Research studies at Penn State looked at how changes in parental involvement, warmth, and discipline during the early stages of development and through adolescence affected the quality of the parental-child relationship during the young adult period of their life. In the study, 1631 participants from rural and semi-rural neighborhoods were surveyed in a long-term research study starting from between sixth to twelfth grade up until they were 22 years old. 

The research showed that during the teenage years, parenting had a lot of variation and changed quite often. In fact, parents seemed to show less affection and warmth during this time. It was noted that less time was spent with children, and more discipline was applied. This built a negative parental-child relationship in the adult phase and parents were not able to maintain a close relationship with their children. 

As children grow older and are exposed to independence and the idea of autonomy, it becomes harder for parents to stay involved in their children‘s lives. However, simple activities can help keep this bond close. For example, playing sports, games, or even going for a bike/walk, going out to eat or having regular meals together, working on errands together, and keeping open communication about the school, friends, social life, and the future. In addition to activities and time spent together, it is important for parents to keep in mind the words they speak to their children. Simple phrases such as “I love you” and “I’m proud of you” or even affectionate signs such as hugs and kisses can help really tighten the bond. 

In terms of discipline, during the teenage years, adolescents start to want to be treated as adults and respected as one. And so, using harsh tone and language, or using overpowering discipline will only make them feel like a child and not want to create that bond with the parent. Rules and regulations are important and should be maintained, but having open discussions about them and creating a list of what is expected from them together as a family can really help enforce discipline. When children are included in the decisions and the decision-making process, it makes them feel like they have played a part and are equal to the parent.

Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221004213343.htm

Tulsi Patel

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Today’s Friday Feature is Tulsi Patel!

Tulsi Patel is a research assistant at UConn KIDS. She is an undergraduate student majoring in Nursing and minoring in Biological Sciences. This is Tulsi’s first semester working with UConn KIDS and she is grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait for everything she will learn throughout the year.

Tulsi’s main passion is working with children or in the NICU and is currently doing her clinicals at Connecticut Children’s Hospital. In the future, she wants to move back to New Jersey and hopefully find a job working in the city.

On campus, Tulsi is a Resident Assistant at Towers, a mentor for middle-schoolers in UConn KUBE teaching them about both education and culture, and Late Night and Student Activities. She really enjoys meeting and getting to know new people. In her free time, Tulsi loves to be outdoors, to dance, to paint, and to get a crunchwrap suprme at Taco Bell.

In today’s world, the prevalence of developmental disabilities among children is high but the amount and adequacy of services and interventions available to help these children are low. Updated estimates can help increase awareness and understanding of the requirements and needs of the population. In a study done in 2018, using the National Health Interview Survey, researchers were able to see the change over time in the demographics of developmental disabilities over a 9-year period. They found out that there was an overall significant increase in the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and other developmental disabilities. There was, however, a substantial decrease for any other developmental delay. This leads to an overall trend of about 1 in every 6 children between the age of 3 to 17 in the United States being reported as having a developmental disability. There was a higher prevalence among the male gender, older children, children with a birth weight <2500 g, non-Hispanic white children, children with public insurance, children with parents with a high school education or less, and children below the poverty line. This growth in percentage leads to the importance of conducting more research on the characteristics of the diseases and what we can do in children-related environments to help their developmental processes. Studies like these can also help us discover more services and interventions for this population. 

Tulsi Patel

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Link: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/144/4/e20190811/76974/Prevalence-and-Trends-of-Developmental?autologincheck=redirected?nfToken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000