Spirituality central to kids’
happiness
On
the heels of new research that found
believers in God are
more likely to treat others better comes another study that suggests
spirituality is important to a child’s happiness.
In
fact, as the Kitchener-Waterloo Record
reported,
spirituality – believing in a higher being or power that plays a
meaningful
role in people’s lives – seems to be much more important to children
than to
adults, according to lead researcher Dr. Mark Holder, a psychologist
on the
Holder
and a colleague asked 315 children what they thought contributed to
their
personal happiness. More than 22 per cent of boys and just over 20 per
cent of
girls cited spirituality.
“This
is a whopping effect,” he told the Record. “For adults, it’s
five per
cent.”
Those
surveyed were between eight and 12 years old and comprised a mix of
public and
independent school students. The results were the same regardless of
which type
of school they attended.
The
other factors the children cited as adding to their happiness were an
outgoing
personality and having good relationships with family and friends.
“What’s
important [to them] is not if they go to church or not, not if they’re
praying
or meditating,” said Holder. “What’s important . . . is their personal
relationship.”
The
message to parents, he added, is that “promoting spirituality may have
a
positive influence on the child’s well-being.”
Holder conceded he
began the
study assuming that parents would be more spiritually inclined than
their
children. “I was simply wrong,” he said.
