Parenting is one of the difficult tasks you’d ever do in the life of your kids, if done right, you’ll live to be happy that your kids excel, if not, you’ll regret it forever. So how does one become a good parent? Ask your parents, they know not. However, certain things do help in raising your kids to take the right paths in life to find success in their later lives. Here are five things researchers found that makes you good at parenting, according to science. Caution: No spoilers!
Related media: 7 Signs You Have Toxic Parents
Let Your Kids Figure Out Things Themselves
The mental health issues of young people is alarming nowadays. In a recent study published in The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, researchers found that the rates of depression in teens aged 14 to 17 increased by more than 40 percent and by as much as 47 percent for kids 12 to 13 years. It also found that teens visited emergency departments with suicidal intentions twice as much as they did in 2015 compared with 2007. So what’s wrong here? Mom and dad.
According to Kim Brooks, the author of Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear, parents nowadays prioritize safety and supervision of their kids over their emotional and social development. An unstructured, unsupervised home seems hard to find nowadays, and its playing a heavy toll on our kids. Let them freely explore the world on their own; let them practice social skills like making friends and figuring out how to handle interpersonal problems.
Help Your Kids Learn How To Read
Most successful entrepreneurs are serial readers. The likes of Musk, Gates, Oprah, and who are we missing? Ah! Your kids. So, can your kids read? Lets put it, have you taught them how to read yet? Or, they’ll learn that in school? According to reading researcher Kindel Nash, the best parents take a hands-on approach in helping their kids to learn how to read, and she’s been advocating this with her “Read Two Impress One” method. Here’s how it goes:
- Select reading materials that will challenge the child.
- Read passages that reflect the child’s culture, language, and interests.
- Read expressively, making sure the child hears you.
- Guide the child’s finger, with your hand over his/her hand, across the words.
- Read simultaneously with the child, but have him/her read everything aloud a few moments later than you.
- Re-read these passages or stories, using the same techniques.
Practice this method with your child for at least 10 to 15 minutes each day.
Be Mindful Of What You Share About Them With Others
Nowadays, its less likely that parents share information about their kids on social media too much. But if that’s so, its known as “sharenting.” In a recent study, researchers found that 70 percent of parents have ever seen other parents share things that they deemed as inappropriate of their kids — such as personal photos, location, and embarrassing sentiments. Why mom and dad? The best parents are the ones who respect the privacy of their kids and let them know that not everything in life is to be shared online, and whatever goes online stays there forever. Please don’t tweet my nudes, mom.
Don’t Let Your Kids Keep A TV In Their Room
For a Canadian study dubbed the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, researchers surveyed data of more than 1,800 kids who had a TV in their bedroom. They found that kids who did at age 4 later at ages 12 and 13 were more likely eating unhealthy, having a higher body mass index (BMI), higher levels of emotional distress, prone to depression, victimization, physical aggression, and less likely to socialize. Mom, no more TV for junior. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) even recommends that screen-time be limited for kids of all ages.
Have A Hands-On Interest With Their Education
If this isn’t the most important of them all, then what is it?
According to a 2019 research from the University of Missouri, parents who were actively involved with the education of their kids in the early years, were less likely to have problems concentrating in school during their later years. As a parent, make it a priority to help your kids with their homework, communicate with teachers often, join parent groups, and attend school events.
In addition, researchers also found that students with engaged parents ended the year with better social skills and were able to focus on tasks easier, says Tyler Smith, senior research associate at University of Missouri’s College of Education. So mom and dad, be a better parent, junior would be grateful.
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Written by: Nana Kwadwo, Wed, Sep 15, 2021.
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