Mother Depression and Children's Intelligence
A study published in England conducted by a group of British researchers found that after delivery, the mother's depression affects the level of intelligence of children, especially males. The researchers have conducted a test on 11-year-old male children of mothers who experienced depression and those whose mothers did not. The developmental difference was significant. The level of intelligence of those children whose mothers experienced depression was 86, while the level of intelligence of the other children was 103. The same test replicated on females of the same age showed similar results. The study found out that the level of intelligence of those females whose mothers experienced depression was 94, while the level of intelligence of the other girls was 98. The results show that this seems to affect females much less than it does male children.
Dr. Suzan Balbie, the supervisor of the study, explained the data. She stated that the reason for the disparity in the males is due to physical reasons. Males are slower in growth than female babies. They need more attention and care than female babies at a time when mothers can't offer it because of depression. As for the girls, Dr. Balbie points out that the much smaller disparity does not mean the total absence of the effect. There are some other related negative symptoms that, though not strictly intellectual, may appear in other areas. Examples of these could be low self-esteem and children who are continually worried or easily upset.
The study has also shown that the impact of depression on intelligence is stronger in the first few months of the baby's life. If the baby receives more attention from the father, that will assist and increase the baby's confidence in his environment. The study has also shown that mothers who receive assistance and support from their husbands are less vulnerable to depression in the first place. Furthermore, children are in as much a need of the father's compassion, love and care as they are of the mother's. This is why caring for a child is a responsibility of both parents and should be provided by them both. It is healthier for the children, parents and family as a unit.
Spanking Kids: Discipline Or Torture
The British government has introduced a piece of legislation to punish parents who beat their children. Imprisonment and fine will be inflicted on those who beat their children. It also made beating children with sticks and leather bands as a crime. These new laws also prohibit hitting children on specific places, such as hitting children on their heads, ears or eyes. The British Minister for Health stated that the government does not intend to intervene in the way parents raise their children and does not intend to criminalize all acts of discipline.
The British government has introduced the piece of legislation after the European Court For Human Rights issued its decision, convicting a British father who beat his son with a stick. However, a British Court later acquitted him. The British court found that the punishment used was not unusual. However, the British court admitted that European laws have failed to protect children from what it called "inhuman" treatment. The debate over discipline continues between those who consider it as a backward method of raising children and those who defend it as a legitimate method of discipline 
