Kids with high levels of confidence and self-control are more likely to be healthy in adulthood, say UK researchers.
Published 26/06/2008
[Image source: iStockphoto]
Do you get annoyed when your child refuses a goodnight kiss, claiming they're too old? When they say it's their room, and you're trespassing? When they demand you adhere to the 2008 Negotiated Pocket Money Agreement, and pay their pocket money on time?
This is a child who knows how to work the system. No adult likes to be in the same household as one of these.
On the other hand, a kid like this, who oozes self-confidence and self-control, is more likely to be fit and well in middle age – the time when he or she begins to realise just what a good parent you actually were all those years ago.
Kids who have high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem and are in control of their lives grow up to be healthy adults, according to researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
They looked at a group of several thousand children from birth and followed them as they grew up, over a 30-year period.
These kids, 11,500 of them, were part of a larger study looking at the general health of people living in the UK born in 1970.
Once the kids reached the age of 10, they were given IQ tests and a questionnaire designed to find out the degree of self-control they felt they had in their lives: asking, for instance, questions like 'Do you feel that most of the time it is not worth trying hard because things never turn out right anyway?'; and 'When bad things happen to you, is it usually someone else's fault?' The children were given a score according to how much self-control they had.
The researchers compared these scores with data from 20 years later, when the participants, now aged 30, were asked about their lifestyles and their health: whether they smoked, how much they exercised, whether they were overweight, had high blood pressure, or a mental illness.
After adjusting for socioeconomic status, income, and levels of education (factors that also affect health) the researchers found that the more self-control the subjects showed as children, the better their health turned out to be as adults: they rated their overall health better, they were less likely to be overweight or obese, they were less likely to be psychologically stressed, and (in the case of women) were less likely to have high blood pressure.
What explained the connection between self-confidence as a child and good heath as an adult?
We know from past studies that the more self-control adults have over their lives, the better their health tends to be. People with more control over their lives have more self-esteem and hence a greater incentive to look after themselves – they're more likely to adopt a lifestyle that preserves their good health. They smoke less, exercise more, eat a better diet, get medical check-ups more frequently, and this all translates to less heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and less psychological illness.
If self-control and self-esteem are present in childhood, these character traits tend to be preserved into adulthood and help protect an adult from these conditions, say the researchers.
Encouraging self-control
So if you're a parent, how do you encourage self-control in a child, so that that child grows into a self-confident, healthy adult?
Well, it helps if the child is naturally bright, the researchers say. There's a link between intelligence and self-confidence; the more naturally intelligent a child is, the more likely it is he or she will have control of his or her life.
But self-control is also shaped by childhood experiences – including children's interactions with their parents, say the researchers.
In other words, it can be taught. Parents can help children learn independence, confidence and self-control and increase their chances of being fit and healthy in adulthood.
Here's some typical advice from childhood eductors:
Be confident and in control yourself. Your child looks to you as a role model. If your level of self-confidence is high, it will 'rub off' on your child.
Keep your expectations realistic. Don't expect too much. Help them aim for goals that are achievable – when they are successful, it will build their self-esteem.
Praise the effort, not just the outcome. Winning is good, but trying is the important thing. If the child doesn't succeed, don't make negative personal comments but show the child alternative ways to achieve the goal.
Respect a child's individuality. Encourage a child's independence, unique gifts and ability to think differently.
Give the child unconditional love. Succeed or fail, they need to know that they're loved and accepted, whatever they do.
Follow these steps and you may not get that goodnight kiss. Your child's bedroom may be as familiar to you as a canal on Mars; you might even get an email asking for interest on overdue pocket money (calculated at bank term deposit rates and compounding).
But you'll have a better relationship with them. In 20 years time they'll be fit and healthy, and you can remind them that they owe it all to you.
Locus of control at age 10 years and health outcomes and behaviors at age 30 years: the 1970 British Cohort Study - Psychosomatic Medicine
Self-esteem in childhood - HealthInsite topic page
Kids' health - Health & Wellbeing topic page
Raising your child's self-esteem - AboutKidsHealth, Canada
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