Opinions appreciated on DNA testing as a gift...

[bagpuss1971]

Hello, any advice would be welcomed.
My Son turns 14 at the end of May, and has for a time expressed an interest in ancestral DNA testing. He enjoys watching and helping me with my research, so wants to find out more. I would like to get him a test as a gift, I understand that he may have to wait with the swabbing with covid19, but I would like the box for him to open, even though he has to wait. I have searched on here for information, and there are some very interesting posts, but have confused myself even more!
Which test might be the better one for me to get for him, he is very interested in if he has any overseas connections, although all I have found is English and Irish!
Thanks in advance

[TerriG]

Hi bagpus

It's great that your son is interested in family history - so I say go for it!  I would test with Ancestry if I were you, as you can then upload your results to other companies for free, whereas you cannot do it the other way around without incurring costs.  Ancestry is also the largest company doing this, so you will potentially have more results.

Terri

[bagpuss1971]

Hello Terri,

Thank you for you reply. I do have a sub with Ancestry, that was my first thought, but when Finn said he was interested in having testing done and I looked into it, there were so many out there to look at. I am new to this side of family history, so it was a bit overwhelming! I cant ask him his opinion either as I want it to be a surprise
Thank you Terri, I will have a good read up of that one now.

Bagpuss

[TerriG]

I would add, given that you have an Ancestry sub, that Ancestry is your best option, as you will then be able to contact the DNA matches.

[Liz_in_Sussex]

Hi,

It is great that your son shares your interest in family history 

If it is both sides of the family that he / you are interested in then I would also recommend Ancestry.

If it is his direct paternal line that is of most interest, then as a male he could take a Y-DNA test from Family Tree DNA.

I would not recommend him being tested at 23andme because of the health reports that are included - at 14 he cannot give HIS consent.

Having said all of that - if it were me - I would not want a child to be tested at all. DNA can be a real advantage to genealogy - it can clear up mysteries and confirm paper trails and all sorts of positive things BUT it can be a real can of worms which has the potential to cause untold distress and confusion. My feeling is that children's DNA should not be tested until they are old enough to legally give consent as well as understanding fully the potential fall out (I know that for some children this will be at a much younger age than for others).

I'm sorry.

Liz

PS I am not sure what the legal age to give consent is - Ancestry states it is 18 years in the UK.

[Ruskie]

If he is interested in matches living abroad, then he should take an autosomal test. Ancestry is the most popular test - he is almost guaranteed to get many matches.

I would not recommend a Y-DNA test because it is possible he may not get any useful or traceable matches which would be a bit disappointing.

I am not sure if there is a minimum age for a DNA test but this is something you should check before purchasing. Thinking about the age ranges with any of my matches I don't recall any under 18.

I disagree slightly with Liz, and don't believe that a 14 year old would suffer any more distress than anyone else if they received some "unexpected" results. I think kids are resilient. Nevertheless, it is something you might like to consider. If both you and your husband have taken tests with no surprises then you would have no worries in that department.

I think they are still undertaking DNA tests despite covid19, but once again, this is something you would have to check.

All of the companies have sales at various times through the year though if it is a birthday gift, you might not want to wait.

You could always buy him a Nintendo Switch if the DNA test is a no go. 

[Liz_in_Sussex]

I disagree slightly with Liz, and don't believe that a 14 year old would suffer any more distress than anyone else if they received some "unexpected" results. I think kids are resilient. Nevertheless, it is something you might like to consider. If both you and your husband have taken tests with no surprises then you would have no worries in that department.

I do completely agree with this - many 14 year olds are very resilient. I might have misunderstood (and if so I apologise), but I thought that bagpuss was new to DNA testing when I made my comments.

I also think that Y-DNA can be very boring (but useful in the long term and with a lot of patience)!

When my parents and I first tested we were not prepared for the "surprise" that would be revealed by our results - I am indisputably their daughter, no worries there - but let's just say Dad took the conclusions that his matches revealed very well!

Liz

[Guy Etchells]

Hello, any advice would be welcomed.
My Son turns 14 at the end of May, and has for a time expressed an interest in ancestral DNA testing. He enjoys watching and helping me with my research, so wants to find out more. I would like to get him a test as a gift, I understand that he may have to wait with the swabbing with covid19, but I would like the box for him to open, even though he has to wait. I have searched on here for information, and there are some very interesting posts, but have confused myself even more!
Which test might be the better one for me to get for him, he is very interested in if he has any overseas connections, although all I have found is English and Irish!
Thanks in advance

First it is legal for a parent or guardian of a child to consent for them to take a DNA test, Ancestry will supply a kit.

Second though there may be delays in shipping of the kit Ancestry claim there is no delay in the processing time of the returned kit.

I would if he wants to take a test I would suggest you order one for him and manage the uploaded kit on his behalf.
Cheers
Guy

[davidft]

Different companies have different age limits on who they will allow to test. It is important to know what they are before you get a test in case they will not accept a 14 year old's sample.

A while back someone listed all the companies in a post on here, Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing, and their age limits. thus if you do a search you may find it. Alternatively you could look at each individual company's site as they will have the age limits on there.