How To Raise A Kid

Being a Good Parent There are many ways to raise happy, well-adjusted kids, but science has a couple of tips for ensuring that they turn out okay. From keeping it interesting to allowing them leave the nest, here are 10 research-based methods for good parenting.

Nurture Your Marriage

If you're a parent with a significant other, don't let your relationship with your spouse or partner fall by the wayside when infant is born. Parents who suffer from marital instability, such as contemplating divorce, may set their infants up for sleep troubles in toddlerhood, according to study published in May 2011 from the journal Child Development. The analysis found that a troubled marriage when a kid is 9 months old contributes to trouble sleeping whenever the child is 18 weeks of age. It may be that troubled houses are stressful homes, and that anxiety is the cause of the sleep issues. [6 Scientific Tips for a Successful Marriage]

Mamas, Be Good For Your Sons

An intimate relationship with their mothers might help keep boys from exercising, based on some 2010 study. A warm, attached relationship with mother looks important in preventing behavior problems in toddlers, much more than in girls, the study found. The findings, published in the journal Child Development, emphasize the need for secure attachment between kids and their parents, a style in which kids can visit mom and dad as a reassuring protected base prior to entering into the wider world. The mother bond may also make for better romance later in life, as another study reported in 2010 revealed that a close relationship with one's mum in early adolescence (by age 14) was associated with better-quality romantic relationships as young adults. Parents' relationships with their own kids are extremely important and that's the way we develop our ability to have successful relationships as adults, our parents are our own versions, research researcher Constance Gager, of Montclair State University in New Jersey, said in the moment. So if kids are not feeling intimate with their parents then they're most likely not likely to model the positive elements of that relationship whenever they reach adulthood.

Limit distractions

Can you check emails or scroll through your social media feeds while spending quality time with your kids? Since you shouldn't, Klein explained. It's hard to be very engaged with your children if you're distracted by a lot of different things. And this tumultuous existence can take a toll on children, who might feel like you're not actually there for them if you're attention is broken, Klein said Children don't need their parents' focus 24/7 and 100 percent of their time, she explained. But when your kids do want your entire attention, you should give it to them without any caveats.

Don't Sweat a Little Sassing

Teens who talk back to their own parents may be exasperating, but their argumentativeness is connected to a more powerful rejection of peer pressure out the house. In other words, autonomy at home boosts liberty among friends. Don't worry, though: The study doesn't indicate that kids should have connections with their parents. In reality, a secure bond between teens and mothers can also be linked to bowing to peer pressure. Teens need to practice standing up for themselves, the researchers reported, but they also need support from their parents.

Tend to Your Mental Health

Should you suspect you might be depressed, get help -- for your own sake and your child's. Research indicates that gloomy mothers struggle with parenting and also show muted responses to their babies' cries in comparison with healthy moms. Depressed mothers with adverse parenting styles can also contribute to their children's stress, according to 2011 research finding that kids raised with these moms are more easily stressed out by the preschool years. The findings seem glum, but investigators say they're hopeful, because positive parenting could be taught even when dad or mom are struggling with their psychological wellbeing.

Be Positive

No surprise here: Children who express negative emotions toward their infants or handle them about are very likely to find themselves with aggressive kindergartners. That's bad thing, because behavioral aggression at age is linked to aggression later in life, despite future romantic partners. Therefore, if you end up in a cycle of angry parent, angry infant, angrier parent, then try to break loose. It'll ease your problems in the long run.