Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Will your child be good at sports?

There is a new saliva test to find out whether your child will be good at sports. You simply swab the inside of their mouth (ages 1-8) and send it off to a company to test the DNA. It costs $149 and is supposed to predict whether your child has the potential to be a star athlete.

Geneticists interviewed by CNN say there's no way to tell which genes would make kids good athletes because there are simply too many genes. Atlas Sports Genetics responded by saying, "People are misunderstanding what this tool is. We already know that it takes ten years at least to develop into an Olympian. Our testing can help start that process."

I have been thinking about this today and whether or not I would be willing to have this test performed on my kids. I am thinking not because family members already have expectations of the boys that may or may not come true. I wouldn't want to put pressure on them like that. That's just me.

Would you have this test performed on your kids?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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3 comments:

Maria said...

I wouldn't have it performed on my son, because there is already enough pressure on him to be an athlete. He wasn't even born yet, and fans from our University were already asking if he'd be a basketball player. We live in the same city where my husband played Division I ball. No need to add additional pressure. If he's interested and talented, it will become obvious at the right time. For now... we play and have fun. :)

Emily/Randomability said...

Oh my!! I wouldn't have my kids tested either.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't have my child tested for the sheer fact of "Who cares?"! I want my child to become involed in and sucessful at whatever she chooses. What if the test came back that they would be a world class athlete, yet she wanted to dedicate her life or the arts? What if it came back that she didn't have a lick of genetic sport sense and LOVED to play sports...not because she was good at it but becuase it's fun!

This isn't a test that would have any impact on the way I parent so I see it as a big waste of money.

 
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