Most parents want their children to succeed at school and later in their professional career. So far, even if nobody has discovered the perfect parenting recipes, psychologists have determined seven factors that can significantly help parents to raise great achievers. Discover here what parents of the most successful children have in common:
1. They have high expectations
Children live up to their parents’ ambitions, and this explains why parents’ expectations have so much influence on their children’s attainment. In psychology, this phenomenon is called the Pygmalion effect, which states that “what one person expects from another person can come to serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
2. They have higher socioeconomic status
Generally, the higher the parents’ income, the higher their children’s performance on the SAT (previously and successively named the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, and the SAT Reasoning Test).
3. They have high educational levels
According to a study conducted in 2014 by University of Michigan psychologist Sandra Tang, mothers who have finished high school or college are more likely to have children who will do it as well.
4. They foster early math development
According to a 2007 study of 35,000 preschoolers across the US, Canada and England, developing early math skills can be a decisive advantage.” The paramount importance of early math skills — of beginning school with a knowledge of numbers, number order, and other rudimentary math concepts — is one of the puzzles coming out of the study,” co-author and Northwestern University professor Greg Duncan said. “Mastery of early math skills predicts not only future math achievement, it also predicts future reading achievement.”
5. They practice sensitive caregiving
According to a 2014 study, children born into poverty who received “sensitive caregiving” during their first three years of life scored better in academic test during their childhood, but had also healthier relationships and greater academic results in their 30s.
6. They avoid junk time with their kids
According to recent research, the number of hours mothers spend with their 3 to 11 years old children is not related to the children’s behavior, well-being, or achievement. In fact, the stress felt by overloaded mothers trying to find time with the kids can have a detrimental effect on the kids.
7. They promote a growth mindset
According to Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, a “fixed mindset” considers character, intelligence and abilities as static givens. In contrast, a “growth mindset” thrives on challenge and sees failures as opportunities to do better. The belief in a “fixed intelligence” creates a “fixed mindset,” while the belief in “flexible intelligence” creates a “growth mindset.” This is why parents should congratulate their children for their hard work, but not for their bright mind.
