GENETICS AND UP-BRINGING

(Syed Musarrat Ali, Karachi)

With due apology, the most disturbing question for me asked by doctors during check-up is “Did your ancestors ever suffer from any disease?” and I am always unable to control the cross-question or a stupid reply, I have to, since the next few minutes would be crucial for me being in the hands of doctor. No one has ever answered my question “Which disease was transferred from Adam and Eve to their generation who suffered millions of diseases till today and impossible to speculate how many are in line?”

I am a true believer of Scientific and Technological Research & Development to the extent of my verdict “Scientists are Messengers of God” because the whole Universal System is based on Science. Medicine or Genetics Engineering are branches of Science as I consider that Science is the mother of all subjects and The Creator is a teacher who himself strictly follow the basic principles of Science. For example; if I burry a seed of apple in the soil, I will never get an orange from the grown up plant out of that seed. This is a universally established fact but the statement “Children usually look like their parents because they have inherited their parents' genes, Genetics tries to identify which features are inherited, and explain how these features pass from generation to generation” is not yet an established fact as it is still under process of Research & Development, hence both Medicine and Genetics Engineering are in evolutionary stage.

Both the above two paragraphs are the basis of my argument that the personality of a child is neither totally dependent on genes nor on the institution he studied, rather the impact of these two factors is mostly diluted by the amalgamation of following factors:
a) Existence / non-existence of parents in childhood.
b) Financial status of parents / guardians.
c) Environments.
d) Child’s personal society.
e) Social and extracurricular activities.

Above stated factors are listed according to Meritocracy of impact on the Upbringing of a child, which finally results in his / her personality. Following is the scientific explanation of each factor:
a) Existence / non-existence of parents in childhood: Existence of both, father and mother is a feeling of any child like an Identity card to live in this world under an umbrella of a Comprehensive Third Party Insurance Policy. Missing of any one reduces the risk coverage of policy to 50% for that very child, which is reflected in his / her performance throughout whole life span. Exceptions are always there.
b) Financial status of parents / guardians: Since pre-historic era of human till this moment, the strength of an individual is displayed by:
i. Physical strength i.e. overall health,
ii. Mental strength i.e. IQ,
iii. Financial strength i.e. tool to fulfill wishes.
A child knows how to get fulfilled all his wishes but parents / guardian must possess a very strong tool i.e. Financial Strength to comply with during nurture period, otherwise a sense of inferiority prevails throughout life span of any child.
c) Environments: This factor starts its impact right from his / her parents’ / guardians’ way of life and expands to the limits of last circle of society being interacted. The impact of environments is too effective in childhood due to intensive receptive mind which is just like a fertile soil for a plant.
d) Child’s personal society: Environment is very vast field for a grown up person and can be defined by his interactive experience whereas a child’s interactive area is too limited but has more severe impact comparatively due to in-experience personality in transition.
e) Social and extracurricular activities: Individual child's activity is preferably dependent on his / her own choice mostly cannot be inculcated by parents / guardian or any teacher and normally he / she follows self made ideals.

Genetics is the study of genes — what they are and how they work. Genes are units inside a cell that control how living organisms inherit features from their ancestors; for example, children usually look like their parents because they have inherited their parents' genes. Genetics tries to identify which features are inherited, and explain how these features pass from generation to generation. But as I stated earlier, this whole phenomenon is under study and will conclude some good results in future definitely, while Upbringing - properties acquired during a person's formative years plays a vital role in personality building of a child. The rearing and training received during childhood is an effort to fulfill the parents’ wishes but the results are not hundred percent according to expectations due to the fact that above stated factors are much more influential during a person’s formative years, the education of a person during his formative years is also meant for bringing-up of that person or helping someone grow up to be an accepted member of the community actually means “Upbringing”.

Genetics is nature and Upbringing is nurture, hence there is always a debate going on “whether nature or nurture was more important". My viewpoint is that the deciding factor is:
“Children’s personal choice and Individual’s will Power utilization”

All the above stated five factors (a - e) can be materialized only in case of utilization of will power to act in a manner as to achieve something positive or negative out of it, otherwise every factor results in a dream and consequently a distorted incomplete personality. It doesn’t mean that parents are free to let the children float at their own, rather they must feel more responsibility at their shoulders to nurture their kids and be less dependent on nature or genes and should make all the investments in cultivation of every child like a plant i.e. the preparation of ground to promote their growth, tending, improving, or harvesting, development especially through education, training, etc. and culture or sophistication, especially social refinement due to the reality that they cannot refine a child through genetic engineering.

Syed Musarrat Ali
About the Author: Syed Musarrat Ali Read More Articles by Syed Musarrat Ali: 182 Articles with 150095 views Basically Aeronautical Engineer and retired after 41 years as Senior Instructor Management Training PIA. Presently Consulting Editor Pakistan Times Ma.. View More