Chapters 6 and 7

Chapter six and seven discussed the aspects of early life that play a role in longevity. Researchers found that breast feeding was associated with better infant health, but in the long run breast feeding made little difference. This finding did not surprise me because there are so many other factors that contribute to increased health in the long run. Such factors include conscientiousness, whether one smokes or drinks, exercise, satisfaction, etc. I was surprised to learn that those who started first grade at age 5 lived shorter lives, while those who skipped a grade did not. The researchers said that this finding revealed that something could go wrong if children were pushed too far, too fast. So I supposed this means that children who skipped a grade were ready to do so and that is why they lived longer. Another thing that surprised me was that children whose parents got divorced lived shorter lives than children whose parent’s died early on in life.  My parents are both alive and not divorced so I do not have any experience with either of these situations, but I have always assumed that death is more stressful on a person than divorce. The researchers made a good point that divorce can provide a relief to children if the house was obviously troubled before the divorce. But what if the house becomes troubled because of economic threat? Is divorce still a relief? To what extent? I feel as though economic instability could possibly be more stressful than emotional instability in the household.