The ability to use words as a toddler may affect the way a child manages anger later in life, a new study suggests. Children with good language skills at age 2 expressed less anger during frustrating situations at age 4 than did those 4-year-olds with less advanced language skills, according to the study’s findings.
Children whose language skills developed quickly also expressed less anger at age 4. While previous research suggested a link between language skills and the expression of anger in young children, few studies had followed children over time.
The new study followed 120 children from 18 months old until they were 4. Children periodically underwent tests that assessed their language skills and their ability to cope with frustrating tasks. One task asked children to wait for eight minutes before opening a present while their mother finished work.
Two aspects of language appeared to help children rein in their anger. First, more-developed language skills allowed kids to ask for support from their parents during a frustrating situation (for instance, asking the mother whether she was finished with her work). Children also used language to occupy or distract themselves from becoming angry. (One child dealt with the waiting task by counting for a full minute.)
“Better language skills may help children verbalize rather than use emotions to convey needs and use their imaginations to occupy themselves while enduring a frustrating wait,” said study researcher Pamela Cole, a professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University..
Bedroom TV Linked To Childhood Obesity
A television in the bedroom raises a child’s risk for obesity, a new study suggests.The study analyzed information on 369 children ages 5 to 18 who underwent body scans to determine the amount of fat mass they had.
Children with a TV in their bedroom were about twice as likely to have high levels of fat mass – defined as levels in the top 25 per cent – compared with those without a TV in their room.Kids with a TV in their room were also more likely to have a large waist circumference measurement and high levels of fat in the bloodstream.
Viewing TV for more than two hours a day was linked to these same risks, the study found. The findings held even after the researchers took into account factors that affect weight, such as age, gender, physical activity level and diet.About 70 per cent of youngsters have a TV in the bedroom, and one-third are overweight or obese, the researchers said.
Previous studies have found a link between bedroom TVs and increased risk of being overweight in children, but these studies have primarily used body mass index (a ratio of height to weight), which is not an exact measurement of body fat.
Watching TV in the bedroom may pose extra hazards compared with regular TV viewing. Studies have linked bedroom TVs with reduced amounts of sleep, a factor that itself has been linked to weight gain, said study researcher Amanda Staiano.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children’s TV time be limited to two hours a day or less.