Parents who are in high conflict with one another, divorced, or in court child custody may have their kid(s) engage in parental alienation, where the child strongly prefers to be with one parent and refuses to engage at all with the other parent. A common form of parental alienation is when the preferred parent encourages their child to negatively engage with and alienate the nonpreferred parent, which leads to a one-sided, unhealthy phenomenon. 

Factors of parental alienation can influence negative beliefs and resistance in a child’s relationship with their alienated parent. If the child sees one of their parents’ hostile with the other, they can internalize those negative emotions and place them on the nonpreferred parent. 

Parental alienation can lead to short- and long-term negative impacts on the child, mental health issues in the alienated parent, and damage the overall parent-child familial relationship. It’s important to understand the reasoning behind a child’s alienation from a certain parent, and to find methods to address it. More research is needed in regards to the psychology of parental alienation! 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Terms such as “sperm donor,” “deadbeat dad,” and “baby daddy” are often used in reference to fathers who help conceive a child but do not actively participate in the child’s life. However, the term “co-parent” offers a more positive side to fathers who are in their child’s life, even if not always living together. 

Joel Leon, this Ted Talk speaker, says that co-parenting involves many sacrifices, but the weight of raising a child will not fall on one parent alone. Co-parenting is an important thing for parents to do for their child in order for them to have both parents present, which benefits the child’s well-being greatly.  

He acknowledges the struggles of single mothers, even mentioning his own personal experiences and upbringing. Therefore, he encourages parents to play an equal role in their child’s life and to remember that being a parent is a gift, not an inconvenience. 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Did you know that maternal mental health has been recognized as globally significant? Well, this is true! There is lots of research regarding negative mental health in mothers, however not much so in the positive sense, which is important as it aids in the development of children and aids the mother regarding parenting.  

Positive mental health can be measured via a hedonic (positive emotions/life satisfaction) or eudaimonia (self-acceptance/engagement) perspective. When a pregnant mother has high self-esteem or optimism, their babies are born with higher birth weight. Other observations revealed that many advantages happen while the baby is still in utero! 

Due to new research of maternal mental health, there is more overall knowledge of the well-being of their children. The mental health of mothers can possibly affect the physiological and psychological behaviors of children. More research is required for a more direct answer, however with little research about maternal mental health, we can see many types of impacts on mother and child. 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

In the 21st century, researchers have discovered new, more effective methods of bringing up children. Outdated assumptions in use today can thus be quite harmful in their development. 

The “Kids Today Project”, created by Richard Neville and his team, was designed to view complex issues of development through the child’s eyes via a head-mounted camera. This allowed the researchers to see exactly what the child sees to understand their perspective of the big, endless moving world. 

So, what did they discover? Regardless of location, culture, differences, and situations, children shared one common theme: an immense desire to learn. 

The research illustrated that children must learn to take control of their own lives. If they don’t then how can we expect them to develop skills needed in adulthood? 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant