Can children be born bad?

Question

with the obvious exception of Damian!

Answer 1

No - they are moulded by the environment they grow in

Answer 2

Ah, the old nature v nurture debate. Some think that children are born as a blank canvas and whatever they learn, it is as a product of their environment, their parents' input and what they eat. Some think that you are born with an evil gene.

It's probably a bit of both otherwise how come some kids brought up in a bad environment turn out very well behaved and responsible et cetera and others born with every advantage turn bad? These people must have something genetic inside them which makes them bad because they act the complete opposite to the way you would expect if it was purely down to the society in which you were raised.

Answer 3

Wow! Great question, not an easy one but good all the same...

Ok, short en sweet approach is out im afraid as a yes/no will not suffice... but a conditional "yes" i will try to support...
The condition being that Rather then "bad" we think anti social/culturaly not acceptable behavior.

Its Possible to be born with a pre-dispossistion towards selfishness/self preservation, as well as pychopathic/ schitzophrenic mental conditions....these are either genetic or chemical abnormalities and thankfully rare and not conditioned responce... these factors do not Garenty a "bad Child" but will lead to behaviour that is seen as "bad".

some of us are born with a naturaly higher level of Testosterone or a adreniline imbalence... this leads to a "Fight first, reason later" in the former or a "be ready to hit all the time" in the later. Again these are not conditioned responces but can be either treated or inhanced by conditioning (anger management/ martial training/Poor upbringing).

To conclude then lets say that "good "or" bad" are the very worst/ most limited terms to use. We must think of the wider picture and look at genetic/chemical as well as socio- conditioning factors.

Personaly, i was angelic as a child, a monster as a teenager and a big softy as an adult.... so be comforted, even the worst child/Teen may well grow into a "good" man or woman...if you must use black en white definitions!!!!

Answer 4

I would hate to say yes, as we all have free will and choices to make but it is a fact that a family can have 8 kids and treat them all the same and yet one can turn out bad and the others lead full productive lives. Many are blaiming the parents if the child turns out bad, so whatever were Hitlers parents like?
It's the old argument of nature versus nurture.
I think think the only person who I would classify as born bad is one that is born with no conscience at all, such as sociopaths and psychopaths. These people are extremely rare but it is a medical fact that there are some born this way.

Answer 5

It depends on what you mean by bad. This goes back to the old nature v. nurture. There is the belief that a child can be born without a conciounce. And no matter how much training they will remain evil. It has been a classified psycological dissorder but these sociopaths can not be diagnosed until they are 18. It is a rarety.

Answer 6

a child can be born without a conscience, with no sense of right and wrong these children are "born bad" and grow up to be sociopaths and psychopaths no matter how well raised they are and regardless of the parents they have.
ever wonder how some serial killers come to be, sometimes it's what happen to them and sometimes no explanation can be found. the same experiences can happen to two different children and one will become a serial killer and the other will go on to be "normal". no one knows for sure what happens to some children to be born without a conscience and nothing can be done to help them.

Answer 7

Yes I think children can be born bad. That's the premise of "original sin", isn't it? We are all born with the capacity for sin, some choose it and some don't. Think about it, do children have to be taught to lie? No...any two year old will tell you he "didn't do it" when there's a possibility of getting in trouble. No one had to teach him to do that. Isn't it our job as parents to help the children choose to do what's right instead of what the instinct may be (if it's an instinct to sin).

Answer 8

I think so, based on my family. My niece has four kids. The first (13) is president of the honors society, into all kinds of sports, wants to be a robotics engineer for NASA (he recently tutored his mother on trigonometry), and is a sweet, frindly kid. The second is just as sweet, looks like a china doll, and is a brain, too. The youngest is not quite 2, but looks like she'll turn out like them. But the third one, not quite 3, is a terror. He got kicked out of nursery school for hitting other kids, and is doing the same thing at the "reform" preschool. He even likes time-outs. If Dalton ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy.

Answer 9

I believe that the unborn child can pick up vibes from their mother whilst they're growing. I've known a couple of friends who have had stressful, miserable pregnancies and they've had very grumbly babies. In contrast, my neighbour has a great relationship and is always happy, her children were happy little babies and have grown to be the same.

Yes, outside infulence is big, but so is the state of mind of the mum whilst carrying.

Answer 10

I dont think so...I think kids of products of the world around them-their homelife, where they live, early years experiences such as pre-school and the media.

If they see parents shouting, punch ups, taking drugs etc thats what the child thinks the world should be like and so may become a copy of the parents. (FOR EXAMPLE)

Thats y I think the Early Years in a childs life is so important!

Answer 11

Nature VS. Nurture...

I believe children are all born genetically different which means they will act completely different (Some mild tempered well behaving and others completely strong willed disobedient) and then their environment just adds to that buidling block which will eventually shape them into who they are are an adult. So Yes...