Parent discussions affect children's brains

Nobody likes to see two people arguing, much less if those two people are loved by us, right? The same happens to children: that they have a hard time if they see their parents arguing It's not new, but it's what a new study says that says the discussions between the parents affect the brain and the development of the children.

The study, published in the specialized journal 'Journal of Family Psychology' has found that children who often experience arguments between their parents process emotions differently than the rest and they become more observant than other children that have not had to endure this kind of unpleasant situations.


Discussions in the family

Researchers at the University of Vermont studied a number of families and divided the participants at different levels according to how they were the environments in which they were being raised: conflictive or low conflictive. To determine this category, a questionnaire was previously passed on to the mothers, whose answers helped the investigation.

Next, these psychology experts focused on analyze the brain activity of children observing their reactions when they saw images of adults with different expressions on their faces: anger, joy or neutrality.

The emotions of children

In this way, it was possible to observe how children who were growing up in an environment dominated by conflicts in the home They had a different response to their exposure to those photos, especially when they showed an angry adult. In particular, the researchers explain that when the children were asked to choose the angry people they recorded a greater amplitude in your brain, according to a psychological test called EEG.


According to the researchers, a pattern has been observed that suggests that children who have lived in conflictive environments, with parents who were in constant discussion, They have "trained" their brains to be vigilant and to realize the interpersonal emotions, either anger or happiness, in a very different way from children who live in less conflictive homes.

This observed pattern it is not clear that it is positive or negative for the child. According to the main researcher of the work, Alice Schermerhorn, for some children an extra surveillance could result in problems to relate in society as he grows older.

Still, bet to continue working in this line to know the true consequences what has already been observed in the brain of children who live in homes where there are often conflicts.


Avoid family conflicts

The Children's Observatory of the Ministry of Health offers various strategies to prevent and deal with conflicts in the family. These methods are based on a clear objective: you have to strengthen and enrich individual and family well-being, an end that has, in turn, several specific objectives.

- Learn to understand to oneself and others

- Facilitate the processes of development and human behavior in the family frame throughout the various cycles of family life

- Know patterns and processes linked to the life as a couple and as a family

- Acquire fundamental skills for the family life

- Develop the potential of people to play family roles now and in the future

- Facilitate the development of cohesion skills and resistance in the family.

Angela R. Bonachera

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