Spotlight on Europe

Benefits of a Mother’s Voice

Researchers in Milan, Italy, concluded that infants born prematurely gained several health benefits by being exposed to their mother’s voice through a device on the wrist of the infant while in the hospital. This technique attempts to mimic how the baby sensed her voice while still in the womb. “Early exposure to maternal voice,” concluded the study, “exerts a beneficial effect on preterm infants.”

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS: “I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother.”​—Psalm 131:2.

Nurturing Narcissism?

According to a study of 565 children in the Netherlands, children whose parents described them as “more special than other children” and as children who deserve “special treatment” scored higher than their peers on tests for narcissism and expressed feelings of superiority and entitlement. “Children believe it when their parents tell them that they are more special than others,” says an author of the study. “That may not be good for them or for society.”

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS: “I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself than it is necessary to think, but to think so as to have a sound mind.”​—Romans 12:3.

Optimistic Centenarians

Despite illness and physical limitations, 100-year-olds have a strong desire to live, report researchers at Heidelberg University in Germany. Out of every four centenarians interviewed, three clung to life and tried to make the most of it. They achieved personal goals, were optimistic and hopeful, felt life had meaning, and maintained their religious and ethical values.

TO THINK ABOUT: As indicated at Ecclesiastes 3:11, what might our innate desire to keep on living demonstrate?