Study: Parenting strategies to improve behavior benefit older kids

You might have heard that to raise a child, you need to “nip” bad behavior in the bud early. But a new study shows that’s not necessarily the case.

Is earlier always better when it comes to helping your child with their behavior? New research suggests maybe not!

A team of researchers looked at data from more than 15,000 families from all over the world. They found that older kids benefited from parenting strategies to improve behavior just as much as younger kids did.

The scientists studied a range of parenting interventions that used a social learning theory approach, meaning they focused on warmth and joint involvement and shifted from screaming and spanking to more positive discipline.

There was no evidence that using these strategies earlier had any benefit, debunking the common belief that behavior changes only happen when a child is young. And while the scientists say this research doesn’t support delaying interventions, it does suggest it’s never too late to parent.

The children in the study ranged in age from two to ten. The scientists also found that interventions of older children were actually more likely to be more cost-effective than those of younger children.