If you asked any mother of a boy how her parenting journey has been, she is likely to say that raising a boy has its rewards, but also that it has its tough spot. And while it’s not news that raising a son can be a daunting task, it is that a study recently discovered that raising boys also makes your brain age faster.
The study observed over 13,000 parents who were over the age of 50. What they found was that the parents who had at least one son were aging faster cognitively. Those who had more than one son lost their cognitive abilities even faster than those who only had daughters.
The research was carried out by researchers from the US and Czechia, and they believe the reason that boy parents seem to age faster is that males tend to be less caring than girls, which may lead to their parents experiencing poorer mental health.
The study was carried out by having the parents solve math problems and reading a list of words that we read to them. Their intelligence levels were equal at the beginning of the study, but by the end of the study, the parents of the boys were less intelligent than they were, to begin with.
Researcher Katrin Wolfova, from Columbia University in New York, stated, “Parents of at least one son had a faster rate of cognitive decline compared to parents without any sons. “Results suggest effects are social rather than biological, as we observed similar trends in mothers as well as fathers.”
Additionally, the researchers asserted that since daughters provide more emotional and social support than sons, they tend to become informal caregivers, which may play a key role.
To conclude, the researchers noted that there are benefits to having a daughter. “Benefits of a daughter on health and depression may contribute to lower risk of dementia.”