Children Born To Older Parents Are Better Behaved, Study Finds

Author: John Anderer

AMSTERDAM — Over the past 20 years or so, more parents all over the world are waiting to have kids at a later age. With this trend in mind, a Dutch study conducted across multiple universities set out to examine behavior patterns among children born to older parents. Researchers discovered that children born to older parents tend to have less external behavior issues, such as aggression or disobedience.

On the other hand, the research also indicated that parents’ ages had no impact on internal behavior (depression, anxiety) among children.
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“Evidence points to an association between fathers’ age and autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia, so we wanted to know if there is an association in the general population between parents’ age and common behavior problems in children, beyond the clinical diagnoses,” explains study leader Marielle Zondervan-Zwijnenburg in a release. “With respect to common behavior problems, we found no reason for future parents to worry about a harmful effect of having a child at an older age.”

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