Page 46 - December_2015_Life_in_Naples_Magazine

DOCTOR’S CORNER
PARENTING
by Allen Weiss, MD, MBA, FACP, FACR
SPresident and CEO, NCH Healthcare System
o much has been written about being a good parent.
We are all products of parents or have had children,
so the topic remains important and always current—
particularly as 25 percent of families are led by single
parents in America. That’s a much higher percentage
than other developed nations. http://newsone.
com/1195075/children-single-parents-u-s-american/
A family member recently shared an article with the rest of
our family. Its title was, Science Says Parents of Successful Kids Have
These Nine Things in Common. Good parents want what is best for
their children be it happiness, good health, a productive life, doing
well at play, school or work, and many other positive attributes.
Being a successful parent comes down to sharing and
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inculcating these common elements.
#1. Parents who teach kids social skills from birth to
kindergarten develop children who are better prepared, socially
and emotionally, for a healthy future. Socially competent children
who cooperate with their peers without prompting, are helpful
to others, understand their own and other’s feelings, and resolve
problems on their own are far more likely to earn a college degree
and have a full-time job by age 25 than those without these skills.
That’s according to a study of 700 children over 25 years led by
Pennsylvania State and Duke universities.
Children with limited social skills had just the opposite
experience with a higher chance of being arrested,troubled by binge
drinking, and/or living in public housing while receiving welfare.
Life in Naples | December 2015