As if parents don't have enough to worry about
On the one hand, I think the results of this study are funny and contain a seed of truth:
And I certainly agree with egalia's take on the personal issues behind conservative politics, as my personal observations line up with hers:
On the other hand, I've also seen firsthand how strongly temperament manifests itself from birth, at least with my kids. Rocketboy came out ready to take on the world, howling and flailing and ripping the nurse's stethoscope from her neck with his tiny foot within minutes of his emergence. When they put him on my chest, he held his head up for several seconds and locked eyes with me intensely, as if to let me know he had a lot of questions for me. And he does. Hundreds. He is still intense, feisty, and inquisitive.
So I could not have been more surprised when Hurricanehead emerged, apparently in the middle of a nap. I was terrified -- he just lay there curled up in a ball, quiet and resting. When the nurse roused him a little, he latched on and promptly went back to sleep. At age two, the most common word out of his mouth is "okay," and despite some impressive displays of two-ness, he is a laid-back little dude. (In fact,"dude" and "guy" are two other favorite words.)
I know that nature/nurture is both/and, not either/or. And I'd also figured the odds were good that my kids might go conservative just to be rebellious. But it had never occurred to me that how they relate to the world, their confidence and their views on scarcity versus abundance might influence their politics. Resilience, confidence and independence are valuable skills anyway, but the idea that they may have political significance lends an extra sense of importance to my parenting work.
Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative. At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.
h/t: binky
And I certainly agree with egalia's take on the personal issues behind conservative politics, as my personal observations line up with hers:
A new study finds that whiny disagreeable kids grow up to be Republicans. That doesn't surprise me. Republicanism is basically the unhappy politics of selfishness.
On the other hand, I've also seen firsthand how strongly temperament manifests itself from birth, at least with my kids. Rocketboy came out ready to take on the world, howling and flailing and ripping the nurse's stethoscope from her neck with his tiny foot within minutes of his emergence. When they put him on my chest, he held his head up for several seconds and locked eyes with me intensely, as if to let me know he had a lot of questions for me. And he does. Hundreds. He is still intense, feisty, and inquisitive.
So I could not have been more surprised when Hurricanehead emerged, apparently in the middle of a nap. I was terrified -- he just lay there curled up in a ball, quiet and resting. When the nurse roused him a little, he latched on and promptly went back to sleep. At age two, the most common word out of his mouth is "okay," and despite some impressive displays of two-ness, he is a laid-back little dude. (In fact,"dude" and "guy" are two other favorite words.)
I know that nature/nurture is both/and, not either/or. And I'd also figured the odds were good that my kids might go conservative just to be rebellious. But it had never occurred to me that how they relate to the world, their confidence and their views on scarcity versus abundance might influence their politics. Resilience, confidence and independence are valuable skills anyway, but the idea that they may have political significance lends an extra sense of importance to my parenting work.
Labels: children
KCB. permalink
Get Home to Mother