Copious amounts of research have been done to explore what characteristics high-achieving adults have in common, and which elements make them more successful kids than others.
Science: The parents of the most successful kids do these 8 things
#1 Eat together.
Scientific studies have shown that children who eat dinner regularly with their families five or more evenings a week perform higher at school and exhibit lower levels of substance abuse, depression, teenage pregnancy, and obesity.
#2 Don’t tell them they can be anything they want to be.
Help guide them to discover their ideal career options based on their strengths and what they’re passionate about in life.
#3 Put them to work.
Researchers discovered that the most successful adults all did chores as children.
#4 Go off-screen.
Excessive use of smartphones and tablets can impede concentration, vocabulary and social skills. Children aged five and under are not recommended to look at screens for more than one hour per day. Recent research also suggests the rise of autocorrect functionalities on smartphones and computers is causing a decline in spelling and correct use of grammar.
#5 Encourage positive routine habits.
Top performers in all categories from athletes to CEOs have one thing in common – they are more focused, manage their time better, are more highly motivated and less likely to get distracted by life’s dramas.
#6 Books are everything.
Studies show that babies whose parents read to them have more advanced literacy and language skills. Children who read independently are confirmed to perform better in tests in later years.
#7 Travel is life.
Travel helps us all to grow. As teenagers, as scary as it can be to let them go, it helps teach them responsibility as well as the importance of organizational skills, time management and tolerance of other cultures.
#8 Let them fail.
Our failures bring some of our most important life lessons in addition to building resilience. Failure is part of life – what’s important is learning to get back up and keep trying until you succeed.
