KIDS: Just What You Need for Your Health

When I saw the following headline in the January 14^th issue of USA Today’s article “Kids Affect Your Blood Pressure,” I was fairly certain what was coming next.  The trials and tribulations of sleep deprivation, contrary toddlers and teenagers, messy kids’ rooms and how all this and more leads straight to a trip to the pharmacy.  Much to my surprise, researchers found the opposite was true.  Being a parent may actually lead to better health.

A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that adults with children had better blood pressure levels that those who were childless.  Nearly 200 adults, ages 20 to 68, took part in the study, and those who were parents had children ranging in age from infant to young adult older 18.  Not only did the parents have lower blood pressure than nonparents, but the age of their children made no difference.  Yes, that means that there was no significant difference between parents with stay-up-all night infants and those with partying teenagers, or between those with potty training toddlers or college applicants.

A university of Pittsburgh professor of psychiatry, Thomas Kamarck, noted that people who choose to become parents might in some way be different from those who don’t.  And this difference might account for the better blood pressure range rather than the ups and downs of a parent’s daily routine.

The job of being a parent changes over time, but doesn’t really end.  Our worries go from, “Will my child ever eat vegetables,” to “Will my child learn to read,” to “Will my child get into college,” to “Will my child have the right job,” and so it goes.  It seems to me that adult children are one of the best inventions ever, but worrying and caring remain part of the parental role.  How wonderful to learn that this commitment we’ve chosen to make leads not only to a lifetime of extraordinary relationships, but to good health as well!