A new study has concluded that breastfed kids for six months and above are going to be less hyperactive than those children who were not breastfed. Also, the researchers found that there is no proof to the believed "fact" that breastfed kids are smarter than those who were bottle-fed.
There are definitely many health benefits a child can get from breastfeeding. However, a child's intelligence is not one of them. There are too many factors to be considered before this fact is confirmed. The environment of a child, how his or her parents treat them and teach them things, how they engage in school and many other things. Scientists have indeed found out that kids are less hyper when they are breastfed, Romper reported.
The study, which was done in Dublin, Ireland, found out that there is really no link or concrete evidence that confirms the long-believed "fact" that breastfed kids will be smarter that those whom mothers did not breastfeed them. The researchers took a sample of about 8,000 children. The researchers followed those children since they were approximately 9 months old. When the children were three to five years old, they were tested for their cognitive abilities. Their parents and teachers were also interviewed about their development.
Also, the outcome about the breastfed kids are less hyper when they are three are not applicable when the same kids turn five. Moreover, the researchers found out that it might be because of how long the mothers do breastfeeding to their kids. The longer a kid was breastfed, the less hyper they are and the smarter they become.
Instead, the researchers found out that mothers of breastfed kids have more in common. "For example, mothers who breastfeed typically have higher levels of education," Lisa-Christine Girard, a child-development researcher at University College Dublin said. The mothers are also non-smokers, NPR stated.
It has been long debated whether breastfeeding really does affect a child's cognitive skills. However, the socio-economic factors are too big to be ignored when it comes to the study. The results about breastfed kids showed that it has a small difference and that many other factors need to be taken in.
