Posted on 04/24/2007 9:33:44 AM PDT by presidio9
Kids with religious parents are better behaved and adjusted than other children, according to a new study that is the first to look at the effects of religion on young child development.
The conflict that arises when parents regularly argue over their faith at home, however, has the opposite effect.
John Bartkowski, a Mississippi State University sociologist and his colleagues asked the parents and teachers of more than 16,000 kids, most of them first-graders, to rate how much self control they believed the kids had, how often they exhibited poor or unhappy behavior and how well they respected and worked with their peers.
The researchers compared these scores to how frequently the children’s parents said they attended worship services, talked about religion with their child and argued abut religion in the home.
The kids whose parents regularly attended religious services—especially when both parents did so frequently—and talked with their kids about religion were rated by both parents and teachers as having better self-control, social skills and approaches to learning than kids with non-religious parents.
But when parents argued frequently about religion, the children were more likely to have problems. “Religion can hurt if faith is a source of conflict or tension in the family,” Bartkowski noted.
Why so good?
Bartkowski thinks religion can be good for kids for three reasons. First, religious networks provide social support to parents, he said, and this can improve their parenting skills. Children who are brought into such networks and hear parental messages reinforced by other adults may also “take more to heart the messages that they get in the home,” he said.
Secondly, the types of values and norms that circulate in religious congregations tend to be self-sacrificing and pro-family, Bartkowski told LiveScience. These “could be very, very important in shaping how parents relate to their kids, and then how children develop in response,” he said.
Finally, religious organizations imbue parenting with sacred meaning and significance, he said.
University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox, who was not involved in the study, agrees. At least for the most religious parents, “getting their kids into heaven is more important than getting their kids into Harvard,” Wilcox said.
But as for why religious organizations might provide more of a boost to family life than secular organizations designed to do the same thing, that’s still somewhat of a mystery, said Annette Mahoney, a psychologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, also not involved in the research. Mahoney wondered: “Is there anything about religion and spirituality that sets it apart?”
Unanswered questions
Bartkowski points out that one limitation of his study, to be published in the journal Social Science Research, is that it did not compare how denominations differed with regards to their effects on kids.
“We really don’t know if conservative Protestant kids are behaving better than Catholic kids or behaving better than mainline Protestant kids or Jewish kids,” he said.
It’s also possible that the correlation between religion and child development is the other way around, he said. In other words, instead of religion having a positive effect on youth, maybe the parents of only the best behaved children feel comfortable in a religious congregation.
“There are certain expectations about children’s behavior within a religious context, particularly within religious worship services,” he said. These expectations might frustrate parents, he said, and make congregational worship “a less viable option if they feel their kids are really poorly behaved.”
bttt
They just don't get it, do they.
What’s in the best interests of the child matters when it comes to depriving fathers of their parental rights, but not when it comes to education.
Depends on the religion.
Another factor might be the fact that religious parents are more likely to be more optimistic, more realistic and think positively of their children, and therefore answer the questions more positively.
Islam is as Islam does.
Okay, by my screen name you can figure that I’m not much of a “believer”. But make no doubt that my children will be raised going to church on Sunday’s and learning the teachings of the bible (as I did). Nothing wrong with a good moral upbringing.
Ummm, God?
ping
Also, don’t forget the Musilm observance of the MArtyrdom of Mhuammed’s grandson (?) which is “celebrated” by the parents cutting the tops of their children heads so that the little ones are crying and gushing blood.
...class.
It is entirely possible to raise good and moral children without exposing them to fairy tales and superstition.
What this doesn’t say is that Fathers who believe in God and are involved in their childrens lives and faith raise good kids. Churches reinforce that behavior.
Pray for W and Our Troops
Germans bomb Pearl harbor.
What’s wrong with a good fairy tale and a little superstition? I think the Three Little Pigs is fine tale teaching the merits of hard work while the superstition of walking under a ladder simply promotes safety.
Exposing them to the word of God, however, gives them an advantage over those denied it.
Mine are in Hebrew School and attend services regularly. Respect of G-d and parents are never questioned. It’s reflected in everything they do.
Well said. Children like structure, clear messages and values upon which they can rely. Lessons learned at this time will serve them through their lives.
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