There's no doubt it's very hard to answer. If it were easy, would it be such a contentious issue and worthy of debate here? I am a parent of 3 (ages 5-12) and

There's no doubt it's very hard to answer. If it were easy, would it be such a contentious issue and worthy of debate here? I am a parent of 3 (ages 5-12) and anecdotally I can say that I am occasionally surprised to notice some behavior that my children have picked up, and it's difficult to know whether it's genetic, because they are biologically mine and I am also one their primary environmental influences. It seems that studies of adoptees and other circumstances that involve non-biological parents as mentioned in the article can provide better answers in this regard. Also the notion of "spoiling" a child through lack of discipline doesn't look like an old wives' tale to me. There are some wisdoms that have come up through the ages that are correct. Just look around - I try not to criticize parenting styles that are different from mine, but letting your phone babysit your kid is lazy, and you're going to reap the behavioral consequences for that, if you make that decision. It does matter the decisions that you make as a parent, and it does affect who or what your child becomes. Some interactions are probably subtle, but some are also obvious.