10 things scientific studies taught us about children – you won’t believe these are all true!
Division of labour
Fathers who contributed to household chores and felt that they should be shared equally were found to greatly influence the career ambitions of their daughters – although this didn’t seem to affect their sons in the same way. You can read about this study here.
Play time
In a study, it was observed that toddlers who had only 4 toys played for longer and more creatively than toddlers who had 16 toys. What this finding suggests is that having fewer toys can actually encourage more creative play. You can read about this study here.
Screen time and your teen
Have you ever wondered how screen time affects your teen? Well, one study showed that 15 year olds who enjoyed a moderate amount of screen time (3 to 4 hours daily) reported having better mental health than those who had less screen time (1 to 2 hours), as well as those who enjoyed more (5 to 6 hours). You can read about this study here.
Sex skewing
There’s a slight bias with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) towards producing male babies – this is called sex skewing. You can read about this study here.
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Are first born children more intelligent?
Generally speaking, first born children are more intelligent than their siblings, but the difference isn’t significant. You can read about this study here.
It runs in the family
Children are more likely to have behavioural or mental health problems if their parents (moms in particular) had four or more severe negative childhood experiences, like the divorce of their parents or physical abuse. You can read about this study here.
Healthy debate
Teens who felt comfortable having a healthy debate with their parents – although they didn’t necessarily have to agree with them – were noted to develop a sense of autonomy that made them less likely to give in to peer pressure relating to alcohol and drugs. You can read about this study here.
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Brain-boosting sleep
Want to help your child remember something? Get them to take a nap. Infants who took a nap within four hours of learning something new were better able to remember it the next day when compared to those who didn’t nap. You can read about this study here.
A matter of trust
By the time a child turned 5, they are more likely to trust a speaker who appears less certain of something, but had been correct in the past, than trusting someone who sounded confident in what they were saying but had been proven wrong in the past. You can read about this study here.
Screen time
After studying 120 preschool girls, it was discovered that a girl aged 4 to 6 who had a television in her room was more likely to be either overweight or obese. You can read about this study here.
