Families are vital to children's well being - new study

[hennypenny]

At last some resounding official recognition of how vital families and

especially parents are to the well-being of children,

 

 

"Children who eat an evening meal with their family at least three times a

week are substantially more likely to report being completely happy with

their family situation than children who never eat with their family, or who

eat together less than three times a week".

 

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http://www.zenit.org/article-32575?l=english

 

More here;

 

"A recent report on families from the Organization for Economic Cooperation

and Development (OECD) ...stated that families are a key source of financial

and social support for people, as well as being a crucial instrument of

solidarity...Families provide identity, love, care, nurture and development

to their members and form the core of many social networks," it said The

report, titled "Doing Well for Families," also recognized that poverty is

rising in families with children in nearly all the OECD member countries.

... The report called for governments to adopt policies that support

families by giving them financial assistance and help with things such as

parental leave and flexible workplace practices....One area where more could

be done is helping people have more babies. Many families want more

children, the report explained, and in many countries people do not have as

many children as they say they would like......Supporting families is not

just good for the parents, the report pointed out. "Children's well-being is

inextricably linked to family well-being. When families flourish, children

flourish."

 

...The importance of family life was also supported by the findings of a

large household study in the United Kingdom. Material from a survey of

40,000 households in 2009 was published at the end of February by the

Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.

The study covered a whole range of issues, but one chapter was dedicated to

the family. Among the findings were the following points.....

-- the study found that children who don't quarrel with either parent more

than once a week have a greater level of happiness than those who have more

frequent disputes. The survey also found that happiness in children was

improved when they discussed important matters with their parents more

frequently.

-- Eating an evening meal together as a family is also important. Children

who eat an evening meal with their family at least three times a week are

substantially more likely to report being completely happy with their family

situation than children who never eat with their family, or who eat together

less than three times a week.

[ it also reported on the benefits of marriage]

 

...The influence of the quality of the parent's relationship upon children

was also examined in another recent study in the United States. The research

organization Child Trends published a study April 8.

Titled "Parental Relationship Quality and Child Outcomes Across Subgroups,"

it looked at responses from more than 64,000 people whose children were

between the ages of 6 and 17.

It showed that the parents' relationship quality was "very consistently and

positively associated with a range of child and family outcomes."

 

"Will governments respond to the plea by the OECD to increase support for

families? The cost of not doing so is too high."