Arguing parents damage children’s skills

Arguments between parents can alter the stress responses of children, possibly resulting in youngsters who lag behind their peers in problem-solving.

The study in the journal Child Development followed second and third-class children for three years, asking them about their parents’ fights and measuring changes in the children’s ability to deal with stress over time.

“We’re trying to understand how environmental stress can shape the development of children’s stress response systems,” study researcher J Benjamin Hinnant of the Catholic University of America, told LiveScience.