We all want to raise happy and healthy kids, but sometimes it’s harder than it sounds. This infographic takes a look at the studies behind what really affects kids’ happiness and well-being.
The graphic comes from happiness training app Happify, which showed us previously what makes happy couples tick. When it comes to raising children, some of the studies’ findings are no-brainers (kids who feel rejected or unloved by their parents are more likely to have emotional problems), but others are well worth keeping in mind.
For example, a mother’s satisfaction with her own life is directly related to a young child’s social and emotional skills — even more so than the amount of time the kid spends in childcare, her income, or her job. (So, mums, take care of yourselves!) Similarly, feeling love from the father may be even more important to the child’s happiness than feeling loved by mum. (So, dads, express your parental love!)
Other takeaways: teach generosity, get kids off the couch, and match your parenting style to your child’s personality.
Here’s the full graphic:
![This Infographic Reveals How To Raise Happy And Healthy Kids](https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/13/ecarduvjn1dhypvpyrfo.png?quality=75?quality=75)
The Science of Raising Happy Kids [Happify]
Comments
4 responses to “This Infographic Reveals How To Raise Happy And Healthy Kids”
lol oh that’s good. I thought raising kids was hard, but now there’s this infographic, so crisis averted.
It does actually have some good points, especially the emotional stability vs autonomy bit. Being a separated dad makes me feel better when I see the 80% statistic supporting kids having psychological issues after divorce. I know that you are being sarcastic, kids are hard as hell to raise properly.
That’s the wonderful thing about gross oversimplifications – they tend to make the factoids most applicable to the widest segments of society.
Great for view counts, not so good for real advice on how to raise your kids.
You know………looking at this, I’m actually doing alright with this parenting gig.