https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 13 May 2026 00:01:58 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74849 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:37:59 +0000 tequiero21 74849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i'm with @artbee - probably 50/50. i think both can equally affect a person. one more than the other, depending on who the person is and what their circumstances were. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74841 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:20:50 +0000 Grace 74841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaMoose: OR, are they both arguments for nurture because no matter how hard you try, you don't treat all your kids exactly the same and therefore you can have very different siblings grow up in the same house? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74799 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:37:19 +0000 MamaMoose 74799@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Grace: I would say this is still supportive of nature over nurture. If nurture was the deciding factor then children raised in the same household should have similar outcomes (unless for some reason the parents treated them very differently). Biological siblings certainly have MORE of a natural connection than adopted siblings but they still don't have the same exact genetic make up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74791 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:12:53 +0000 Grace 74791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaMoose: But the same thing can happen with biological siblings. I know of one brother who is a sucessful family oriented electrician and his brother is dying of AIDS contracted from intravenous drug use.</p> <p>I still think nurture is more powerful, but I fully acknoledge that nature does play a role. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the "powerfulness" of one over the other differs with the individual as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74786 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:00:30 +0000 chopsuey 74786@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Both are powerful, but I lean more towards nurture. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74658 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:13:41 +0000 chicagowife 74658@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think the scientific studies -- which study adopted children, and identical twins -- show that, as long as you provide a stable and loving home, a child's future success and happiness is 90% nurture. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74384 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:56:51 +0000 ALittleP 74384@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think that nurture is very powerful. I'm adopted and so didn't grown up in my "natural" environment! If I had grown up where I was born, not only would my life be different but I too would be a VERY different woman. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74358 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:45:50 +0000 heffalump 74358@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like it's 50/50. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74339 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:30:38 +0000 MamaMoose 74339@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used to always think nurture was more powerful. And I still think that it CAN be very powerful, but I agree with Bee that sometimes nature is too hard to over come.</p> <p>We have a family that we are friends with that has two sons. Both were adopted at birth. They were raised in a loving home with the exact same parents who are smart, and caring, and supporting. They went to the same schools and had the same opportunities. One of the sons is now a successful lawyer. The other has been in and out of rehab, has stolen from the parents, lied to them constantly, and can never seem to get his life on a good track. So to me that shows that nurture can only do so much. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74332 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:22:29 +0000 lilteacherbee 74332@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When I was in college (for elementary ed) I took a lot of classes that dealt with nature vs nurture. It was really interesting! From my experience, nurture is extremely powerful. The way kids are raised has an enormous effect on how they act in school and eventually, what they grow up to be like. Yes, both nature and nurture can be overcome, but I personally think nurture is more powerful. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/which-is-more-powerful-nature-or-nurture#post-74290 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:47:31 +0000 Mrs. Bee 74290@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was chatting about this with Mr. Bee, and we both think that nature is very difficult to overcome, but it can be done with an exceeding amount of nurture. For instance tons of studies have been done on twins separated at birth, and they're often found to be leading virtually identical lives, having never even known about each other. That's a testament to the power of nature.</p> <p>Which force do you think is more powerful in shaping who we are -- nature or nurture? </p>