Anything that is consistent the research suggests doesn't have a long-term influence on the personality of the kids when they grow up. So then it's not my fault. I want to be responsible for the kid who's graduating MIT, though. Well, I think this parent has really answered it for herself. I'm saying, well, you can't take the credit, but on the other hand, you don't have to take the blame.
Parents can create the right environment for their children. .
Harris says parents can do things to affect how their children turn out - help them choose the right friends, for example. All parents know this, and they've been doing this for a very log time, and they've always tried to do this, to move to the right neighborhood, to put their children in the right school. She even suggests that parents make sure some children get plastic surgery, so they will fit in. Only if the child has some facial anomaly that will evoke teasing from peers. A child can be made very miserable by being teased over something that he or she can't help.