For decades, psychologists have been studying the parent-child relationship and what it means for how our kids turn out as adults, and it’s unanimous that there’s a correlation between the two. It’s stressful to think that how we raise these little people who entrust us with their lives determines who they’re going to become as humans for the rest of their lives. No pressure! 

However, let’s take solace in the fact that new research has confirmed setting our kids up for success as grown-ups is not that difficult, actually, and is possible thanks to factors within our control, such as simply having a good parent-child bond.

Jonathan T. Rothwell and Telli Davoodi, two researchers at Gallup, recently tested this much-studied tie between the parent-child relationship and adults’ mental health on a larger scale than has ever been done before. Using diversified survey results collected from more than 200,000 adults in over 21 countries (!!!), the paper published in November 2024 concludes that parent-child relationships are the biggest predictor on kids’ mental health as adults. Yes, even larger than other variables including “parental socio-economic status, current education level, current household income, gender, and financial security.”

Essentially, though some factors are out of our control as parents, such as what country we live in, what tax bracket we’re born into, and what race or nationality we are (and whether or not our toddler wears pants in the morning…), what is in our control is how we foster relationships with our kids. Ultimately, that’s what leads to lifelong well-being. Kind of comforting, no?

There are hundreds of simple ways to connect with our kids that don’t require much money, effort, or planning. Playing games together, eating meals as a family, going on excursions, giving them a bath, being affectionate, telling them you love them, taking care of them when they’re sick — all of these you’re probably already doing. This means you’re helping your child to eventually become a functioning, well-adjusted adult. Good job, mom and dad.

How do you build your bond with your kids?

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