Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Empty nests or new friends ?

Traditionally it has been thought that children leaving home had a negative effect on parent's mental health - the empty nest syndrome. However, a study of 142 sets of parents by researchers at the University of Missouri has found that the changes parents feel are more positive than once believed. The study found that there were few differences in the way mothers and fathers felt and that many of the changes parents felt were positive as they moved from looking after their children to relating to them as peers, becoming mentors to them rather than telling them what to do. At the same time the parents continued to provide financial and emotional support to their children.

You can read more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/02/22/empty-nesters-may-be-content/1953.html

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