Do You Have a Happy Child?

According to a Web site called the Baby Center (US) and Baby Centre (UK), a child's happiness in life can be shaped by a parent.

One may think that it's easy to make a child happy; just give him candy, just give her a toy and everything will be better, right? But that isn't necessarily the case.

One needs to give one's child the proper tools early on for creating a happy life but how can a parent teach that to a 5-year old?

A parent should be able to give a child enough space for free play. That is unstructured, unencumbered time to do what s/he wants without being told as to what s/he needs to do.

Your children are being told every day what to do; don't cross the street, finish your milk, take a nap, etc.

By allowing enough time each day for them to discover what makes them happiest, you are not only raising a happy child, you are giving him/her the skills to think him/herself.

This is linked to another tip from Baby Center, in which a child has to be able to solve his/her own problems without help.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't care as a parent; just let them figure out the little things: how to turn on a light, how to wash their hands in the sink, etc.

These small decisions will lead to bigger things such as how to verbalise feelings without throwing a tantrum, how to say what they want to say with kindness, etc.

The premise is; when kids are given enough freedom to understand concepts on their own terms they learn to be good adults.

Where does this leave you as a parent? You are still responsible for the connection between mind and body which means you still need to form boundaries through the food they eat, the time they sleep, etc.

Nurture the child, don't stifle them and you'll have an exceptionally happy child on your hands.

Happy children become happy adults

Being a ‘happy’ teenager is linked to increased well-being in adulthood, new research finds.

Much is known about the associations between a troubled childhood and mental health problems, but little research has examined the affect of a positive childhood. For the first time, researchers from the University of Cambridge and the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing have analysed the link between a positive adolescence and well-being in midlife.

Using information from 2776 individuals who participated in the 1946 British birth cohort study, the scientists tested associations between having a positive childhood and well-being in adulthood.

A ‘positive’ childhood was based on teacher evaluations of students’ levels of happiness, friendship and energy at the ages of 13 and 15. A student was given a positive point for each of the following four items – whether the child was ‘very popular with other children’, ‘unusually happy and contented’, ‘makes friends extremely easily’ and ‘extremely energetic, never tired’. Teachers also rated conduct problems (restlessness, daydreaming, disobedience, lying, etc) and emotional problems (anxiety, fearfulness, diffidence, avoidance of attention, etc).

The researchers then linked these ratings to the individuals’ mental health, work experience, relationships and social activities several decades later. They found that teenagers rated positively by their teachers were significantly more likely than those who received no positive ratings to have higher levels of well-being later in life, including a higher work satisfaction, more frequent contact with family and friends, and more regular engagement in social and leisure activities.

Happy children were also much less likely than others to develop mental disorders throughout their lives — 60% less likely than young teens that had no positive ratings.

The study not only failed to find a link between being a happy child and an increased likelihood of becoming married, they found that the people who had been happy children were actually more likely to get divorced. One possible factor suggested by the researchers is that happier people have higher self-esteem or self-efficacy and are therefore more willing and able to leave an unhappy marriage.

“The benefits to individuals, families and to society of good mental health, positive relationships and satisfying work are likely to be substantial,” said Professor Felicia Huppert, one of the authors of the paper and Director of the Well-being Institute at the University of Cambridge. “The findings support the view that even at this time of great financial hardship, policymakers should prioritise the well-being of our children so they have the best possible start in life.”

Henry Winkler becomes best-selling children's author

Henry Winkler: The series of 17 books follows a young dyslexic child called Hank Zipzer and is based on Winkler's own experience with the condition.

The actor, 64, has already sold 2.5 million copies of his books in the US and is now being published in Britain.

The series of 17 books follows a young dyslexic child called Hank Zipzer and is based on Winkler's own experience with the condition.

He said: "As a seven year-old I knew I wanted to be an actor. But if you want to know what means the most to me, it's the books."

Winkler is about to start working on a new set of books with his co-author Lin Oliver, called Ghost Buddy which centre around a 13 year-old boy with an imaginary best friend.

The actor has claimed that he did not read his first novel until he was in his 30s.

He said: "I was in the bottom 3 per cent at school. I was told I would never achieve. My parents had an affectionate term for me: 'dummerkind' [dumb kid]. I didn't' do well at school."

Winkler did not discover that he was dyslexic until his son Jed was diagnosed.

"I realised - that's me too," he said. "The first novel I read was when I was in my 30s. It was a triumph - all of those words in those covers."

He admitted that he always had difficulty reading the Happy Days scripts and said that he would memorise them on his own because he found it impossible to read in groups.

Winkler is currently touring 60 schools across the UK as part of the government's My Way campaign which is intended to encourage school pupils that there is no such thing as being stupid, just different approaches to learning.