Perennially aggressive, defiant and “explosive” tots aren’t born that way, they're made according to a new study published in the journal Child Development.
More than 260 mothers and their children were tracked from birth to Grade 1 according to temperament and how "well" the infants were parented from the first six months of life, then again at two and a half and three years old and finally in first grade.
“Our findings suggest that it was negative parenting in early infancy that mattered most,” says lead author of the study, Michael F. Lorber.
By 'negative parenting,' Lorber refers to rough handling children as well as expressing negative emotions toward them.
“Negative parenting in infancy appeared to set the stage for both moms and their kids being more hostile and angry during the toddler years, bringing out the worst in one another,” says Lorber, who hopes his research will help spark early interventions which will in turn prevent kids from developing behavioural problems.
Do you agree, or do you think that some kids are simply born with aggressive temperaments?
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