on them at young ages. Whatever happened to letting kids grow and decide for themselves what they like, what they are interested in, what they want to do in life? How are they to make choices of their own if we steer them and limited them based on genetic testing?
vw bug responds:
Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 4:05 am →
I think genetic testing for talent is just wrong. They can’t absolutely say that the child will be a violin genius no matter how they test it. But I did get an amnio done when I was pregnant to see if my kids had down’s syndrom so I would be prepared at their birth. I was a high risk for many genetic issues because I was much older when I had my boys. I thought it would be best to be prepared if there was something wrong. Find the right doctors, councelors, whatever if I needed them. I have been lucky. There are issues but nothing as serious as down’s and the testing didn’t find asthma, hypoglycemia and the like which developed as they aged. I hope this company is reading these comments and realizes that talent testing is NOT the way to go.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 1:22 pm →
Brett, the future you’re painting is sad and scary. I wonder if people have the power to stop technology “advancement” though for strong ethical reasons. At the very core, the vast majority of people do know right from wrong and democratic societies tend to reflect that.
Brett Legree responds:
Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 1:42 pm →
We do have the power. Technology is our servant – *our* servant, as in, “we the people” who pay the taxes to the governments that allow companies to do this.
I think it requires a gentle hand, to guide it. We need to shape it (technology, in general) to do our bidding, without missing out on all it can do for us.
Rowe responds:
Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 3:24 pm →
No, I would not subject any of my offspring to genetic testing and also find the idea of it disturbing.
Michelle @ Find Your Balance responds:
Posted: November 19th, 2009 at 11:00 am →
Oh geez. Why don’t we just get a label tattooed on our kids’ foreheads and give them a formula they have to follow for life. How fun.
Dominique responds:
Posted: November 19th, 2009 at 8:22 pm →
I would not get my kids tested. It is really terrible to get them labeled and put under so much scrunity and pressure since birth.
Tess The Bold Life responds:
Posted: November 20th, 2009 at 2:30 pm →
Vared,
It’s more insanity and they’re missing the point of life. What the hell ever happened to wonder and joy? I like what Jannie Bannanie Funster says.
John W. Zimmer responds:
Posted: November 22nd, 2009 at 5:00 pm →
No I would not. Firstly in this country where companies can penalize one for pre-existing conditions – this would open pandora’s box. Secondly assuming the information or markers (as they are called in Robin Cook’s book, “Marker,” were correct – would it truly help you? Maybe but it might cause more issues than it was worth.
This type of testing is being marked for family tree research too with less science backing it up as the world’s genetic databases are not complete: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3340379n&tag=related;photovideo
Put me in the Heck No catagory.
J.D. Meier responds:
Posted: November 23rd, 2009 at 1:19 am →
Even if nature was actually predictable, people are so full of twists and turns, I don’t think mapping talents really helps.
I’ve seen people unleash their best through experiences, skills, following their heart, experimenting, and having role models and mentors lift them up in various ways.
Johanne responds:
Posted: November 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 am →
Shocking. It’s “Gattaca” becoming a real quick reality.
John Hoff - WP Blog Host responds:
Posted: November 24th, 2009 at 9:35 am →
I too thought about the movie, Gattaca.
Am I the only one who wonders what parents would do if the results came back as “Would be a good trash truck driver” or something? hehe
Aside from all the ethical and overall performance hindering this might impose on children, what about the implications of the kind of world we would live in if everyone did this?
I bet there’d be special schools made and even perhaps some segregation. And where does it all stop?
On the flip side, I do find the topic interesting and “ok” to at least talk about. In some ways I think it would be neat to be able to walk into a doctor’s office and discover that I’d be a great martial artist (if in fact it was all true).
Jenny responds:
Posted: November 25th, 2009 at 12:25 pm →
Thanks for posting this. I got an email from them, too–and two follow-up emails to see if I’d gotten the first one. I was curious to see what others thought so I searched and found your post. Honestly, it creeped me out a little and I wondered if they were legit. But even if it is a legitimate company (no offense to them; it’s just so hard to tell with all the crap emails I get), I don’t think it’s for me. I am into natural parenting. I plan to homeschool my kids and spend large quantities of time letting them lead the way in their education, because that’s how they’ll find what interests them. When you sit kids in a classroom and drill them all day, stubbornly telling them “yes you WILL need this when you grow up” then of course they don’t have time to discover their talents. I guess that’s why we need a genetic profile to tell us what our kids are capable of. It’s much easier than taking the time to get to know them! Totally agree with Dr. J.
Rita responds:
Posted: November 25th, 2009 at 12:48 pm →
Vered,
This takes us back to the old “nature v. nurture” debate. Will it ever be solved? I think not. The two are not mutually exclusive nor collectively exhaustive, the prime issue in the “labeling” debacle.
The question is: do you take the affiliate position?
Starrlife responds:
Posted: November 29th, 2009 at 3:51 pm →
Ditto to everyone…. plus I have concerns about what the health insurance companies etc. would do with it. Would they refuse to insure someone if they have a gene for certain illnesses? I’m sticking with Astrology!
uma shanker responds:
Posted: December 17th, 2009 at 12:29 am →
Hi, myself Uma Shanker, a Clinical psychologist. I am Really being neutral in this discussion. Though a teacher wont accept this, but they do divide their students into following categories… ( Subcounsciously) :-
1) High expectation group
2) low expectation group and
3) NO expectation group
Same goes with the parents too but in a different way. We make opinion about our children by observing their behaviour, emotional stability, academics, social interaction and so on. This is a type of labeling too which is done by us. Now its up to you how you interpret these genetic test. Either you look at it as labeling or a guide to your childs personality and then make an opinion about your childs potential rather then going for a hit and trial method. Now there is one more thing that i would like to draw your attention to. These genetic reports needs to be analyzed closely by a proffessional. For example:- your child shows high creative talent but he not able to grasp it even after a year of going to creative classes. Then what?!!!
If a child is not high on sociable gene then it is difficult for him/her to learn in a group classes. you need to give him/her individual classes or one to one instruction or in a small group. Hope that I have given you some insight into these tests. you can get in touch with me on my mail. usp1977 AT gmail DOT com