Parents
For You
Tuesday February 9, 2010 |
| MONTREAL (UPI) -- Canadian and U.S. researchers say mom plays a key role in how her child develops executive functioning.
Researchers at the University of Montreal and University of Minnesota found the way a mother interacts with her child affects how the child develops this set of advanced cognitive functions -- including mental flexibility and the abilities to remember things and control impulses -- integral to the ability to make goals and reach them.
Lead author Annie Bernier of the University of Montreal and colleagues observed 80 pairs of middle-income Canadian mothers and their year-old babies play and solve puzzles.
The study, published in Child Development, found the children of moms who answered their children's requests for help quickly and accurately, talked about their children's preferences, thoughts and memories during play and encouraged successful strategies to help solve difficult problems performed better at age 1 1/2 and at age 2 on tasks that call for executive skills than children of moms who didn't use these techniques when interacting with their youngsters.
"The study sheds light on the role parents play in helping children develop skills that are important for later school success and social competence," Bernier said in a statement.
Copyright 2010 by United Press International
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| MONTREAL (UPI) -- Canadian researchers say parental control predicts how a child nurtures passion in the arts or athletics.
Researchers at the University of Montreal, the University of Quebec and McGill University found children and young adults more likely to pursue sports, music or other pastimes if allowed to be autonomous by their parents.
The study, published in the Journal of Personality, evaluated 588 musicians and athletes from swimmers to skiers 6 to 38 at beginner, intermediate and expert level using a Likert-type scale to measure how parents supported child autonomy and to evaluate child well-being regarding their activity.
"We found that controlling adults can foster obsessive passion in their children by teaching them that social approval can only be obtained through excellence," study leader Dr. Genevieve Mageau of the University of Montreal said in a statement. "An activity then becomes highly important for self-protective reasons that don't necessarily correspond with a child's true desires."
Parents can do well to support their children to pursue an activity, but such encouragement can graduate to unwelcome pressure, said Mageau.
"Being passionate should not be viewed as a personality trait -- it is a special relationship one develops with an activity."
Copyright 2010 by United Press International
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| With the new school year starting, parents can use a good laugh to start the day. The New Yorker Parenting Cartoons ezine has just what you need!
Subscribers to this free ezine will receive a New Yorker cartoon every morning by e-mail -- a service available only from ArcaMax! New subscribers will also receive a New Yorker-style cartoon with their name in the caption, perfect for sharing with family and friends!
For more cartoons every morning, sign up for the Dogs and Cats, Food Humor, Love & Relationships, and Office Humor ezines.
Subscribe to New Yorker Parenting Humor.
-- From the ArcaMax editors |
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Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors
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