6 Health Conditions Your Child May Inherit

1. Vision Problems
If both parents are nearsighted, a child has a 25 to 50 percent chance.

If your child complains of headaches, or often squints or tears up, especially with reading, watching TV, or at the end of the school day, it's worth having her vision checked. Children may not complain about nearsightedness until they're school-age, but it can be detected as early as age 3.

2. Eczema
The odds are about 50-50, the same as for allergies. That makes sense given that eczema is actually a type of allergic reaction. The condition can take parents by surprise, though, especially when neither parent actually has it.

The dry, itchy skin or red, rough patches usually form on the cheeks, insides of the elbows, and backs of the knees. And when it's severe (or when the child scratches and scratches), little pus-filled sacs can develop. Of the allergic conditions, this one is most likely to debut first, even during infancy.

3. Migraines
Your child has as much as a 50 percent chance of developing them if one parent gets them, and an even higher chance if both do.

Symptoms often include some combination of throbbing pain (usually in the front or sides of the head), nausea or vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound. Migraines typically show up around age 8, but some kids get them much sooner; in young children especially, the head pain is often associated with motion sickness.

4. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
People who suffer from IBS are more than twice as likely to have a first-degree relative with the same symptoms, according to research from the University of Sydney in Australia.

The classic symptoms are frequent crampy abdominal pain or alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea. IBS usually appears during the school years, but precursors, like colic, may be apparent earlier in a child's life.

5. Allergies
There's about a 50-50 chance they will if you or your spouse suffers; if you both have allergies, there's an even greater chance the kids will, too. But don't expect them to be sensitive to the same things you are. Remember, we pass on only the susceptibility to allergies, which can manifest in myriad ways.

Frequent colds, sinus or ear infections, or a constantly runny, stuffy, or itchy nose can point to allergies. Same goes for itchy eyes, rashes, or hives. And wheezing or a chronic cough — telltale signs of asthma — may be the biggest tip-off that your child is destined to develop allergies because the two conditions so often go hand in hand.

6. Emotions Run Deep
Certain psychological and emotional issues can also be a family affair. In particular, there's a strong genetic component to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as to several mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

While it may feel harder to reveal a history of mental health problems to your pediatrician, it's important that you do. That way, if your child develops certain warning signs, such as unusual sadness, irritability, anxiety, inattention, or a change in appetite, sleep, or ability to enjoy things, the doctor may be able to zero in on the cause — and get your child help — a lot sooner.