10 Current Psychology Studies Every Parent Should Know
Whether parents are happier than non-parents, why siblings
are so different, the perils of discipline, bedtimes, TV and more…
One of the many reasons parenting is an impossible job is
that everyone is giving you advice, and much of it is rubbish.
Frankly, it’s amazing we’ve all made it this far.
So, bucking the trend of random anecdote and superstition,
here are ten recent psychology studies that every parent should know.
1.
Parents are happier than non-parents
In recent years some studies have suggested that the
pleasures of having children are outweighed by the pains.
“Ha!” said parents to themselves, secretly, “I knew it!”
Not so fast though: new research has found that, on average,
parents feel better than non-parents each day and derive more pleasure from
caring for their children than from other activities (Nelson et al.,. 2013).
Fathers, in particular, derive high levels of positive
emotions and happiness from their children.
2.
Putting your child first is worth it
Underlining the pleasures of having children, research finds
that child-centric attitudes are beneficial.
A study by Ashton-James et al. (2013) found that parents who
were the most child-centric were also happier and derived greater meaning in
life from having children.
Performing child-care activities was associated with greater
meaning and fewer negative feelings.
“These findings suggest that the more care and attention
people give to others, the more happiness and meaning they experience. From
this perspective, the more invested parents are in their children’s well-being
— that is, the more ‘child centric’ parents are — the more happiness and
meaning they will derive from parenting.” (Ashton-James et al., 2013)
So, what’s good for your kids, is also good for you.
3.
Helicopter parenting may be depressing
As with many things in life, though, it’s a fine line between
caring and smothering; especially when children have grown up.
Schiffrin et al. (2013) asked 297 undergraduate students
about their parents’ behaviour and how they felt about it.
The study found links between ‘helicopter parenting’ and
higher levels of depression amongst the students, as well as lower levels of
autonomy, relatedness and competence.
“Parents should keep in mind how developmentally appropriate
their involvement is and learn to adjust their parenting style when their
children feel that they are hovering too closely.” (Schiffrin et al., 2013)
4.
Avoid strict discipline
Around 90% of American parents admit at least one instance
of using strict verbal discipline with their children, such as calling names or
swearing at them.
Rather than helping keep adolescents in line, though, be
aware that this may just exacerbate the problem.
A study of 967 US families found that harsh verbal
discipline at 13-years-old predicted worse behaviour in the next year (Wang et
al., 2013).
And it didn’t help if parents had a strong bond with their
children. The study’s lead author Ming-Te Wang explained:
“The notion that harsh discipline is without consequence,
once there is a strong parent-child bond–that the adolescent will understand
that ‘they’re doing this because they love me’–is misguided because parents’
warmth didn’t lessen the effects of harsh verbal discipline. Indeed, harsh
verbal discipline appears to be detrimental in all circumstances.”
5.
Regular bedtimes
Regular bedtimes really matter to children’s developing
brains.
Researchers followed 11,000 children from when they were
3-years old to the age of 7 to measure the effects of bedtimes on cognitive
function, (Kelly et al., 2013).
The researchers found that:
“…irregular bedtimes at 3 years of age were associated with
lower scores in reading, maths, and spatial awareness in both boys and girls,
suggesting that around the age of 3 could be a sensitive period for cognitive
development.”
Regular bedtimes are important for both boys and girls and
the earlier these can be implemented, the better for cognitive performance.
6. Do
the chores together
Bringing up happy children is easier if Mum and Dad’s
relationship isn’t too rocky. One frequent bone of contention between parents
is the chores.
A trick for achieving marital satisfaction over the chores
is to do them together.
When partners perform their chores at the same time–no
matter who is doing what–both people are more satisfied with the division of
labour (Galovan et al., 2013).
7.
Limit infant TV viewing
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children
should watch no more than two hours of TV per day after two years of age, and
none before that age.
Here’s why: a new study that followed almost 2,000 Canadian
children from birth found that an extra hour’s TV viewing at 2.5-years-old
predicted worse performance later when they attended kindergarten (Pagani et
al., 2013).
The more children exceeded this recommendation at 2.5 years
old, the worse their vocabulary, math and motor skills were at 5-years-old.
8.
Exercise boosts kids’ school performance
Kids are increasingly sedentary and, as I frequently write
here on PsyBlog, exercise is a wonderful way to boost brain power, and it has
many other benefits.
A new study of 11-year-olds has found that moderate to
vigorous exercise was associated with increased academic performance in
English, Maths and Science (Booth et al., 2013).
These gains from exercise were also seen in exams taken at
16-years-old.
Interestingly, girls’ science results benefited the most
from extra exercise.
9.
Dangers of intense mothering
Some women say that taking care of children is more
stressful than being at work. There are also links between child-rearing and
stress and guilt.
How can we square this with the reports and research
findings that children fill your life with joy and meaning?
It may be down to differences in attitudes to parenting. In
particular, being an ‘intense mother’ may be bad for you.
In their study of 181 mothers of children under 5, Rizzo et
al. (2012) found that mothers who most strongly endorsed the idea that children
were sacred and that women are better parents than men, were more likely to be
depressed and experience less satisfaction with life.
Yes, nurture your children, but don’t sacrifice your own
mental health.
10. Why
siblings are so different
Anyone with more than one child will have noticed a curious
thing: their personalities are often very dissimilar.
In fact, according to a study by Plomin and Daniels (1987),
siblings have no more in common in their personalities than two completely
unrelated strangers.
This is very weird given that 50% of their genetic code is
identical.
The answer isn’t in the genes at all, but in the environment
in which children grow up.
Far from having the same environments, each child has:
- a different relationship with their parents,
- a different relationship with their other siblings,
- different friends and experiences at school…
- …and so on.
And all these differences add up to quite remarkable
dissimilarities between siblings–often such that if they didn’t look alike,
you’d never know they were related.
All this means, of course, that because their personalities
are often so different, parenting strategies that work with one child, may not
work with another.
It’s just one more challenge of being a parent!
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