#toddler-milestones

#toddler-milestones

'These results do not support our hypothesis that parenthood is positively associated with hedonic wellbeing (levels of positive emotions) and life satisfaction,' the researchers, from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, wrote.

Research on parentification - the process where children are forced into adult emotional roles - shows that many of the people we admire for their composure developed it as a survival mechanism. They weren't born calm. They were made calm, usually by environments where someone's emotional dysregulation demanded that a child become the steady one.

You need to raise the children you have-not the ones you would have liked to have. This statement captures the essence of effective parenting: accepting your children's inherent nature rather than imposing your idealized vision upon them.

Growing up, I heard it constantly: "Oh, you must have been so lonely as an only child." People would look at my friend Emma with this mix of pity and concern, as if she'd been raised by wolves instead of loving parents. They'd ask if she wished for siblings, assuming her childhood was some tragic tale of isolation and imaginary friends.

What makes me even crazier is that I know they can listen. I know this because they do all the time, mostly when they aren't supposed to. I can't tell you how many times I've been having an adult conversation with my husband and/or friends and my two children-who haven't listened to a word I've said all day-suddenly have very thoughtful and detailed questions