Happy Parents Have Happier Kids

Laughter is contagious, and now research shows that happiness is too—especially in your family. Happy parents have happier kids than the norm. What’s more: parents at the other extreme—negative, depressed, unhappy—often have children that act out, and have other behavior problems.010-Happy Parents Have Happier Kids_720x400

So, it’s not selfish for parents to develop activities away from the kids that make them feel good as a couple; to recapture the romance of their “coming together” period. As parents maintain—or reclaim—their happiness, they become positive role models for demonstrating happiness to their children. They are also modeling positive marriage behavior, too!

Links
How to Raise Happy Kids: 10 Steps Backed by Science
by Eric Barker
http://time.com/35496/how-to-raise-happy-kids-10-steps-backed-by-science/

How Parents’ Stress Can Hurt A Child, From The Inside Out by Alice G. Walton
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/07/25/how-parents-stress-can-hurt-a-child-from-the-inside-out/2/

Parents will raise happier children “if they put them second to their marriage” by Amelia Hill
US therapist David Code argues that an over-focus on kids creates demanding offspring and anxious, exhausted parents.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/07/parents-advised-put-children-second