Parenthood and Child Care Linked With Happiness

Parents experience greater levels of happiness and meaning from life than non-parents, finds a new study.

Parents also are happier when they are caring for their children than during their other daily activities, the researchers concluded on the basis of review studies conducted in the US and Canada.

Parental Tips to Raise Your Child Right
Parents need to invest quality time in raising children and instill good values in their growing years.

"We are not saying that parenting makes people happy, but that parenthood is associated with happiness and meaning," explained Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, the journal Psychological Science reports.

"Contrary to repeated scholarly and media pronouncements, people may find solace that parenthood and child care may actually be linked to feelings of happiness and meaning in life," added Lyubomirsky, according to a California statement.

Recent popular accounts have painted a portrait of unhappy parents who find little joy in taking care of their children, "but the scientific basis for these claims remains inconclusive," the researchers wrote.

Parents' Choice of Food Influences That of Children
The type of food that a child eats as well as the quantity is determined by that of the adult in family, according to a recent study.

"If you went to a large dinner party, the parents in the room would be just as happy or happier than the guests without children," said study co-author Elizabeth W. Dunn, associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Among the findings are that fathers in particular expressed greater levels of happiness, positive emotion and meaning in life than their childless peers.

Preterm Infants Learn to Speak Fast If Parents Converse With Them
The rate of the vocabulary growth and IQ score are more strongly related to the number of words the parent says per hour to the child than to parent’s education and socioeconomic status.

"Our findings suggest that if you are older (and presumably more mature) and if you are married (and presumably have more social and financial support), then you're likely to be happier if you have children than your childless peers," Lyubomirsky said. "This is not true, however, for single parents or very young parents."

"Parents are not nearly the miserable creatures that we might expect from recent studies and popular representations," Dunn concluded.

Does Parents' BMI and Educational Status Affect Children's Nutritional Status?
Parents are not only responsible for passing or transferring genetic lineage to the off springs but also the behavior and attitude towards life in general.

Source-IANS