Moms in science
For some reason my images did not post in my blog. I will try to send those again.
After looking at several sights it appears as though science is trying to scientifically prove the importance of the role of the mother in the life of their offspring.
One study done on rats showed that those rats born or raised to nurturing mothers scored better and performed better both short and long term in mazes and tests. Also, scientists found that physically rats develop differently when raised in a nurturing environment.
Students seem to perform better and handle stress better when raised by nurturing mothers in secure homes.
There are no studies done on negative relationships, I imagine there would be countless human rights and vulnerable child issues brought into account in such a situation. Scientifically it seems to make sense. All life forms grow better and perform better when they are taken care of properly and nurturing anything during its development is taking care of it and will lead to better results.
Scientifically then, to be a nurturing mother is positive. Media portrays most nurturing mothers in an exaggerated light. Few truly healthy, normal representations of a good mother exist in the media I looked at and was familiar with. I am aware that I have not watched many TV shows that have moms as central figures so this view could be a bit skewed on my part. Scientifically though the research finds that the relationships that most benefit the child are supportive, nurturing relationships but these are not commonly seen in the media.
Another study shows that while these things are required for a healthy child, reality states that most moms spend roughly 11 minutes a day in conversation with their child grades 6-12. This hardly creates the possibility for the type of nurturing scientists are looking for - perhaps reality then is dictating media...I like to hope not.