Advice that falls on deaf ears may still help preteens, study shows

Health in a Heartbeat

Did you listen to your mom when you were 12? According to researchers in Illinois, it may not matter — because the advice improved your well-being anyway.

Hard to believe, we know, but while some parents find their advice falling on deaf ears, this research indicated that even seemingly disinterested preteens may benefit from their parents’ input.

In the study, researchers analyzed conversations between fifth-grade students and their mothers regarding challenges in school. Then, they tracked how the preteens coped with the transition to middle school the following year.

Researchers found that moms tended to encourage their children to actively tackle academic obstacles through strategies like reframing how you view something, strategizing and seeking help.

Surprisingly, the adolescents who received reframing advice showed more adaptive coping skills in middle school, while those who received more strategizing and help-seeking advice did not. Interestingly, some children who initially rejected or responded ambiguously to their mother’s advice showed more adaptive coping skills later. Conversely, those who accepted help-seeking advice reported less adaptive coping.

Now, although the study focused on mother-child relationships due to many mothers acting as the primary caregiver for their children, future iterations of the study may turn toward fathers and their roles in adolescent development.

For now, rest assured your words aren’t going in one ear and out the other. Not all of them, anyway.