RE: @RandR10 Introduction on Steemit
I don't have kid and don't want kids (I'm 31), but I live at an ecovillage where there are a bunch of homeschooled kids running around. Most of the kids are great, definitely highly intelligent, highly articulate. Almost all are respectful. But there's one kid I have in mind particularly who is what I would call the epitome of a brat, and a bully as well. I know their parenting style-- extremely patient, extremely nonviolent (this means no yelling, no raising of the voice, etc). He's intelligent (I don't know how much so). But he's just not pleasant to be around-- for me, for other adults, for other kids. Another kid I know very well (both these kids are roughly the same age 5-8 yrs), is disciplined with raised voices etc, but she's as charming and intelligent as any. it just makes me wonder what all is going on between the various kids and character manifestations. (A 3rd specimen, one of my best friends in high school, was unschooled, one of the most ingenious people I know, not to mention creative, but has had major problems with drug abuse, socialization, and schizophrenia.) Just interesting to think about how this all plays out...
Very interesting. Without the benefit of controlled studies, it's difficult to know exactly what's going on with those individuals you mentioned, but I have some theories (put forth by others of course) on this type of stuff though. Bear in mind that the following is my layperson's opinion (I am not formally trained in psychology or neuroscience). For example, it's possible that the "bully" you mentioned is the child of parents who were severely traumatized themselves as children. This kind of trauma can have what are called epigenetic effects, in which certain genes are turned on or off based on environment. In the case of trauma, as I mentioned in passing in the introduction above, this correlates with antisocial and reactionary behavior favored over higher cognitive functioning. The theory behind this is that the genes for stressful environments got switched on and increased the chances of survival in pre-civilization humans. Quicker reactions, more violent temperament and antisocial behavior would all be beneficial in an environment of violence and scarcity, especially before modern times. Studies have shown that these epigenetic effects can last for several generations, meaning that the children and grandchildren of people who were abused and otherwise traumatized will have lingering effects from this.
It's also possible that these kids have some sort of trauma that everyone else is unaware of. Children high on the autism disorder spectrum have extreme sensitivities to certain stimuli, and it may be impossible to isolate them from things that traumatize them. This doesn't rule out some other type of genetic disorder, brain damage, acute trauma from injury or something the kid witnessed at a young age, the parenting styles of his parents may not have always been what they are now, etc. I could go on and on about this, but those are my first amateur thoughts without knowing the detailed histories of these people myself. Thanks for the comment.