All parents are interested in learning how to help their child grow up happy. We read smart books, watch video tutorials online, and ask our own mothers for advice. Are you still looking for an answer to this question?
ContentHow to help your child grow up happy: teach them to go to bed earlyBlock your phone: how limiting screen time contributes to family happinessHow to help your child grow up happy: encourage them to play sportsLeave more time for free play: why recess in a structured school day is extremely importantHow to help your child grow up happy: say affirmations together
We suggest you turn to science. Yes, you heard that right. There have been studies on this subject. WomanEL decided to share the conclusions of scientists so that you know what to do to make your child happy.
How to Help Your Child Grow Up Happy: Get Them to Bed Early
Parents who put their kids to bed early not only have significantly more hours to watch Netflix, but they also have children who are more successful in their development. “Research shows that putting children to bed early has a positive effect on their physical, emotional, and cognitive development,” writes Melinda Wenner Moyer in Slate magazine.
One study she cites shows that “across all age groups, late bedtimes and the presence of a father at bedtime had the strongest negative association with reported sleep characteristics,” such as difficulty falling asleep and frequent nighttime awakenings.
Lock Your Phone: How Limiting Screen Time Promotes Family Happiness
Family science professor Brandon McDaniel has been studying the link between tech-obsessed parents and behavioral problems in their children. McDaniel’s recent study of 170 American parents “showed that parents who reported problematic or addictive technology use had poorer relationships with their children. Their children were more likely to be disruptive, withdrawn, and aggressive.
How to help your child grow up happy: encourage them to play sports
A study by the University of Cambridge showed that active mothers also have active children. And this, as we know, has a positive effect on health. The healthier your baby is, the happier he will be. Give him the right example!
Leave more time for free play: why a break in the structured school day is so important
Former school teacher Dianna Blasi DeAndino has learned firsthand that the rigid structure of the school day doesn’t meet children’s needs. Do our children need to go to school? Yes. Do they need to spend the afternoon sitting on the couch staring at screens after seven hours in a chair at a desk? No. For this reason, DeAndino emphasizes the importance of including plenty of free time for play, whether it’s physical activity (see above) or just unstructured creative time spent indoors. The happiest children are those who don’t get bored and are given the freedom to invent their own creative forms of entertainment.
At the same time, the expert emphasizes the importance of being outdoors as a meaningful and conscious experience for children: “It sounds so simple and so trite, but put your feet on the ground, put them in the grass. It’s grounding.”
However, the same principle of simplicity applies to indoor play, so DeAndino emphasizes that parents should strive to get their children back to basics. Give them free time so they can use their imagination without the help of technology.
How to help your child grow up happy: say it together affirmations
DeAndino wants parents and children to incorporate daily affirmations into their daily routines as often as possible. “There’s research that supports positive affirmations, especially using a mirror,” she says. In fact, this research-backed method helped DeAndino cope with postpartum depression and inspired her to create the Mindset Tapestry, a mirror chart of daily affirmations that supports family mental health.
“The mirror component is key. It provides a sensory experience that encourages children to look, feel, and think along with affirmation,” DeAndino explains.
She suggests making this a morning routine—primarily because it starts the day on a positive note. “Do it yourself. You’ll soon notice your child copying you.
However, the practice is valuable at any time you feel like you need to include in your schedule. It looks like this: parent and child sit together in front of a mirror and take turns saying one positive thing about themselves, looking into their reflection. Teach your toddler to love themselves, accept their body and appearance for who they are.
And finally, you don’t have to be a model of emotional stability to raise a happy child. But open communication, physical activity, screen-free time, and self-care will put both you and your child on the path to happiness.
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