Every parent wants what’s best for their kids- good health, a stable career, and meaningful relationships with other people. But as much as we want to raise the next Mark Zuckerberg or Beyonce Knowles, there isn’t a single recipe for raising successful kids.
However, several studies have shown that parents of successful children share some common traits that may actually play as factors to their success. Here are some of them, according to IFL Science.
They make their kids do house chores.
According to Julie Lythcott-Haims of Stanford university, making kids do chores would help prepare them to become more empathetic and collaborative employees.
2. They train their kids to be socially competent.
Developing your child’s social skills at an early age helps them cooperate with peers without prompting, be more understanding of other people’s feelings, and resolve problems by themselves. Raising kids this way also increases their chance of getting a college degree ad having a full-time job by age 25 compared to people with limited social skills.
3. They keep their expectations high.
It may seem negative for some, but keeping the bar high has a huge effect on your child’s success. A study carried out by researchers at University of California at Los Angeles has found that parents who expect their kids to go to college manage to gear their child toward that goal irrespective of their financial capacity.
4. They get along with each other most of the time.
A University of Illinois study review revealed that kids in high-conflict families, whether together or divorced, performed worse than kids of parents that get along.
5. They let their kids witness mild to moderate conflicts.
Kids learn better social skills, emotional security and self-esteem when they witness mild to moderate conflicts that displays compromise, support and positive emotions.
6. They have reached higher educational levels.
After a 2009 longitudinal study of 856 people in New York, it was found that “parents’ educational level when the child was 8 years old significantly predicted educational and occupational success for the child 40 years later.”
7. They develop their kids’ Math skills at an early age.
A knowledge of math concepts at an early age can turn into a huge advantage for children.
8. They develop a healthy relationship with their kids.
Children who received “sensitive caregiving” in the first three years of their lives were found to have healthier relationships and greater academic success in their 30s.
9. They’re less stressed.
Bowling Green State University sociologist Kei Nomaguchi explained that a mother’s stress may negatively affect her kids.
10. They put more importance on effort than avoiding failure.
Telling kids that they succeeded because of effort rather than innate abilities will help them have a growth mindset.
11. The mother is working outside the home.
A study carried out by researchers at Harvard Business School claims that children with mothers who work outside home tend to stay at school longer and are more likely to have a job in supervisory role compared to peers raised by stay-at-home moms.
12. They have a higher socioeconomic status.
Poverty and socioeconomic status greatly affect a person’s potential. According to “Drive” author Dan Pink, kids whose parents have higher incomes performed better in SATs.
13. They are authoritative.
Rather than being “permissive” and “authoritarian”, parents with successful children are authoritative. They direct the child rationally allowing them to have respect for authority without feeling strangled by it.
14. They teach the value of “grit”.
Grit, which is the tendency to sustain interest in and exert effort toward long-term goals, is one of the most powerful personality trait that drives success.
15. They give their children bias-proof names.
Interestingly, people with names that are easy to pronounce and are common have been found to have more success in terms of career.
16. They recognize good eating habits.
Parents must be proactive in developing good eating habits in kids as this will keep them both mentally and physically strong.