Is Ticklishness Genetic?

[daddy]

Let's take a walk down the family tree lane and who in your family is ticklish or as ticklish as you are...or maybe not ticklish at all?

The reason I wonder this is that my g/f is extremley ticklish and her kids are just as much ticklish. I have noticed that with alot of women I have dated in the past, that it kinda runs in the family. What do you think...could it be a genetic thing or just random?

peace out,
daddy

 

[Mimi]

I think it can definitely be genetic in the sense you inherit all of your physical characteristics from your family, and ticklishness is often linked to the sensitivity of the skin. If one or both of your parents had soft, touch sensitive, ticklish skin, chances are you are going to inherit that trait from them, and have the same ticklish skin yourself.

Mimi

 

[ticklish Brad]

Yeah youre right and i also think that people are all ticklish when we were kids. But, growing up, a thin part of us who dislike it so much lose their tisklihness. And i think this fact are gentic so because, the few persons not ticklish at all that i know have a parent no ticklish too. "My mom are not ticklish and exerce me to be concentrate and now, i am not ticklish too!", said a friend of mine! And i think that most non ticklish persons are like this: used to be like a parent who control it's ticklishness...

And in fact, im pretty sure that ladies can control it a little bit more than males... (maybe i start a discussion here loll)

Brad

 

[Limeoutsider]

I know my dad has ticklish feet, and Ive heard my mom say dont you dare tickle me, so I assume she is too

 

[Stitch62679]

I still think certain skin types are more ticklish, and the amount of nerves you have are, so sure! 🙂

 

[ericr]

I agree that a big part of being ticklish is genetic. Both of my parents are extremely ticklish and I am the same way.

 

[Knox The Hatter]

I have always felt this way...even though the rule was never absolute (e.g. some nieces and nephews from same family are, others aren't). I feel that it more or less holds water...

 

[Iggy pop]

Genetics are tricky thing. I know two sisters where one is only slightly ticklish and the other is extremly ticklish.

 

[ericr]

Iggy pop has a good point that genetics is tricky. There are recessive genes and things like that where a generation may be skipped and a trait may show up in the generation after next, etc. Also, we get some genes from each parent so we will not have all the traits of each of them. On the other hand, it seems to me, the more of your forebearers who are ticklish (parents, grandparents, greatgrandpsrents, etc) the more likely you are to be ticklish.

 

[Ticklemmmeeeeeee]

daddy.....

(first off, I love ur screen name...lol)....I love ur question of whether or not ticklishness is genetic....I have a few points to make about this...First, I am going to make the distinction between "being ticklish" and "wanting to be tickled"....primarily because some of u have included references in ur posts pertaining to both...and I would like to address them both because I feel they are derivative of differing origins....(I also have a personal interest in both...real personal..lol)

First, I will say it is my understanding that levels of "ticklishness" are indeed genetic in that the tactile function (or dysfunction) of children has been scientifically linked to one or both parents that have a similar dysfunction....if memory serves , I believe there have been many studies done and that scientific data exists to support humans being genetically predisposed to levels of tactile sensitivity.....
..thereby typically placing everyone on a spectrum of tactile function (or dysfunction) ...the extremes being hypo-sensitive and the hyper-sensitive....to the point of being repulsed by touch to craving deep and frequent touch....

I feel that "wanting to / liking to" be tickled is not genetic, it is environmental in that....regardless of whether u are born with a genetic predisposition to be ticklish or not...I feel it is your personal experiences with and exposure to being tickled that determines whether or not you "like it, dislike it, tolerate it, hate it )
the way u perceive being tickled...the comfort level with which u respond to it...has more to do with the way it has been introduced to u than whether or not ur parent is ticklish . That said, the level of trust u have with the person who tickled/tickles u....would be strongly influential in your emotional responsiveness to being tickled as well.....I could go on about this subject forever...I am fascinated by it... my daughter and I are cases in point of the above mentioned....cliffnote version...my father has a strong tickling fetish...he has tickled me like mad (very severely, albeit with much love and affection and playfulness) since birth.,..(I am not unconvinced that this is an illogical conclusion for me to make...lol)....I also have always had abnormal sensory reactions to things in my environment...I have always craved touch...tickling being a major form of it....and I was very lucky, my dad obliged...so he and I had a good thing going (no there was no incest)...he loved and loves to tickle...I crave/craved being tickled....having a close loving relationship with him I always associated being tickled by men as a sign of affection.....needless to say , on that same note...when tickling is void in a relationship , I feel extremely unfulfilled....emotionally and physically...on a different note...my 10 year old daughter has many sensory issues as well....she is also extremely ticklish and craves deep touch...I, being tickle deprived after leaving my dads home...*sniffle*...tickled my daughter from the time she was an infant and she loves and craves being tickled today as much as I do.....(funny how ticklees naturally tickle to "get" tickled back...rarrr...lol)...because of my daughters sensory needs, and her experience with being tickled with love and trust...she has a positive response to tickling and being tickled...if ur wondering...yes, I am in the midst of an informal study....soon to be formalized, I hope...lol...(sorry this was so long but I am fascinated by the origins of tickling as I guess at least some of u are or u wouldn't have created this thread and responded to it🙂 ***btw, daddy, are u by chance the "daddy" of "diva and daddy???*** if u are, it's a good thing, if ur not, well, that's a good thing too I suppose...lol...anyway....just curious🙂
byeeeee...
~ticklemmmeeeeeee🙂🙂


🙂

 

[Grolsch]

My wife is extremely ticklish, especially on her feet. She says her dad isn't really ticklish (don't know how she knows), so she blames being so sensitive on her mother. Now, it turns out that her mother is drop-dead gorgeous, so I've always hoped the chance would come up to give her mother's sides a little tickle and find out!

 

[Mitchell]

Ticklishness can be genetic, but not always. I have a friend whose mother has extremely ticklish feet, and is very ticklish all over, and this woman is about 60. His sister, on the other hand, is 37, and hardly ticklish at all. I've known his family a long time, his sister was about 16 when I met them, and I always remember him telling me how his mom was this incredibly ticklish person, and his sister is hardly ticklish at all. Ticklishness can be genetic, but I dont think it always is, it depends on the circumstance.

Mitch

 

[toyou444]

My mother and her father were very ticklish. Her mother was when she was younger but not when she was older. My father has ticklish feet and his mother is still ticklish! I have a sister is is very ticklish also.

My ticklishness has varied from time to time (right now at an all time high! LOL!) While my wife's depends on her mood and the situation. Our kids are extremely ticklish.

No one, to my knowledge, in my family is completely not ticklish. So this family tree is pretty consistent. However, I have a friend who likes to say "There are no absolutes." Probably, like most things about us as a species, there are innumerable differences between people.

~ toyou