Researchers at the University of Groningen want to show with the project ‘Every Child is Different’ that every child, every young person and every parent is different and that not everyone can, wants and needs to be ‘average’. With a large online study, they are trying to better understand the differences in mental health of Dutch children, without classifying them. This is reported by the University of Groningen.
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Raising a child is accompanied by doubts. Parents wonder whether their child can come to school, whether their child is happy or lonely. Parents also doubt whether they themselves are doing well in their upbringing. Children are often compared with each other, for example with growth curves and teaching programs. They are all placed along the same yardstick. No child develops in the same way, yet every child is compared to an ‘average’ child. The Groningen researchers are actually looking for the differences.
“Mental health is more than just the absence of complaints. For example, one child is easily worried and often sees bears on the road, while another child is a born optimist. But that first child is also better prepared because of his pessimism if something does go wrong. Every child has unique strengths and vulnerabilities, ”says researcher Anne Margit Reitsema.
Insight into personal results
How do children and young people find balance in their own strengths and vulnerabilities? And what makes them happy, even though there are sometimes problems? “We want to answer these questions with our research, but these are also the questions that parents and children ask themselves. For this reason, participants in the study gain insight into their personal results. For example, as a parent you can compare your way of parenting with that of other parents ”, says Reitsema.
The survey can be completed online completely anonymously via www.iederkindisanders.nl. Parents, children and young people can participate: parents of children between 4 and 18 years old and young people 8 years and older.
By: Nationale Zorggids
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