Can a mother's affection prevent anxiety in adulthood? - CNN.com.
So.
How do we create the sort of society in which, up and down the income and wealth spectrums -- mothers -- and fathers -- are physically and emotionally available to their children?
Do we permit the structures which require them both to be working 40-hour (or longer) weeks throughout their children's early years?
Do we permit structures which keep wages down so that in the years in which people are most fertile, they do not have sufficient income to provide for their family's most modestly defined needs, so that life is a scramble, a flight without a safety net, for the vast majority of our families and therefore their children?
The article hints:
Is this what our ideals have inspired or permitted?
This is what happens when we endorse or accept structures which funnel wealth and income to a small subset of our society.
Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. Security, sufficiency, even prosperity. Are we on the right track, or has something gone terribly wrong?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Adults who received above-average levels of affection were less likely to be anxious
- The study followed nearly 500 infants into their 30s
- The babies-turned-adults were interviewed about their levels of emotional distress
- The findings make a strong case for policies that would help foster positive interactions
How do we create the sort of society in which, up and down the income and wealth spectrums -- mothers -- and fathers -- are physically and emotionally available to their children?
Do we permit the structures which require them both to be working 40-hour (or longer) weeks throughout their children's early years?
Do we permit structures which keep wages down so that in the years in which people are most fertile, they do not have sufficient income to provide for their family's most modestly defined needs, so that life is a scramble, a flight without a safety net, for the vast majority of our families and therefore their children?
The article hints:
A
smaller proportion of mothers with lower socioeconomic status exhibited
"extravagant" or "caressing" affection than did better-off mothers, for
instance. Although the researchers controlled for socioeconomic status
and other characteristics, it's possible that social and financial
difficulties during childhood could play a role in adult emotional
distress.
Is this what our ideals have inspired or permitted?
This is what happens when we endorse or accept structures which funnel wealth and income to a small subset of our society.
Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. Security, sufficiency, even prosperity. Are we on the right track, or has something gone terribly wrong?
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