Parents, this holiday season, say no to hours at the mall and maxing out your credit card. Instead, give your children the gift of time.
Most parents work tirelessly to buy everything on their child's list. Rather than driving all over town looking for that hard-to-find Transformer or that must-have Moxie Girl, science shows a parent's time is better spent with their children.
Studies by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child show nurturing and stable relationships with caring adults are essential to healthy human development beginning at birth. From the prenatal period through the first years of life, the brain undergoes its most rapid development and early experiences determine whether its structure is sturdy or fragile. Spending time with your child creating these meaningful relationships will give them the skills they will need to face life's challenges.
The experts agree that healthy development depends on the quality and reliability of a young child's relationships with the important people in his or her life. These relationships not only include parents but teachers and extended family.
Good family relationships make children feel secure and loved, and that helps a child's brain develop. Putting in the time to improve relationships with your children can help them overcome difficulties that could turn into long-term issues like mental illness and substance abuse.
It is never too early to start. A variety of studies show that interaction with an infant influences brain development. Whether or not a parent or caregiver gazes into the baby's eyes or attunes to the infant's emotional state will have an effect on how a child self-regulates emotions, appraises other people's emotions and manages stress. Without these skills, emotional difficulties that emerge in life can become more serious disorders.
Healthy bonding with your child contributes to the growth of a broad range of competencies, including a love of learning, a comfortable sense of self, positive social skills, successful relationships at later ages and an understanding of emotions, morality and other important aspects of human relationships.
So before you go out and buy one more gift, remember what your child really needs: you. The greatest gift you can give your child is the gift of love and nurturing. Make gifts with your children, sing together, play games, share meals and talk with each other. These are the gifts that strengthen families and the gifts children will remember in the long run.
Karen Wheeler is the Addictions Program administrator with the Oregon Department of Human Services. (...).
Source: Statesman Journal - http://tinyurl.com/yfbu8oh
