READER ’ S CHOICE
In a study published in Developmental Psychology , psychologists Suniya Luthar and Lucia Ciciolla surveyed more than 2200 mothers with children ranging in age from infancy to early adulthood . They found that middle school was the most challenging time for mothers . They noted a consistent increase in maternal distress that peaks when children are in middle school . Luthar said , “ Many mothers aren ’ t aware that the big separation from offspring , the one that really hurts , doesn ’ t occur when children leave the nest , but when they psychologically pull away from their mothers . This is a time of psychological metamorphosis for both mother and child .” I know this has been a despairing article thus far , but there is a silver lining . The authors of the study also said “ Regarding the later years of motherhood , our findings support suggestions that the ‘ empty nest ’ syndrome is largely a myth . Mothers of adult children reported the least role overload , and on measured stress ... they fared significantly better than mothers of middle schoolers .” In other words , it gets easier !
27