Every parent has worries about how their actions will impact their child when the grow up. It's part of the deal of being a parent. I know for me I had fears that something I had watched on TV would give her nightmares. When she was a month or two old my daughter was sleeping on my chest so I started watching Nightmare On Elm Street. At some point during the movie she woke up and I had this terrible feeling that she saw just enough to terrify her little brain.
In all honesty she was so young she probably had no idea what was going on in the first place. But these are the things you worry about as a parent. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be the perfect parents and perfect people for our kids.
What if I told you that most of what we do will have no impact on their behavior as an adult? That's what Dr. Danielle Dick's research has found. Genetics play a bigger part in determining what our kid is going to be like. Knowing that does take some of the pressure off us, but it also allows us to find different ways to work with them.
Understanding that our kids may be genetically predisposed to a certain type of behavior gives us the opportunity to meet them where they're at.
Dr. Dick has laid out her research in a new book called 'The Child Code: Understanding Your Child's Unique Nature For Happier, More Effective Parenting.' We'll be talking about this research in this week's conversation.
