Is Your Child Wired For Anxiety, Inattention, & Irritability? The Role Of Genetic Testing
Is My Child Just Wired This Way?
A lot of parents wonder: Is this just how my child is wired? Is there anything I can do to help them manage stress better?
The answer is one of those "yes, and...." answers. Let me explain...
On the one hand, your child's genetics, or “wiring,” might make them more sensitive to stress or cause their brain to function a little differently from others.
But here's the good news: the brain can be flexible. The science of how genes express themselves—called epigenetics—tells us that genetic expression is heavily influenced by environment and lifestyle.
So even if your child is “wired” a certain way, we can help them adapt and feel better by adjusting their surroundings.
This doesn’t mean changing them or ignoring any diagnoses they may have. It means that by changing the world around them, we can ease their stress and improve how they feel.
What Causes My Child's Stress?
If your child struggles with things like anxiety, mood swings, tummy issues, sleep problems, or irritability when they're stressed (like when faced with something scary or something they don’t want to do), understanding their genetic makeup can help you fine-tune their environment to better support them.
When we understand our kids, we can help them.
I’ve been fascinated by how learning about genetics, epigenetics, and nutrition impacts our emotions, learning, and behavior. It’s helped me realize that we can shape our parenting to our child’s genetics, making us more strategic and better meeting their needs.
Key Areas to Focus On
We talk a lot about "parenting from the inside out and the outside in" here. This means understanding what’s going on inside your child and tweaking their outside environment to create a space where they thrive while also building a robust, healthy internal environment in their bodies.
Here are five key stress factors that we’ve found consistently impact kids:
- Nutrient Imbalances
- Food Reactions
- Toxins/Detox Capacity
- Gut Health Issues
- Infections
By identifying and reducing these stressors, kids often feel calmer, more flexible, and less overwhelmed. They’re more emotionally available and open to guidance from parents.
How Genes Play Into Stress
Our genes play a role in how we handle those stressors I listed, but they don’t determine everything.
Genetic testing can give insight into your child’s tendencies—how their brain chemistry works and what might make them more prone to certain behaviors when stressed.
However, knowing your child’s genetic tendencies is only part of the puzzle. How you use that information matters.
The genetic test we created is not designed to diagnose diseases or conditions. It helps you understand how well enzymes are likely to carry out critical functions in the body when the body is under stress. These enzymes impact everything from brain chemistry to digestion.
For example, if your child has variations in the COMT enzyme, which breaks down brain chemicals like dopamine and adrenaline, this could explain their mood swings, anxiety, or cravings for chaos. But with the right nutritional and parenting support you can help your child feel more even-tempered.
Another example is enzymes like SLC30A8 and SLC30A3, which manage how zinc is transported into cells. Zinc is crucial for mood, digestion, sleep, and more. Variations in these enzymes can lead to zinc deficiencies, potentially causing issues like low appetite or depression. Knowing this lets you tailor their diet and supplements to meet their needs better.
Genetic Testing Tailored for Parents
We’ve developed a genetic panel that focuses specifically on kids with mood regulation issues. It helps identify genetic variants that influence 7 key areas:
- The transport of key nutrients
- Methylation
- Mood and stress tolerance
- Gut function and food
- Detoxification, chemical sensitivity, and oxidative stress
- Inflammation control and brain resilience
- Histamine breakdown
By combining these genetic insights with lab work and your observations, you can create your parenting toolbox - your roadmap for how to support your child better, from what they eat to how they manage their emotions.
The Bottom Line
Knowing your child's genetics can give you a clear picture of your child’s strengths and vulnerabilities, helping you make smarter decisions about their environment, diet, and supplements.
Because, remember, genes aren’t destiny. How they express themselves is shaped by their surroundings, and we have the power to influence that.
Further Reading
https://www.jesssherman.com/blog/genetic-testing-parenting-kids-mental-health
https://www.jesssherman.com/blog/decoding-teen-mood-swings-the-role-of-the-comt-enzyme
https://www.jesssherman.com/blog/does-my-child-even-have-anxiety
