Let’s face it – most parents do end up nagging their kids. But it’s because they have to. Kids need to learn responsibility but it doesn’t happen magically. There’s plenty of frustrating work involved – including constant reminders.
Are you listening to me? Do your homework. Put away your laundry. Why is your backpack in the middle of the floor? Clean the dishes. Focus on your future. Are you listening to me? You must come home by 8pm. Did you finish your math homework? Go study. Wash your face. Do I look like a maid? Did you brush your teeth? And floss? Did you finish cleaning up your room?
The questions seem endless when you’re a kid.
But they’re all valid questions that we hate to hear (and ask!).
Well, it turns out that if you have a daughter, nagging her may have a positive effect on her in the future.
Of course, there are caveats – you can’t be a toxic parent. But studies have found that nagging mothers are more likely to raise successful daughters.
Researcher Ericka Rascon-Ramirez from the University of Essex led a study that showed that “behind every successful women is a nagging mom.”
The research analyzed survey data from the lives of 15,000 school girls aged 13 and 14 from 2004 to 2010. Ramirez found that “the measure of expectations in this study reflects a combination of aspirations and beliefs about the likelihood of attending higher education reported by the main parent, who, in the majority of cases is the mother.”
The girls with mothers who had higher expectations for them, pushed their daughters to make better life choices. According to Mail Online, the research revealed how nagging parents reduced a teenager’s chance of becoming pregnant by 4% compared to parents with ‘middling aspirations.’
These girls had a higher chance of attending a university, building a successful career and earning better wages.
“In many cases we succeeded in doing what we believed was more convenient for us, even when this was against our parents’ will. But no matter how hard we tried to avoid our parents’ recommendations, it is likely that they ended up influencing, in a more subtle manner, choices that we had considered extremely personal,” explained researcher Rascon-Ramirez.
So to all those “annoying” mothers out there, keep nagging away! All that nagging will eventually pay off.
Throughout their adolescent years, daughters may not understand why your sole purpose in life is to “annoy” them. Within their complicated teenage mind, cluttered with high school drama and melodramatic “love” relationships, they can’t process the deeper meaning behind the reasons why you nag- you love them and therefore, want nothing but the best for them in the future.
You nag them to complete daily chores so that they may cultivate life habits that will ensure their success when they inevitably come face-to-face with the real world.
Trust me, as a daughter of a nagging (very loving) mother, somewhere in their twenties, the reasons for your nagging will click in their heads.
When it does, you need to hope that she realizes it was all for the best!
If you want to learn more, scroll down below for an explainer video.
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