Watching television parenting programs like ITV’s Driving Mum and Dad Mad really can help improve parenting skills and modify children’s behavioral problems, according to a study at the University of Manchester.
Specific language impairment (SLI) is a condition in which a child’s language development is deficient despite showing normal development in all other areas. New research, published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, attempts to identify the cause behind this affliction.
UNICEF today called on governments and others committed to universal education and gender equality to remember that the earliest years are the most critical for children?s development. If many of the Millennium Development Goals are to be reached, the children?s agency warned, the cycle of negative gender stereotypes must be broken earlier in a child’s life rather than later.
New research has added to our understanding of how conflict with parents affects children. The current research followed 212 families with six-year-old children across three years. The findings indicate that mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles are affected differently by different types of conflict. Mothers were observed to be less supportive and involved with children when they experienced hostility with their partner, while fathers’ engagement with children was affected by withdrawal between partners.
Parents and pre-school children have a more positive interaction when sharing a reading experience with a traditional book as opposed to an electronic book or e-book, according researchers at Temple University’s Infant Laboratory and Erikson Institute in Chicago. This shared positive experience from traditional books characteristically promotes early literacy skills.
Infant abuse may be perpetuated between generations by changes in the brain induced by early experience, research shows. A research team found that when baby rhesus monkeys endured high rates of maternal rejection and mild abuse in their first month of life, their brains often produced less serotonin, a chemical that transmits impulses in the brain. Low levels of serotonin are associated with anxiety and depression and impulsive aggression in both humans and monkeys.
Though SIDS cannot be prevented, parents of infants are encouraged by pediatricians and popular parenting books to take several precautions in order to reduce the likelihood of SIDS or cot death.
Parents should listen to their instincts and pick up their newborn babies when they cry, Queensland University of Technology researcher Professor Karen Thorpe said. A joint study with QUT and the Riverton Early Parenting Centre has found many parents of infants up to 12 weeks, were uncertain about how best to settle their crying baby and whether or not it was “right” to pick them up.
Women who give birth in their 50s are just as able to cope with motherhood as younger women, according to a study by fertility specialists. Surveys of older women having fertility treatment showed they found parenting no more stressful or physically demanding than women in their 30s and 40s, and theyshowed no signs of poorer mental health possibly brought on by feelings of isolation.
Parents are always looking for the best way to provide for their families while spending wisely and discovering great bargains at the same time. Luvs, a trusted name in baby care, understands that sometimes it can be challenging to maintain a budget while still providing the best for our families. So, Luvs has partnered with Mocha Moms Inc. — a national, not-for-profit support group for moms of color who work less than full-time to devote more time to their families — to share tips on finding that happy medium between splurging and saving.