surprise
Children behave worst in the presence of their mother
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“Your child is so well brought up!” Our author hears this often, but has rarely seen it herself. No wonder! One study shows that children behave worst in the presence of their mothers. It’s a shame …
by Miriam Kühnel
“So he’s really never hit anyone. Your son resolves all conflicts peacefully!” says my son’s educator cheerfully when talking to the parents. Silence. I stare at her and raise my hand. “Um, are you sure that you have the right bow in front of you?” I ask, rubbing my still sore shin, which yesterday was maltreated by the heel of a four year old kicking wildly. She is as confused as I am. My son is supposed to be a peace-loving child, the Mahatma Ghandi of the fox group? I don’t know anything about that. And she doesn’t know that my son likes to kick around. Crazy.
When mom enters the room, it becomes desolate
Anyway, when mom comes into play, peacefulness is obviously over and done with. A study by Bielefeld University comforts all the mothers of this world who are familiar with the phenomenon. The results were presented in 2015 in the journal “Unmade Children Today”. Over a period of 12 years, the research team observed children who played without mothers. As soon as the mother was sent into the room by the study directors, her mood often changed suddenly. “It was almost creepy to watch the children’s behavior change as if at the push of a button. For a minute they were completely satisfied. But as soon as they recognized their mother, they showed their worst side, “said research director Professor Jacob Heidenreich.
Why mom gets it all
Fortunately, the professor also has an explanation ready: “With their nerve-wracking behavior, children test the resilience of their mothers. If the mother manages to endure the screams, tears and kicks, she is suitable for the birth of another child. However, if she suffers from the strain, she may decide against further offspring. This creates a natural selection. ” Oh well. If that’s true: Maybe we should just show our children the half-empty pack of pills to show them that we recognized it ourselves and are paying attention. Will they be nicer to us then? We will see…