Scientific proof you are doing good for your child just by being home! I know we stay-at-home moms are hard on ourselves sometimes, and here’s a pat on the back from ScienceDaily and the University of Iowa:
Having close ties with parents is obviously good for preschoolers, but what does that really mean? It means that the preschoolers are better able to control their own behavior by showing patience, deliberation, restraint, and even maturity. “Most parents know that when they interact with their infant and young toddler, they are laying important foundations for the child’s future development,” according to Grazyna Kochanska, Stuit Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Iowa and the lead author of the study. “Now we have a better understanding of what that really means. Your investment in building a mutually responsive, positive, close relationship early on will generate considerable payoff several years later.” The study found that children who had developed a close, positive, reciprocal, and mutually responsive relationship with their mothers in the first two years of their lives did much better in both respects–responding to their mothers’ requests not to do something and regulating their own behavior–than children who hadn’t developed such ties. The study focuses on the first 2 years but will continue through age 8.
Sciencedaily is an online magazine devoted to science, technology, and medicine. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207085606.htm
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