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In a study of 14,000 US children, researchers found that 40 percent lack strong emotional bonds with their parents—bonds that are crucial to success later in life.

Children under the age of three who do not form strong bonds with their mothers or fathers are more likely to be aggressive, defiant, and hyperactive as adults.

“When parents tune in to and respond to their children’s needs and are a dependable source of comfort, those children learn how to manage their own feeling and behaviors,” says Sophie Moullin, a doctoral candidate at Princeton University. “These secure attachments to their mothers and fathers provide these children with a base from which they can thrive.”

Full story at Futurity.

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