Depression in Mothers Causing Children's Behavior Problems

A recent research study has found that children up to age 5 with mothers who have depression are four times more likely to have behavior problems and be diagnosed with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and aggression.  This is an imporant finding because children's behavior problems can lead to problems later in life such as in college and in adulthood.  These researchers found that children who spent half a day in day care are significantly less likely to experience any of these behavioral and mental problems.  The reason for this is that a depressed mother cannot always give a child the kind of attention they need in order to grow socially and emotionally.  Day care gives the child a chance to interact with other children and get the experience that they need in order to become a healthy adult.  These mothers also need the time to themselves to get themselves together and clear their minds.  I think this is very important for mothers who have any sympoms of depression to get assessed and be sure that they let their child have other forms of interactions just in case they are not fully getting what they need through their mother.  Many kids can grow out of anxiety issues and behavior problems, but some are not as lucky and it would be very difficult to be a newly independent adult in college still having these anxiety or depressive issues.


Please check out the link and see what you think about what these researchers have discovered!  


http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43361671/ns/today-parenting/