Heirs to the throne?

Congradulations to Roger and Mirka Federer on the birth of their twin girls. Due to their father's lofty achievements, the girls already have expectations of becoming great tennis players. Most of these expectations are expressed in a joking tone like Andy Roddick's twitter comment: "Introducing the 2029-2040 Wimbledon women's champions, the Federer girls..". Afterall, they are just a day old (or young might be more appropriate). On the other hand, there are already some gambling sites (mostly in the UK) who have already put wagers and odds on the girls winning Wimbledon before their 25th birthdays (1-100 if you wanted to know).

This gets me to the much broader topic of children following in their parent's footsteps. Among athletes and celebrities, this trend seems quite common (although it's human nature to notice trends, even amongst an ocean of counterexamples). For example: Kirk and Michael Douglas (actors), Martin and Charlie Sheen (actors), Bobby and Brett Hull (hockey), Archie and Peyton Manning (football),Ken Griffy Sr and Jr (baseball), Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson (actresses), and finally it pains me to say this but Billy Rae and Miley Cyrus (singers/actors, sort of).

Maybe the reason this trend doesn't extend so much to real life is the fact that athletes and celebrities are famous for physical attributes. Athletes needing to have athletic physiques while celebrities need to have good looks. These qualities are a lot easier to transfer (well, not as easy as money) than say intrapersonal skills or knowledge. So while most of us are born with a blank slate, some of these famous children have genes that are important in their parent's careers. Although, there are still some family businesses going on in the world. Also, culture has a lot to do with this. In an individualistic society, children are supposed to create their own path but in collectivist society, children are probably more inclined to follow their parent's line of work.

In my case, does my wanting to become a pharamicist have anything to do with my mom being a nurse? Probably. I also know of people who study science and who have parents who also study science. Coincidence? Maybe, but not likely. We are all shaped in some form by our parents. In some cases, familiarity breeds a form of contempt. But in other cases, we admire the work and achievements of our parents and aspire to be like them.