Questions parents fear being asked by kids

“Why is the moon is out during the day” and “Why is the sky blue” are questions that parents most fear from their children, according to a new survey.

Researchers found that two thirds of parents are often stumped for an answer by their children’s questions, particularly on mathematics and
science.

parentAside from those on the moon and sky, they found the most perplexing demands also included how aeroplanes stay airborne, what makes a rainbow and why there are different time zones.

The natural world featured in a list compiled by the researchers with questions on the apparent disappearance of birds and bees in winter.

However, there were more esoteric queries, including whether aliens will ever be found, how much the Earth weighs and why water is wet, the Telegraph reported.

A quarter of mothers and fathers admitted to feeling frustrated and embarrassed by their intellectual shortcomings, the survey found.

The nationwide study was commissioned for The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair, which describes itself as the UK’s largest such event for young people.

Around 2,000 parents took part and one in three said they were asked scientific or mathematic questions by their children on a daily basis.

Half of parents said they were worried about answering their children’s queries on those subjects.

One in three admitted to furtive researching to save face before answering their child.

A fifth of people said they either invented an answer or claimed no one knew the truth and 16 percent of respondents simply passed the query to the other parent.

Are you an authoritative parent?

Trying to have too much control over your children’s lives may not be a good idea, for they tend to take it negatively, says a new study.

The study, conducted in the United States by researchers at Orebro University in Sweden, looked at how adolescents view and react to parental control.

Parental control falls into two categories: behavioural control (when parents help their children regulate themselves and feel competent by providing supervision, setting limits, and establishing rules) and psychological control (when parents are manipulative in their behaviour, often resulting in feelings of guilt, rejection, or not being loved). It's thought that behavioural control is better for youngsters' development. However, when parents are very controlling, young people no longer make this distinction and view both types of parental control negatively.

The study, which asked 67 American children (7th and 8th graders, as well as 10th and 11th graders) to respond to hypothetical scenarios involving both kinds of control, found that the youths put a negative spin on both types of control when the parents in the scenarios exercised a lot of control.

Specifically, when parents showed moderate levels of control, they saw psychological control more negatively than behavioural control, but when parents were very controlling, they viewed both types of control negatively. Specifically, the youths interpreted high levels of control as intrusive and as indicating that they mattered less as individuals.

Intrusiveness is a hallmark of psychological control, according to the researchers, and both high levels of psychological control and feeling that you don't matter have been linked to poorer adjustment.

"Under some conditions, such as when personal choice is restricted, adolescents view behavioural control as negatively as psychological control. Such negative interpretations may mean that adolescents would respond as poorly to highly restrictive behavioral control as they do to psychological control," the authors said.

'Don’t watch your wife give birth';Expert

A medical expert has warned all fathers-to-be to stay away from the pregnancy ward as seeing their wives giving birth could lead them to divorce. Parenting

According to childbirth specialist Michael Odent, watching a woman give birth can lessen or end a man’s sexual attraction towards her and lead to a split, reports the Daily Express. Not just that, Odent says a man’s presence can create other problems for the woman.

He points out that a man’s company extends the labour, making it more painful and stressful for the mother. Odent believes a woman about to give birth can get distracted by her partner’s presence and might eventually need a caesarean.

Odent suggests that even male doctors should be avoided and only midwives should be present at childbirth. He says that the more focussed a woman is, easier would be the childbirth.

He will tell the Royal College of Midwives conference next month: “The ideal birth environment involved no men in general. Having been involved for more than 50 years in childbirths, the best environment is when there is nobody around the woman apart from an experienced midwife – and no doctors and no husband.”

Authoritative parents good for kids

A new study has found that children whose parents have a firm parenting approach allowing them to test the rules and learn from it are more likely to assume Parentingleadership roles as adults.

For the new study published in a recent edition of The Leadership Quarterly, researchers used data from a long-term Minnesota study of twins. Apparently children raised by “authoritative” but supportive parents assumed more leadership roles at work and in their communities later in life.

While these children were also less likely to engage in serious rule-breaking, children who did engage in serious rule-breaking were less likely to assume leadership roles.

Children challenging the boundaries set out by their parents learn why the rules are in place and then learn from their parents how to achieve their goals without breaking the rules.

Maria Rotundo, a professor at the Rotman School of Management said: “Some of these early examples of rule-breaking behaviour, more the modest type, don’t necessarily produce negative outcomes later in life – that was fairly intriguing. “It doesn’t mean all children of authoritative parents are going to become leaders, but they are more likely to.”

The study seems to suggest the saying that leaders are raised more than they are born. Also, behavioural genetics has shown that innate factors account for only 30 per cent of who will end up in leadership positions and people’s leadership styles.

Top Five gifts for Father`s Day

If you`re thinking of marking Father`s Day with the Mother Nature touch, then here`s a list of gifts that can prove useful for you.

Environmental News Network has put together five green-friendly gift ideas to help you show care towards your dad and nature.

1.) While wallets runs a popular choice for the occasion, Green Guru Gear has come up with ones made from reused materials.

2.) And for beer loving dads, Seven Bridges Cooperative has an organic at-home beer making kit along with several discount and membership schemes.

3.) Golf-crazy fathers can try Earth Golf Balls, organic caps and tees with a green twist.

4.) For those who love being updated with the latest gadgets and gizmos, Solio Charger, a solar-powered device that charges electronics, may score some points.

5.) Biker dads can also try Optibike, hand made in the USA electric bicycles, especially the USV, Ultra Smart Vehicle model, which could be dubbed as the ideal E-bike for commuting or for trail riding since it allows the user to pedal over 28 miles on one battery charge and ride at speeds over 20 mph.

Mom Kicks Kids Out of the Car, Gets arrested

A mom in White Plains, N.Y., was fed up with her daughters' bickering in the car. And so, in a fit of what was likely parental desperation, she kicked the girls, ages 10 and 12, out of the car 3 miles from home.

Is the act one of minor stupidity -- acting properly human -- or child endangerment?

"The 12-year-old chased the car and got back in," reports the New York Times. "The 10-year-old was left alone and was eventually comforted by a passer-by who bought her an ice cream and contacted the police. When Ms. Primoff came to pick up her daughter, she was arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, and held in jail overnight. Ms. Primoff, a partner specializing in international finance with the firm Kaye Scholer, is free on $1,500 bail and due back in court on May 21."

Primoff also has been barred from contact with her children, writes the New York Sun.

If it weren't for her arrest -- and even with it, it's likely that Primoff's daughters will believe her next time when she tells them to stop fighting or they can get out of the car. I certainly believed my mother when she said similar statements because I KNEW my mother meant it. And Primoff made that clear with her own children.

I know there are plenty of folks who are and will slam Primoff for endangering her children in what some call a seedy commercial district in White Plains. Others will -- and have -- said they deal with fighting kids in the car by giving them iPods or other electronic toys to turn on or by making them change seats. But none of us were in Primoff's driving shoes in that car. None of us knows the volume the bickering had gotten to or the amount of time the girls had been fighting or how many other times before the girls had fought in that same car. None of us were in her shoes.

What we do know is that some forms of discipline can land us in jail -- and that's a shame. Because, really, when it comes right down to it, the only way our kids will listen to us when we tell preschoolers to keep those seat belts buckled or to stop yelling in the car or any miriad of other annoying behavior, is to enforce our threats. And kicking the kids out of the car is a pretty common threat that comes to many minds.

While I can't say I've ever kicked the kids out of the car miles from home, I have sent them out the front door to run a few laps around the house. And I have pulled over, stopped the car and refused to drive until everyone is acting right.

What troubles me most about this is NOT the fact that Primoff kicked the kids out. It's that she didn't quickly double back to pick up the 10-year-old.

Are You Ready to Have children

Mess Test:

Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.


Toy Test:

Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you maysubstitute roofing tacks) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream. (This could wake a child at night.)

Grocery Store Test:

Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop at the grocery store. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.


Dressing Test:

Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag, making sure that all arms stay inside.


Feeding Test:

Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a stout cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the mouth of the jug, while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.


Night Test:

Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8 - 12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8:00 PM, begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10: 00PM.Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00 AM. Set alarm for 5:00 AM. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.


Physical Test (Women):

Obtain a large beanbag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10 of the beans.


Physical Test (Men):

Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.


Final Assignment:

Find a couple who already has a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run riot. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers. "