Mothers and daughters – you know all of those fights you had about emptying the dishwasher? Or getting straight A’s? Or about how going to that house party on Friday night is out of the question because Jimmy from second period Algebra is a bad influence?
Well, those fights may have made you want to rip your hair out, but here’s some good news: they weren’t for nothing.
A study that was conducted by the University of Essex showed that daughters who grew up with nagging mothers were proven to grow up being more successful than children with laidback parents, specifically mothers.
Moms, when you feel like your harassment has gone unnoticed, don’t be discouraged. Regardless of how your children react to it, science shows that whether they even know it or not, it’s sticking.
The study took place over the course of six years as it looked over the lives of over 15,000 thirteen and fourteen-year-old girls.
It later concluded that girls with a main parent, typically a mom, who was persistent about things like chores, grades, and overall responsibilities had a higher chance of enrolling in college and earning a higher salary.
Now, when you think of “nagging,” it doesn’t necessarily mean the type of nagging that comes to mind. What the study is really talking about is parents who have consistent expectations. Parents who, you know, look over you and make sure you’re on the right track.
Parents have the ability to embed thoughts and morals into their children’s minds, and the children are listening even when you think they are not.
This also works both ways. The study showed that while pushy parents increase your likeliness to become successful, they also decrease the possibility of more… “frowned upon” things.
This type of parenting could potentially reduce teenage pregnancy by 4%, which is currently high in the United States and Britain, although it is decreasing.
Lead researcher Ericka G. Rascon-Ramirez shared:
“In many cases we succeeded in doing what we believed was more convenient for us, even when this was against our parents’ will. But no matter how hard we tried to avoid our parents’ recommendations, it is likely that they ended up influencing, in a more subtle manner, choices that we had considered extremely personal.”
Certain things that mothers warned kids about growing up such as teen pregnancy, poor work ethic, and bad grades all helped them in the long run. They may have reacted to the advice with frustration or anger, but they were still absorbing it.
When making decisions later on in your adult life, you’re most likely thinking, “what would mom do?”. Subconsciously, of course.
So what does this mean?
Well first, we’ll tell you what this doesn’t mean.
It doesn’t mean that moms all over the world should start saying “I told you so.” That is only going to scare your children away, possibly making them rebel even more.
Instead, mothers should focus on positive encouragement. Don’t be too hard on your girls when they make mistakes. This proves to be more successful.
Moms, keep pushing! And ladies, next time you think your mom is being irrational, maybe just thank her for the awesome future you are about to have.
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