Dad’s Love Helps Child’s Personality Development

Despite the best efforts of counselors and the legal system, our divorce-laden society often involves rejection of a child by a parent.

A new study discovers that while mothers have a unique social and emotional bond with each child, a father’s love contributes as much — and sometimes more — to a child’s development which implies that father’s love is also necessary for a happy family

This finding is one of many stemming from a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood.

“In our half-century of international research, we’ve not found any other class of experience that has as strong and consistent effect on personality and personality development as does the experience of rejection, especially by parents in childhood,” said Ronald Rohner, Ph.D., of the University of Connecticut.

Rohner is co-author of a new study found in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review.

“Children and adults everywhere — regardless of differences in race, culture, and gender — tend to respond in exactly the same way when they perceived themselves to be rejected by their caregivers and other attachment figures.”

In a review of 36 studies international studies that involved more than 10,000 participants, Rohner and co-author Abdul Khaleque discovered that parental rejection causes children to feel more anxious and insecure, as well as more hostile and aggressive toward others.

Researchers discovered the pain of rejection — especially when it occurs over a period of time in childhood — tends to linger into adulthood, making it more difficult for adults who were rejected as children to form secure and trusting relationships with their intimate partners.

The studies are based on surveys of children and adults about their parents’ degree of acceptance or rejection during their childhood, coupled with questions about their personality dispositions.

Moreover, Rohner said, emerging evidence from the past decade of research in psychology and neuroscience is revealing that the same parts of the brain are activated when people feel rejected as are activated when they experience physical pain.

“Unlike physical pain, however, people can psychologically relive the emotional pain of rejection over and over for years,” Rohner said.

Researchers studied if children would be affected differently, depending on whether the mother or father rejected a child.

The results from more than 500 studies suggest that while children and adults often experience more or less the same level of acceptance or rejection from each parent, the influence of one parent’s rejection — oftentimes the father’s — can be much greater than the other’s.

A 13-nation team of psychologists working on the International Father Acceptance Rejection Project has developed at least one explanation for this difference: that children and young adults are likely to pay more attention to whichever parent they perceive to have higher interpersonal power or prestige.

So if a child perceives her father as having higher prestige, he may be more influential in her life than the child’s mother. Work is ongoing to better understand this potential relationship.

One important take-home message from all this research, Rohner said, is that fatherly love is critical to a person’s development. The importance of a father’s love should help motivate many men to become more involved in nurturing child care.

Additionally, he said, widespread recognition of the influence of fathers on their children’s personality development should help reduce the incidence of “mother blaming” common in schools and clinical setting.

“The great emphasis on mothers and mothering in America has led to an inappropriate tendency to blame mothers for children’s behavior problems and maladjustment when, in fact, fathers are often more implicated than mothers in the development of problems such as these.”

Source: Society for Personality and Social

How a Mother's Love Changes a Child's Brain

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How a Mother's Love Changes a Child's Brain

Nurturing a child early in life may help him or her develop a larger hippocampus, the brain region important for learning, memory and stress responses, a new study shows.

Previous animal research showed that early maternal support has a positive effect on a young rat's hippocampal growth, production of brain cells and ability to deal with stress. Studies in human children, on the other hand, found a connection between early social experiences and the volume of the amygdala, which helps regulate the processing and memory of emotional reactions. Numerous studies also have found that children raised in a nurturing environment typically do better in school and are more emotionally developed than their non-nurtured peers.

Brain images shows that  mother's love physically affects the volume of her child’s hippocampus. In the study, children of nurturing  had hippocampal volumes 10 percent larger than children whose mothers were not as nurturing. Research has suggested a link between a larger hippocampus and better memory.

"We can now say with confidence that the psychosocial environment has a material impact on the way the human brain develops," said Dr. Joan Luby, the study's lead researcher and a psychiatrist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. "It puts a very strong wind behind the sail of the idea that early nurturing of children positively affects their development."

The research is part of an ongoing project to track the development of children with early onset depression. As part of the project, Luby and her colleagues previously measured the maternal support that children — who were ages 3 to 6 and had either symptoms of depression, other psychiatric disorders or no mental health problems — received during a so-called "waiting task."

The researchers placed mother and child in a room along with an attractively wrapped gift and a survey that the mother had to fill out. The children were told they could not open the present until five minutes had passed — basically until their mothers had finished the survey. A group of psychiatrists, who knew nothing about the children's health or the parents' temperaments, rated the amount of support the mothers gave to their children.

A mother who was very supportive, for example, would console her child, explaining that the child had only a few more minutes to wait and that she understands the situation was frustrating. "The task recapitulates what everyday life is like," Luby told LiveScience, meaning that it gives researchers an idea of how much support the child receives at home

Now, four years later, the researchers gave MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans to 92 children who underwent the waiting task. Compared with non-depressed children with high maternal support, non-depressed children with low support had 9.2 percent smaller hippocampal volumes, while the depressed ones with high and low support had 6.0 and 10.6 percent smaller volumes, respectively.

Though 95 percent of the parents in the study were the children's biological mothers, the researchers say that the effects of nurturing on the brain are likely to be the same for any primary caregiver.

Luby and her team will continue following the children as they grow older, and plan to see how other brain regions are affected by parental nurturing during preschool years.

"It's now clear that the care and affection a chid gains from the mother is not only good for the development of the child, but it actually physically changes the brain.

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IF YOUR PIKIN NO DEY SLEEP FOR NIGHT TIME, ABEG READ THIS

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IF YOUR PIKIN NO DEY SLEEP FOR NIGHT time, ABEG READ THIS

Wen person born hin pikin finish, sleepless nights na normal thing. In the first few months, your pikin fit sleep for about five hours at a time but, as the months dey go by, she suppose dey sleep for longer periods at night. However, some babies are poor sleepers. Factors, such as stress or separation dey disrupt your baby’s sleep. A daytime and nighttime routine dey help your little one sleep better at night.

Step 1

Program your baby for nighttime sleep by feeding him every three hours during the day. He won't miss a feeding and awaken at night to make up for it, advises William Sears, parenting author and associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California at Irvine

Beware of these foods that are making you gain weight.EatHealthySecrets.com

Step 2

Schedule your baby's nightly feedings properly. For instance, KidsHealth.org suggests that if your baby usually falls asleep after a dinner-time feeding and awakens again at 2 a.m. for a late-night feed, try waking your baby at 11 p.m. for the late-night feed instead. Choose times that suit your schedule.

Step 3

Determine the most comfortable spot wey dey make ahm sleep fast.  Every pikin get wetin him like pass. Some like to dey sleep for  crib, some like to dey sleep for  bassinet, while others prefer to dey with their mama and papa 24-7sleep.

Step 4

Try to dey keep your  pikin  awake during the day when hin dey convenient for you. If your baby  dey sleep too much during the day, he’ll be more alert at night and less likely to sleep well.

Step 5

Always make hin nap time dey  consistent. According to Sears, napping around the same time each day helps your baby to sleep for longer stretches at night.

Step 6

Makesure say una pamper your baby before bedtime. Give ahm warm bath and gently massage to induce sleepiness.

Step 7

No dey rock the baby everytime to sleep as s will grow to expect this treatment to fall asleep, explains KidsHealth.org. Instead, put your baby into her crib or bassinet while she’s drowsy and quietly walk away.

Step 8

Always makesure you dey flexible  with your pikin because hin sleep pattern go change  as he dey grow older. U fit try a different approaches to induce sleep when hin sleep patterns alter, such as adjusting nap and snack time

                                                   

Baby snoring causes and treatment

If you observe that your baby’s breath is quite noisy then it is likely your baby isn’t breathing properly because their nasal cavity, oropharynx is narrow and can easily be blocked by discharge or swelling.

Babies easily snore in weak sleep position, for example, when the root of the tongue face upward Ershi back down, half blocking the throat, the respiratory passage, flow out of the nasal cavity, oropharynx and throat, near the mucosa or muscle vibration would cause snoring.

Long term snoring in children leads to tonsils and adenoids hypertrophy, other factors include the long-term sinusitis. Body fat is also one factor, the pharyngeal hypertrophy, swollen tonsils of fat children, due to oropharyngeal airway during sleep which easily get blocked.

Snoring in babies also have some genetic relationship with their parents, the parents of long-term snoring children have often sensitive nose or sinusitis. Children with asthma, the long-term snoring will exacerbate the situation or the attack of asthma more frequently.

Baby snoring treatment : Allow babies sleep with their head sideways in a comfortable sleeping position to try to sleep, or tummy sleeping (that side of the face to bed, but do not cover mouth and nose) position, so the tongue is not after the sag stop to over-breathing passage. If the nose, mouth, pharynx Department glandular or tonsillar hypertrophy and hyperplasia body, baby snoring, or even to affect the sleep quality and children's health, may consider surgical remove it.

It also important that parents help them cut down their weight to the oropharyngeal soft flesh sparer to make breathing diameter smooth, so that breathing will become smoother than former.

If there is not effective after you try these methods, your doctor should carefully check early in time to check the nasal cavity, throat, or whether the abnormal mandibular position.

Best Foods to Eat While Pregnant

Even if you're already packing an alphabet's worth of vitamins and a mother lode of minerals into your daily meals, you might still worry that you're not taking in enough of the nutritional right stuff — especially if your appetite hasn't quite gotten up to speed yet, thanks to early pregnancy queasies. Enter, stage left, the "nutritional superstars" — a few familiar faces and a couple of up-and-comers that bring down the house with their performances in the dietary arena. At 11 weeks pregnant, these twelve pregnancy power foods pack an amazing amount of nutrients into just a few bites, making them especially effective when efficiency is a priority (as when you're too sick to eat much, when you're gaining weight too fast, or when you're not gaining quickly enough).  Put all of the following "it" foods on your A list:

1. Avocados: Loaded with folic acid (vital to forming your baby's brain and nervous system), potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 (which not only helps baby's tissue and brain growth, but may also help with your morning sickness), avocados are a delicious way to get your vitamins. Spread some ripe avocado on your whole grain roll as a healthy substitute for mayo. Keep in mind that avocados are high in fat (though the very good kind) and calories, so heap them on your plate only if you're having trouble gaining weight.
2. Broccoli: America's favorite cruciferous vegetable, packed with plenty of vitamins A and C, with a calcium bonus (better to build those baby bones with), as well as baby-friendly folic acid. Toss into pasta or casseroles, stir-fry with seafood or chicken, serve steamed (with or without a vinaigrette), or dunk in dip.
3. Carrots: What's up, Doc? Here's what: Carrots are tops when it comes to vitamin A, so important for the development of your baby's bones, teeth, and eyes. They're perfect for munching on the go, but they also shred neatly into almost anything (from salads to meatloaf to cakes to muffins). Carrots are also a good source of vitamins B6 and C, and fiber to keep things movin'.
4. DHA eggs: The old egg is still a good egg, delivering a low-calorie, high-protein punch in a tasty little bundle. But here's news: Science now lets us scramble, fry, or boil better eggs, naturally loaded with DHA, one type of omega-3 fatty acid (the "good fat") that is a primary component of the brain and retina, and is essential for brain development and eye formation in the fetus. Plus, they taste just like the eggs you've always loved.
5. Edamame: These green pods are actually cooked soybeans — and they taste so much better than they sound. Packed with protein, calcium, folic acid, and vitamins A and B, edamame can be scooped up by the handful as a snack (salt them lightly, and you'll never miss the chips), or tossed into just about anything you're cooking, from soups, to pasta, to casseroles, to succotash, to stir-fry. They also make a gas-free stand-in for beans. So don't forget the edamame, Mommy.
6. Lentils: Branch into beans for folic acid and protein, vitamin B6, and iron. Lentils are the most intestine (and spouse) friendly legume and readily absorb a variety of flavors from other foods and seasonings.
7. Mangoes: Sweet revenge for any vegetable avoider, mangoes contain more vitamins A and C bite for delicious bite than a salad. This tropical favorite, also packed with potassium, is especially versatile, a perfect complement to sweet and savory dishes. Blend it into smoothies or soups, chop it up in salsas or relishes, simply scoop and enjoy.
8. Nuts: Nuts are chock-full of important minerals (copper, manganese, magnesium, selenium, zinc, potassium, and even calcium) and vitamin E. And even though they're high in fat, it's mainly the good-for-you kind — especially baby- brain-boosting DHA, which is found in walnuts. So in a nutshell, go nuts with nuts (in moderation if you're gaining quickly, liberally if you're gaining slowly) and toss them into salads, pasta, meat, or fish dishes, and baked goods.
9. Oatmeal: Here's good reason to feel your oats (and eat them often). They're full of fiber, the B vitamins, and iron and a host of other minerals. Fill your breakfast bowl with them, but don't stop there. You can add oats — and all their nutritional super powers — to pancakes, muffins, cakes, cookies, even meatloaf.
10. Red pepper: A super-source of vitamins A and C, with plenty of B6 in the bargain, a red pepper is one of nature's sweetest ways to eat your vegetables. Enjoy their sweet crunch as a crudité, with or without dip (they make the perfect take-along snack). Chop them into salsa, slice them into stir-fries and pasta dishes, or roast or grill them (with a little olive oil, garlic, and lemon) and serve them up in sandwiches, salads, or antipastos.
11. Spinach: Rich in folic acid, iron (which you need for all those blood cells, Baby!), vitamin A, and calcium, spinach now comes completely ready to eat in prewashed bags (free of sand). Eat it raw, in a salad (especially one with almonds and mandarin oranges), or as a wilted bed for fish or chicken, or layered in lasagna.
12. Yogurt: Cup for cup, yummy yogurt contains as much calcium as milk — but it's packed with protein and folic acid too. Blend it with fruit into satisfying smoothies, layer with granola in a breakfast parfait, use it as a low-calorie substitute for sour cream or mayo in sandwich fillings, dips, and salad dressings, or simply spoon it out of the carton (no matter where you're headed today, a container of yogurt's always easy to find). And here's another reason to find culture: The active cultures in yogurt (also known as good bacteria) can prevent stomach upset, as well as yeast infections.

Of course, this A list is just a short list. There are plenty of other nutritional overachievers to choose from, including whole grains of all kinds, seeds (especially omega-3-rich flax), yams and winter squash, apricots, kiwi (one small kiwi contains as much vitamin C as an orange, plus it's unparalleled for its laxative effects), papaya — and much more.

See more tips for eating well while pregnant.