Older moms are less likely to punish and scold their children, says a new Danish study, which found that children raised by older moms are less likely to have behavioral, social, and emotional problems.

The average age of women giving birth for the first time has risen steadily in the United States during the past, rising from 21.4 years in 1970 to 26.3 years in 2014. The number of older moms has risen steadily as well, increasing 14 percent in only one year.

The new research should be seen in conjunction with the common recommendation not to wait too long to have children due to declining fertility and the health risks associated with pregnancy and giving birth.

"However, when estimating the consequences of the rising maternal age it's important to consider both the physical and psychosocial pros and cons," says researcher Dion Sommer from Aarhus University.

Previous studies associated older moms with increased psychosocial well-being during the pregnancy and the early days after the child is born. The new study indicates that the advantages for the older mothers and their children extend all the way into the children's school age, but decline before age 15.

Older moms have an increased risk of complications during pregnancy and while giving birth when compared to younger moms, and they are also at greater risk of having a miscarriage, giving birth prematurely, and having children with deformities.

On the other hand, studies show that older women thrive better during the first part of motherhood. They worry less during the pregnancy, are more positive about becoming parents and generally have a more positive attitude towards their children.

Previous studies found that children of older moms had better language and fewer behavioral, social, and emotional problems up until they were of school age, but the new study found the benefit continued until at least the age of 11 but not by the age of 15.

"We know that people become more mentally flexible with age, are more tolerant of other people and thrive better emotionally themselves. That's why psychological maturity may explain why older mothers do not scold and physically discipline their children as much," says Sommer.

"This style of parenting can thereby contribute to a positive psychosocial environment which affects the children's upbringing," he concludes.

The results have been published in the scientific journal European Journal of Developmental Psychology.