A study reveals that differential parenting affects families as a whole.
A new study reveals that when parent’s pick favorite kids, nobody wins.
Apparently the negative effects not only affect the child who receives less attention, but the whole family.
Reportedly the more extreme the parenting methods are, the greater the mental health issues are for every child. Called, "Differential parenting", it translates to a mother or father giving positive encouragement to one child and mostly negative to another.
The lead author of the study, and University of Toronto professor, Jenny Jenkins, monitored the behavior of 400 Canadian families over 4 years. The households affected by differential parenting showed an increased risk of attention issues and problems in social relationships.
Marriages may also be compromised due to one parent’s perception of the other’s seemingly unfair treatment.
The research also concluded that mothers who were highly stressed due to ranging emotions and financial hardships struggled to be equally fair to multiple children. The end result is lasting negative impact on the whole family.
Do you think it's possible to be equally fair at all times, or is some preferential treatment to be expected?