Modeling children's behavior through parental actions is complex and can lead to unintended consequences. Children may not emulate parents' behaviors as expected; instead, they may choose to reject or oppose them. For instance, a parent's negative habit, such as smoking, may repulse their children rather than attract them to it. The effect of upbringing on children's outcomes is often minimal, with research indicating a negligible impact. Parental influence can vary widely, with a 50/50 likelihood of achieving the desired behavior or seeing it backfire entirely. This unpredictability highlights that attempts to mold children's values or habits can sometimes lead to the opposite outcome, resulting in significant variability in the success of parental efforts.
Bryan Caplan of George Mason University and EconLog talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in Caplan's new book, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids. Caplan argues that parents spend too much time trying to influence how their kids will turn out as adults. Using research on twins and adopted children, Caplan argues that nature dominates nurture and that parents have little lasting influence on many aspects of their children's lives. He concludes that parents should spend less time and energy trying to influence their children. If parenting takes less time, then have more kids, says Caplan. The conversation concludes with a discussion of whether a larger population is bad for the planet.