A new study reveals how parental stress impacts the holiday season for children. One in five parents say their children have unrealistic expectations for the season, while one in four parents admit to setting overly idealistic expectations for themselves to ensure a perfect holiday. Mothers become more stressed by holiday preparations than fathers.
Hexadecanal, a molecule excreted by humans, found in abundance on the scalps of babies, sparks behavioral changes in adults who are exposed to it. In women, the molecule decreases connectivity in parts of the brain associated with social decision making, but increases connectivity in males.
A close relationship with fathers has broad and positive effects across adolescence for both male and female children.
New mothers who sleep less than seven hours a night six months after giving birth had an increase in biological age of between three to seven years compared to new moms who slept for seven or more hours.
Gender stereotypes and double standards, where young female athletes are not taken as seriously as or treated differently than their male counterparts, persist, even among parents.
Connections between oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus and dopamine neurons in the reward system drive parenting behaviors in both male and female voles.
Expectant fathers with higher levels of brain activation and oxytocin later endorsed a more "child-led" empathetic style of parenting once their child was born.
Men's caregiving work within a family may help to protect them against suicide, particularly in times of economic difficulties.
Study reveals few differences in life satisfaction and limited differences in personality traits between those who are child-free and those who are parents.
Adults who were mistreated as children often have a difficult time managing their emotions and find it hard to implement emotional regulation strategies. Their difficulties can, in turn, harm their own children's emotional development.
Some traditional masculine stereotypes, such as being adventurous and competitive, were linked to being better fathers to infant children. This is especially true if men also adopt a nurturing role. However, one trait, hostile sexism, was not linked to improvements in parenting skills.
A new study reports paternal anxiety is much higher than previously reported. Findings reveal anxiety in men during the perinatal period was 11%. Previous reports found anxiety in males during this period was under 4%.