Breaking News: Parents who declare "This is going to hurt me more than it does you" are more likely to raise well-adjusted, mentally healthy teens.
Added benefit — the children don’t kick the back of your seat when you’re flying.
We are indebted to the Carolina Journal for finding this research.
"Conservative and very conservative parents are more likely to raise mentally healthy teens compared to liberal parents, according to a new study from the Institute for Family Studies and Gallup."
This deals a blow to the credibility of lifestyle and family reporters in the regime media whose job is to tell parents the key to raising children is to be their best friend, only with a car and disposable income.
The study found, "liberal parents are more likely to have a permissive parenting style and "are the least likely to successfully discipline their children.'"
Sit in front of one on an airplane and you’ll see what we mean.
Unfortunately, those journos, many of whom are childless cat ranchers, have proven impervious to facts.
Conservatives and very conservative parents, corporal punishment and all, are doing something right.
"The IFS/Gallup report found that 'the most important factor in the mental health of adolescent children is the quality of the relationship with their caregivers.'
"The key driver is parents who have an 'authoritative' style that combines 'affection and attentiveness to children’s needs with structure and requirements for pro-social, responsible behavior.'"
In other words, eat your spinach and then you can have dessert.
Conservative parenting doesn’t guarantee the kids will completely skip their teenage years, but there is hope. "[C]onservative parents enjoy higher quality relationships with their children, characterized by fewer arguments, more warmth, and a stronger bond, according to both parent and child reporting."
The study wasn’t a poll of kids attending a Wednesday night Bible study either.
"Data for the analysis were collected from 2,995 parents of adolescents in June and July of 2023. The survey included measures of adolescent mental health, social media use, parental demographics, political views, and attitudes toward marriage, parenting practices, and parent-child relationships."
One important finding was parents make the big difference regardless of circumstances.
"[H]ousehold income, parental education, and race and ethnicity are largely unrelated to the quality of parenting and mental health outcomes for teens, the report found."
So much for "they loot because they need food."
Teen mental health is important for more than the parent’s peace of mind.
"A report released in February by the NC Child Fatality Task Force found that the youth suicide rate has nearly tripled in two decades."
Our readers no doubt agree that this is news only to wimpy parents, who will ignore the results, and sociologists, who will also ignore the results.
The report concludes, "There is no meaningful public effort to educate parents on the best–practice parenting styles that have long been associated with teen mental health.
"The results of our report should be seen as empowering parents to play the lead role in guiding their children to healthy psychological development. Their actions, judgments, and relationships are key to their teen’s mental health."
What surprised us was the background of the report’s author, Jonathan Rothwell.
He’s a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, which is a notorious hotbed of left-adherent ideology.
A report complimenting conservative parents from Brookings is a man-bites-dog event.
Or maybe Rothwell just does a lot of flying . . .
(A related article may be found here.)
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.