Every Child Left Behind: “Smart” Atheism or “Stupid” Faith?

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Image: Shutterstock

Image: Shutterstock

            Catholic children as young as 10 years old are renouncing God and quitting Church, claims a new study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown.  According to lead researcher, Dr. Mark Gray, children are finding that faith is “incompatible” with what they are learning in school, and the older the child becomes, the more this is the case.  According to Gray, “this is a generation that is struggling with faith in ways that we haven’t seen in previous generations.”

This is disturbing news for faithful parents. Our children are being besieged with the message that atheism is “smart” and faith is “dumb.” But there is a more provocative challenge presented to Catholics by this dilemma. Namely; how long will we keep teaching our kids to have a stupid faith?

“Stupid” Faith?

By “stupid” faith I mean one that doesn’t make experiential sense. Faith is only “stupid”—and, therefore, susceptible to allegedly “smart” atheism—when a person has not experienced Jesus Christ in a real and personal way. An experience of Christ is even more essential than good catechesis. Why? Because if I have experienced Christ personally, I know he exists.  If Stephen Hawking wrote a book denying the existence of my mother, I wouldn’t have to be an expert in quantum physics to know that he was writing nonsense.

Of course, intellectual formation in the form of good catechesis is also critical.  The second component of a “stupid” faith is the inability to explain why we believe what we do.  Sadly, many Catholic kids are afflicted with this malady as well, but this is actually of secondary importance to experiential encounter with the person of Christ. If I have a Ph.D. in theology, but haven’t experienced God’s love personally, my faith is a house built on sand. Essentially, the only reason atheism seems so “smart” to today’s youth is that while most Catholic kids are sacramentalized, and some are even adequately catechized, very few are actually evangelized.  That job falls squarely on mom and dad.  The Church will baptize our kids, and Catholic schools may catechize them, but parents are best equipped to bring their children to a meaningful, personal encounter with Jesus Christ.

Every Child Left Behind

Because of this, the Church tells us families are the first “schools of faith.” Unfortunately, the vast majority of these Catholic “schools” are getting a failing grade. A separate study, also conducted by CARA, found that only 17% of Catholic families pray together and only 13% say Grace at Meals together. This research sadly shows that most Catholic families are not living their faith in any demonstrable way at home.  If 83% of kids came out of school unable to read we would, rightly, be up in arms. Well, 83% of Catholic kids are “graduating” as spiritual illiterates from their family schools of faith. What are we going to do about it?

What Happened?

            Our post-Christian culture has not caused this problem.  It simply shined a light on it.  It used to be that Catholic parents who did a poor job evangelizing their children could at least count on the culture to nudge their kids back to Church.  Maybe they wouldn’t be “Christian heroes” (as Cardinal Marx recently put it) but at least they would go through the motions and, in time, maybe they’d catch a deeper faith by marinating in the smells and bells.  This approach—which never worked well—is now hopelessly doomed.  The prevailing culture now sneers at churchgoing.  More and more, you will have to choose to go to Church—not because anyone will be disappointed if you don’t—but because you care deeply about the person you’re going to encounter when you get there (i.e., Jesus Christ in the Eucharist) or you won’t go at all.

Today, it falls more and more to parents to give their children a personal and meaningful experience of the love of God—not by simply dragging them to Mass and enrolling them in religious education–but by giving kids tangible evidence of God’s love in family life through meaningful family prayer, strong family rituals (e.g., specific times to work, play, talk, and pray together), casual but meaningful discussions about how God is impacting the family’s life, and an cultivating an intimacy within the home  rooted in each family member trying to love each other as God loves them.

A Call To Action 

            This latest CARA study is not a chance to impotently cluck about the godless culture.  It is a reminder to Catholic parents—and the whole Church–that if we want to raise faithful kids, we need to help our kids encounter Christ as the most important member of our families and the source of the warmth in our homes. If you’d like to discover more ideas for making this happen in your home, check out Discovering God Together: The Catholic Guide to Raising Faithful Kids. 

Review of 50 Years of Spanking Research Reveals Sobering Truth

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In a recently published meta analysis in the Journal of Family Psychology, developmental psychologist Elizabeth Gershoff and University of Michigan professor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor sift through 75 studies, for a total data pool of nearly 161,000 children, and find “no evidence that spanking is associated with improved child behavior.”

What’s more, the analysis finds evidence that spanking is associated with troubling outcomes — like increased aggression, increased anti-social behavior, and mental health problems later in life….

But what about the fact that “correlation doesn’t equal causation?”  Dr. Gershoff responds powerfully by saying…

…if in the real world — spanking was good for kids, some of these studies should have found that and found an effect in the other direction. [Only one study of the 75 found an effect linking spanking to a positive outcome.  In order for that conclusion to be right, that spanking is good for kids, we have to have some correlations in that direction, but we don’t. All the correlations are in the negative direction.

So, are parents who spank supposed to feel like awful people who ruined their kids?  Again, Gershoff responds…

Let’s be realistic, most people who were spanked were spanked as children. And as everyone likes to tell me, they turned out okay. And me included. I think I turned out okay despite being spanked.

The question is: Did other things counter balance the spanking?

I don’t think we learn to be good people who care about others by being hit. … [We learn from our parents,] who talk to us about the value and the morality of sharing with other people and taking turns and thinking about others’ feelings.

We know now that children need to be in car seats and seat belts. But those of us who grew up in the 1970s were in cars that didn’t even have seat belts. Do I think my parents were bad parents for not putting me in a seat belt? No, because no one understood how important seat belts were to protecting children. Do I think I “turned out okay” because I wasn’t in a seat belt? No — I think I was lucky. It’s the same with spanking.

We turned out okay in spite of being spanked, not because of it.  READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

For more tips on effective, gentle discipline, check out Parenting with Grace: The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids.  

 

Millennials Less Promiscuous Than Any Generation for 60 Years. Here’s Why That’s TERRIBLE.

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Image: Shutterstock.

Some Christian news outlets are rejoicing at the recent study finding that Millennials are less sexually active than any other generation for the last 60 years. The perception by some is that this generation is experiencing a spontaneous outbreak of unusual moral fortitude.

Confronting the Nightmare

Would that it were so.  If you read the reports, the reasons Millennials give for not being interested in sex is that they are not interested in relationship at all.  Millennials appear to be so relationally broken that they would prefer to play video games, obsess over work, and dabble in porn rather than engage in any form of intimate relationship (not just sex) hardly counts as a win for our side. Rampant divorce, parental serial monogamy, an epidemic of absentee fathers, and households led by dual-parent workaholics. have killed this generation’s most basic, God-given desire for communion. It’s a nightmare.

Is It Porn?

Some commenters have suggested that this is the result of the porn epidemic.  That certainly doesn’t help, but that misses the larger point.  Under normal circumstances, even people who have a seriously compulsive relationship with porn historically indicated that a real relationship with a flesh and blood person would be preferable.  That isn’t the case with man Millennials.  The problem is much deeper.

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Why Most Bad Parenting Advice Begins with “But My Pediatrician Said…”

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Image via shutterstock. Used with permission.

Image via shutterstock. Used with permission.

Let me say up front, this is NOT an article bashing the medical professions in general, or pediatricians, in particular.  I LOVE physicians.  I LOVE pediatricians ESPECIALLY.  They do tremendous (and often thankless) work.  Contrary to a lot of stupid opinions on the internet, when it comes to treating sick children, there is no one better to turn to than your friendly neighborhood pediatrician.  In particular, my kids’ pediatrician is awesome. She has gotten my kids through many illnesses and is a big part of helping my kids lead happy, healthy lives as young adults. So let me say up front, THREE CHEERS FOR PEDIATRICIANS AND THE SCIENCE OF PEDIATRIC MEDICINE!!!  Hip Hip, HOORAY!

AN OPEN SECRET

Now, having given pediatricians their proper due,  here is something that you need to know.  Pediatricians are trained to treat childhood diseases.  They’re very, very good at that job.  BUT they don’t know any more about parenting than you do, or your mom, or the stranger you bump into on the street, or the internet. They don’t have time in med school–which is focused on teaching pediatricians how to save your kid’s life–to take courses on parenting.  The open secret–that any honest pediatrician will be happy to admit–is that nothing about the normal course of training in pediatric medicine qualifies a pediatrician to be a qualified parenting expert.

True, some pediatricians go on to get Master’s Degrees or even Ph.D’s in child development or child psychology, but that is not what most pediatricians do.  Most pediatricians take, at most, one or two classes in psychology in the course of their entire medical education.   Don’t believe me?  Check out the full course of study for med students at the University of Texas (in which first year med students take one, 6 week course in “Human Behavior”)   or Georgetown (which may, in fact,  require some psychology courses, but, in fact, does not even bother to list psychology at all in the description of its overall pediatric course of study).

TRUST ME, I’M THE DOCTOR

Again, this is not to bash pediatricians.  The fact is, they are put in a difficult position. Parents ask them for behavioral advice and they do their best to be as helpful as they can. They want to help.  Good on them.  That’s what any decent person would try to do.   The problem is that most parents think a white coat conveys omniscience and that every word “the doctor” utters is rooted in years of professional training and scientific rigor when, in fact, this is often not the case (unless “the doctor” is talking about treating actual medical illnesses–or perhaps, in very special cases, the Tardis).

UM, WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?

I am writing this because hardly a week goes by where I don’t get a message from some very upset, anxious mom whose missive begins with “my pediatrician says” and then goes on to describe some truly antiquated, generally horrifying,  bit of parenting advice that clearly came from the good doctor’s sainted granny but has no bearing on anything related to validated principles in child development or child psychology.  One particularly egregious example?  Many pediatricians will tell you that babies can “self-soothe” when left to “cry it out.” There is absolutely no scientific grounding for this idea.  In fact, what we do know about infant development says exactly the opposite.  A baby’s autonomic nervous system is not developed to the point that she can down-regulate her stress responses without the loving presence of an attentive caregiver.  No one can explain the mechanism of action for  this mysterious, magical power of “self-soothing” that so many people believe in.  There is absolutely no scientific, medical, or psychological basis for the idea that babies can “self-soothe.”   This is not medical advice.  It is unsubstantiated, wishful thinking. It is nonsense.

GOT CANCER?  DON’T ASK ME. 

My point isn’t to fixate on sleep training.  It is just to illustrate the larger point.  Parents ask pediatricians parenting questions because parents think pediatricians are supposed to know something about parenting.  But, as a general rule, they don’t know any more than any other non-expert does.  Asking them parenting advice is as useful as asking me how to treat cancer because I happen to have known several people who have had it.  My thoughts on the subject might not be entirely useless, but you sure as heck shouldn’t make treatment decisions based upon it. And, as an actual, trained and certified parenting expert,  I’d be the first to tell you that.

If you have a discipline question, or a question about your infant or toddler’s eating habits, or a question about your baby or toddler’s sleep habits, or questions about school behavior, or…your child’s behavior in general, you may certainly ask your pediatrician for advice–as long as you put that advice in the same category as the advice you get from your mom, your friends, or the internet.

WHERE TO TURN

If, on the other hand, you are sincerely seeking an expert opinion about addressing childhood behavior issues, including feeding and sleep habits, discipline, and general parenting/family issues,  the best source to turn to is a child and family psychologist, family therapist, or child development specialist.  All of these professionals have extensive academic, practical training, and supervised experience in child development, child rearing, and empirically-validated approaches to addressing childhood behavior problems.

The takeaway here is that, as well-meaning as they might be, you should never have any confidence in any parenting advice that begins with the statement “my pediatrician says” unless what follows is, “that the best way to treat (insert childhood disease here) is….”

To learn about effective, faithful approaches to discipline and family life, check out Parenting with Grace: The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids and Then Comes Baby:  The Catholic Guide to Surviving & Thriving in the First Three Years of Parenthood.

Hey Parents, Do THIS to Get Teens to Listen!

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Getting teens to listen can be a challenge, and when they don’t, parents often tend to rely on criticism and negative consequences to “teach” their teens to make better choices in the future.  A new study suggests this might be counterproductive.

The study, conducted by University College–London, looked at the differences between the motivational styles of  adults versus adolescents.  Researchers report, “Unlike adults, adolescents are not so good at learning to modify their choices to avoid punishment. This suggests that incentive systems based on reward rather than punishment may be more effective for this age group. Additionally, we found that adolescents did not learn from being shown what would have happened if they made alternative choices.”

This might explain why so many parents are mystified by the fact that no matter how many consequences they pile on, their kids (in general) and teens (in particular) tend to keep repeating the same undesirable behaviors.  It turns out that negative consequences may not only cause teens to avoid undesirable behavior, it may even reinforce it.

What’s a parent to do?  Two things:  Teach/support the “positive opposite”, and reward good choices.

Teaching and supporting the “positive opposite” means that instead of telling your teen what not to do and then punishing them if they do it, parents should tell the teen exactly what they DO want to see and then create a structure that supports their success.  For instance, instead of punishing your teen if they come home too late from a friend’s house, telling them ahead of time, “I need you to be home by 11 tonight.” and then texting him at 10:30 to say, “Hey son, I hope you’ve had a good night. Start wrapping up because I need you home by 11.”  Such an approach establishes a clear expectation at the outset and then creates a structure that supports success instead of simply standing back and waiting for the teen to fail and then pouncing.

Rewarding good choices means catching your teens being good, acknowledging when they have followed the rules or fulfilled your expectations, especially when you know it was hard for them.  That doesn’t mean you have to have a parade and a medal ceremony every time your kid comes home on time, but taking the time to say, “Hey, I really appreciated you texting me at 10:30 to let me know you were heading home instead of waiting for me to remind you to head out.  That was really thoughtful” can make all the difference.

St Francis de Sales is credited with the saying that we can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.  It turns out that’s not just good advice for evangelism.  It’s good advice for parenting!  For more ways to make your parenting life easier and more effective, check out Parenting with Grace: The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids (2nd Ed. Revised and Expanded).  

New Study Finds THIS Parenting Style Predicts Highest Rates of Success, Happiness, Morality in Adults…

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Image via shutterstock. Used with permission.

Image via shutterstock. Used with permission.

Parenting can be tough work, and there are lots of different ideas about what it means to be a good parent, but with good information, every parent can be equipped to raise healthy, happy, godly kids.  A recent study in Japan surveyed 5,000 adults to investigate the impact on parenting styles and adult levels of job success, happiness, and moral reasoning.

Based on their findings, the researchers then divided parenting methods into six categories:

  1. Supportive: High or average levels of independence, high levels of trust, high levels of interest shown in child, large amount of time spent together;
  2. Strict: Low levels of independence, medium-to-high levels of trust, strict or fairly strict, medium-to-high levels of interest shown in child, large amount of rules;
  3. Indulgent: High or average levels of trust, not strict at all, time spent together is average or longer than average;
  4. Easygoing: Low levels of interest shown in child, not strict at all, small amount of time spent together, few rules;
  5. Harsh: Low levels of interest shown in child, low levels of independence, low levels of trust, strict;
  6. Average: Average levels for all key factors.

The findings demonstrated that people who had experienced “supportive” child-rearing where parents paid them a lot of positive attention reported high salaries, academic success, high levels of happiness and better moral reasoning skills.

On the other hand, participants subjected to a “strict” upbringing where parents paid them high levels of attention combined with strict discipline reported high salaries and academic achievement, but lower happiness levels and increased stress.  READ MORE

To learn more about how you can successful, healthy, moral kids, check out Parenting with Grace: The Catholic Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids.  Here;s what one Amazon reviewer had to say… “After searching for a parenting book that would reflect my values, I found it and so much more with Parenting With Grace. I will be forever changed after reading this book. My husband and I now have the tools we need to be the best parents we can be and raise our children in the home God intended.”  See for yourself!

 

A Crisis In Catholic Fatherhood

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A recent caller to my radio program said that she and her husband weren’t on the same spiritual level.  He didn’t go to mass or pray with her. He zoned out when she talked about the faith.  As a result, her children were starting to buck her efforts to form them in the faith.  The problem, as she saw it, was that “he’s a convert so it just isn’t reasonable for me to expect him to be in the same place that I am.”  Thinking that he might be a recent convert, I was hopeful that there might be some positive momentum to build on.  I asked her when her husband came into the church.

“Twenty-five years ago” was her surprising answer.

My initial reaction was to think this was an extreme case, but I wonder if it isn’t indicative of the reality in the church.  Catholics simply don’t expect husbands and fathers to do more than warm pews, and we think we’re lucky if we can get that.  In almost two decades of marriage ministry, I have spoken to Catholics around the world and I cannot count the number of times I have heard wives complain, on the one hand, that they do not have a husband who can share their spiritual life or help raise their kids in the faith but, on the other hand, simultaneously dismiss their own concern by saying in the next breath, “but I can’t expect him to be in the same place I am.”

Why in heaven’s name not?  We expect men to do all kinds of hard things; be faithful, provide for their families, be there for their kids, not abuse their wife or children, not drink to excess, be, generally speaking,  decent people.  Do all men do these things? Of course not, but when they don’t, we insist that there is a serious problems to be dealt with and we offer help and guidance to those who struggle with those problems.  Sadly,  for the most part, when Catholics hear that that a father doesn’t know how to take point, spiritually, at home, we collectively shrug. “That’s just the way men are.”

True, Catholic men’s ministries are trying to address this problem, but in all but a few instances these ministries are struggling for survival.  Why?  In my experience it is largely because Catholics don’t really expect men to be intentional disciples.  Furthermore, with so many crises in the world, it’s hard to find the energy to prioritize what seems like a middle-class problem. We just don’t appreciate the true social cost of spiritually absent fathers.

But it is a huge problem for both our Church and society as a whole.  One major study found that children raised in households where fathers are not active in the faith have about a 3% chance of being faithful as adults.  Concerned with social justice?  Another major study found that the biggest difference between those who rescued Jews during the Holocaust versus those who collaborated in the persecution or simply stood silently by was not their levels of church involvement or educational attainment, political affiliation, or socioeconomic status.  The biggest difference was that rescuers were raised in homes where fathers took the lead in forming their children’s character.

Why are fathers so important?  For the first several months of life, babies  do not know that they and their mothers are different people.  They grew inside their mothers and, once they are born, they continue to believe that they and their mother are one being.  Father, in a very real way, is experienced by baby as “the first other.”   Biologically and developmentally speaking, father is “the world” to the child.  If the role of mother is teaching baby how to think about the more private realms of life and home, it is the role of father to represent how “the world” works .  If mom is prayerful, the child might see prayer as important, but, primarily,  a private matter.  If dad is prayerful, the child is socialized to believe that prayer and faith are public, pro-social activities that are meant to positively impact the world.

The ability of fathers to be spiritually engaged in their families is not merely a quality of life issue.  It is a foundational crisis that is at the root of a host of serious social problems.  Church leaders must insist that Catholic men step into the spiritual vacuum in the home.  Catholic women must demand that their husbands open their hearts to becoming spiritual leaders.  Catholic men must challenge themselves to cultivate spiritual leadership skills like they learn anything else.  The future of our Church and our society depend on it.

Dr. Greg Popcak is the host of More2Life Radio and the author of many books, including The Corporal Works of Mommy (and Daddy Too)!  Visit him at www.CatholicCounselors.com

So, What IS Modesty Anyway?

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Image via Shutterstock

Fellow Patheosi, Rebecca Bratten-Weiss posted a terrific article that cuts through a lot of the nonsense people say about what modesty is and what it isn’t.  You should read the whole thing, but here is a sample.

If modesty is a virtue, it should be for everyone, but in the usual account, if one is not young and hot, or if one lives in a culture which accepts nudity, is there no need for modesty? Some might respond that to be comfortable with nudity is itself immodest, but such a view is very Euro-centric, as well as ignorant, since even our own trends are fluid, so today’s “modest is hottest” poster girl is yesterday’s vile temptress. Cultural codes of fashion have to do with creating sartorial texts, languages, even, that enables wearers to project messages about themselves, but every “language” is different, and within each language there are shifts and miscommunications, so a woman wearing a short skirt is not necessarily broadcasting to you “I’m sexually available.” She might be wearing a short skirt because emphasizing legs means emphasizing freedom and mobility (which is why men flaunted their sexy legs, in many cultures, while women kept covered all the way down to the ankles). If a man feels sexual desire for her (and he may not, if he isn’t into legs or women’s legs, or if he is sexually mature enough not to go around with a hair-trigger sexual response system) – this is his own act, for which he himself must take responsibility.  READ THE REST

She develops these themes well and her thoughts are well-worth your time.  The only thing I would add is that the the term for the false belief that I am somehow responsible for someone else’s emotional reactions is “internal control fallacy.” It’s a recognized cognitive distortion (i.e., what psychologists call a logical fallacy or disordered thinking process) that sets people up for anxiety as they try to “make” others feel a certain thing–and inevitably fail.

I’ll also note that this is exactly the approach Lisa and I take on modesty in our book, Beyond the Birds and the Bees, which takes a developmental approach to raising sexually and morally whole and holy kids from toddlerhood through young adulthood.  If you’re looking for resources to help you raise kids who have their heads on straight about sex and morality (never an easy task and getting harder every day) I hope you’ll give it a look.

New Major Study of 160,000 Children Finds Spanking Causes Similar Harm As Abuse.

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Children need solid discipline, consistent expectations, and solid structure, but there are many better ways to accomplish these ends than corporal punishment.  A new study examining 50 years of data derived from observations of 16,000 kids finds that spanking (defined as striking a child with an open hand) and abuse are not  substantively different phenomena but rather cause similar problems with child behavior and well-being.  According to the study…

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The more children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy their parents and to experience increased anti-social behavior, aggression, mental health problems and cognitive difficulties, according to a new meta-analysis of 50 years of research on spanking by experts at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan.

The study, published in this month’s Journal of Family Psychology, looks at five decades of research involving over 160,000 children. The researchers say it is the most complete analysis to date of the outcomes associated with spanking, and more specific to the effects of spanking alone than previous papers, which included other types of physical punishment in their analyses.

“Our analysis focuses on what most Americans would recognize as spanking and not on potentially abusive behaviors,” says Elizabeth Gershoff, an associate professor of human development and family sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. “We found that spanking was associated with unintended detrimental outcomes and was not associated with more immediate or long-term compliance, which are parents’ intended outcomes when they discipline their children.”

Gershoff and co-author Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, found that spanking (defined as an open-handed hit on the behind or extremities) was significantly linked with 13 of the 17 outcomes they examined, all in the direction of detrimental outcomes.

“The upshot of the study is that spanking increases the likelihood of a wide variety of undesired outcomes for children. Spanking thus does the opposite of what parents usually want it to do,” Grogan-Kaylor says.

Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor tested for some long-term effects among adults who were spanked as children. The more they were spanked, the more likely they were to exhibit anti-social behavior and to experience mental health problems. They were also more likely to support physical punishment for their own children, which highlights one of the key ways that attitudes toward physical punishment are passed from generation to generation.

The researchers looked at a wide range of studies and noted that spanking was associated with negative outcomes consistently and across all types of studies, including those using the strongest methodologies such as longitudinal or experimental designs. As many as 80 percent of parents around the world spank their children, according to a 2014 UNICEF report. Gershoff notes that this persistence of spanking is in spite of the fact that there is no clear evidence of positive effects from spanking and ample evidence that it poses a risk of harm to children’s behavior and development.

Both spanking and physical abuse were associated with the same detrimental child outcomes in the same direction and nearly the same strength.

“We as a society think of spanking and physical abuse as distinct behaviors,” she says. “Yet our research shows that spanking is linked with the same negative child outcomes as abuse, just to a slightly lesser degree.”   READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL.

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As I said at the top of this post, children do need consistent discipline, clear rules and expectations, appropriate consequences and structure to help guide their behavior but there are about a million better ways to accomplish these tasks than resorting to spanking–even “just with your hand”.  Parenting with Grace:  The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids lays out a discipline system that allows parents to have even higher standards for their kids than do parents who resort to corporal punishment all while using methods that respect your dignity and the dignity of your child.

Does this research mean you’re a horrible person, a bad Catholic, or a terrible parent if you spank?  No.  But it does mean that you could do a lot better.  Catholic social justice teaches that those in authority have a responsibility to use the least offensive means available to effect the greatest change. Parenting is tough enough without feeling obliged to resort to means that make your work even more difficult.  Let me repeat that.  It isn’t just that spanking isn’t good for kids and parents, it’s that spanking makes the work of parenting harder.  Better information and support can help you leave the power-struggles and heavy handed approaches to discipline behind and, instead, use methods that help you create a more peaceful, orderly family life based on love, joy and mutual respect.  Don’t believe me?  Give it a try.  Need support?  Let us help.  You can have terrifically behaved kids using methods that make your life easier and your home life more enjoyable.  Show the world there’s a better way by being the family that treats each other with uncommon respect, and gets there using uncommonly respectful–and infinitely more effective–approaches to parenting.

MRI Shows Breastfed Babies’ Brains Develop Better/Faster than Formula or Mixed-Fed Infants

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Support for the developing brain MRI images, taken while children were asleep, showed that infants who were exclusively breastfed for at least three months had enhanced development in key parts of the brain compared to children who were fed formula or a combination of formula and breastmilk. Images show development of myelization by age, left to right. Baby Imaging Lab/ Brown University

Support for the developing brain MRI images, taken while children were asleep, showed that infants who were exclusively breastfed for at least three months had enhanced development in key parts of the brain compared to children who were fed formula or a combination of formula and breastmilk. Images show development of myelization by age, left to right.
Baby Imaging Lab/ Brown University

Several weeks ago, I posted an article on how nursing facilitates the development of structures in the brain responsible for moral cognition, and a follow up article on how certain “high -touch” parenting practices (extended nursing, extravagant affection, skin-to-skin contact, “baby-wearing”, prompt response to cries) facilitate the development of the social brain.  In that latter article, I walked readers through how such parenting practices facilitate moral and social development.  This latest study from Brown University’s Baby Imaging Lab provides further, hard data exposing the myth that formula feeding is “just as good” as nursing or that short term nursing is “just as good” as extended breastfeeding.

A new study by researchers from Brown University finds more evidence that breastfeeding is good for babies’ brains.

The study made use of specialized, baby-friendly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at the brain growth in a sample of children under the age of 4. The research found that by age 2, babies who had been breastfed exclusively for at least three months had enhanced development in key parts of the brain compared to children who were fed formula exclusively or who were fed a combination of formula and breastmilk. The extra growth was most pronounced in parts of the brain associated with language, emotional function, and cognition, the research showed.

…Deoni and his team looked at 133 babies ranging in ages from 10 months to four years. All of the babies had normal gestation times, and all came from families with similar socioeconomic statuses. The researchers split the babies into three groups: those whose mothers reported they exclusively breastfed for at least three months, those fed a combination of breastmilk and formula, and those fed formula alone. The researchers compared the older kids to the younger kids to establish growth trajectories in white matter for each group.

The study showed that the exclusively breastfed group had the fastest growth in myelinated white matter of the three groups, with the increase in white matter volume becoming substantial by age 2. The group fed both breastmilk and formula had more growth than the exclusively formula-fed group, but less than the breastmilk-only group.

“We’re finding the difference [in white matter growth] is on the order of 20 to 30 percent, comparing the breastfed and the non-breastfed kids,” said Deoni. “I think it’s astounding that you could have that much difference so early.”

Deoni and his team then backed up their imaging data with a set of basic cognitive tests on the older children. Those tests found increased language performance, visual reception, and motor control performance in the breastfed group.

The study also looked at the effects of the duration of breastfeeding. The researchers compared babies who were breastfed for more than a year with those breastfed less than a year, and found significantly enhanced brain growth in the babies who were breastfed longer — especially in areas of the brain dealing with motor function.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Biology is theology.  God created our bodies in such a manner as to point to the fact that we were created for loving communion with him and one another.  Science consistently shows that when we cooperate with God’s plan for parenting by respecting the self-donative nature of the body and nursing babies through toddlerhood, we lay the groundwork for more effective social and moral reasoning.  To learn more about how the theology of the body reveals God’s plan for parenting, check our Parenting with Grace:The Catholic Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids and Then Comes Baby: The Catholic Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the First Three Years of Parenthood.

Incidentally, I would like to offer my congratulations to Dr. Darcia Narvaez, the author of the original article I linked on nursing and moral cognition.  She was recently named a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association.  Congratulations Dr. Narvaez! And thank you for your excellent work promoting those parenting practices that are best at facilitating children’s moral and social development.