Parents now want to be able to predict what their child is best suited for when he or she grows up and DNA tests are used to determine this: the child’s memory power, potential IQ, temperament and even what sort of sport the child will excel in as an adult.
The ACTN3 gene, also called the sports gene can apparently help to predict what sort of sport a child may be able to excel in, later in life. Using this, it is possible to predict what sort of muscle fiber a child may develop and how well he or she may be able to adapt to a given sport.
While this sort of testing could be of some use, particularly for children who appear to be more athletically inclined than academically brilliant, it is likely to have more negative repercussions. Isn’t there already too much performance pressure on our kids? Will this not increase that pressure?
And with the sort of athletic and academic competition that kids routinely face today, surely this sort of testing will only create a further burden of expectation on the child.
Shouldn’t the child be allowed to just be a child, rather than decide now what he or she will do as an adult?
