12 Things Parents Of Successful Kids Have In Common - Success is a sure bet if you practice #2, #6 and #11

When one meet intelligent and successful kids, the first question that comes to mind is “who might their parents be? According to psychology research, there are factors that predict chances of children growing into successful adults and much of it depends on good parenting. Good parents have high expectations; want their kids to be safe, have good grades in school and do great things as they grow to become adults.

Here are the 12 Things Parents Of Successful Kids Have In Common

1. They make their kids do chores

Whether doing house chores or running errands, good parents know certain chores that befits their kids such as washing the dishes, clearing the dinner tables or doing laundry. Experts believe making children to do chores helps them understand that work needs to be done, become employees who collaborate well with their coworkers, are more empathetic because they know firsthand what struggling looks like, and are able to take on tasks independently.

2. They teach their children social skills

This has to do with how kids mingle with people and a 20-year study by researchers from Pennsylvania State University and Duke University showed that socially competent children could cooperate with their peers without prompting. They would be helpful to others, understand their feelings, and resolve problems on their own, and they were far more likely to earn a college degree and have a full-time job by age 25 than those with limited social skills.

3. They maintain good relationship with each other

For couples to raise successful kids, they have to get along well with each other. According to a University of Illinois study review, children in high-conflict families, whether intact or divorced, tend to fare worse than children of parents that live happily. Another study shows that children from conflict homes suffer long-term trauma with feelings of loss and regrets.

4. They attain higher level of education

Children are more inspired when their parents are educated to a higher educational level. According to a 2014 study lead by University of Michigan psychologist Sandra Tang, mothers who finished high school or the university were more likely to raise kids that did the same. The researchers discovered that children born to teen mothers (18 years old or younger) were less likely to finish high school or go to university than their counterparts.

5. They start early to teach their kids Mathematics

This is found to be very common among parents who have raised kids who turn into successful adults. Developing math skills early can turn into a huge advantage for kids and this is based on a study conducted by a Northwestern University researcher Greg Duncan who said, “Mastery of early math skills predicts not only future math achievement, it also predicts future reading achievement.”

6. They form good relation with their kids

A study carried out on children born into poverty has shown that those received “sensitive caregiving” in their first three years not only did better in academic tests in childhood but also had healthier relationships and greater academic attainment in their 30s.

According to a report fro Psyblog, parents who are sensitive caregivers “respond to their child’s signals promptly and appropriately” and “provide a secure base” for children to explore the world.

This suggests that investments in early parent-child relationships may result in long-term returns that accumulate across individuals’ lives.

7. They value efforts over avoiding failure

According to a Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck there are two different mindsets towards success:

1. A fixed mindset: which assumes that people’s intelligence, character, and creative ability are static and as such, striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of success.
2. A growth mindset sees failure as a route for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.

The expert explains that if a child is told that good grades are evidence of his/her intelligence, that creates a fixed mindset while telling kids they got good grades because of their effort, that creates growth.

Therefore, such parents teach their kids not to be afraid of failure, but to understand that failure can lead to success if more effort is applied.

8. The mother has a career

A research from Harvard business school found that children raised by working mothers may have a greater advantage over those raised by stay home mothers.

It further showed that daughters of working mothers acquire further education and make 23% more money than their peers who were raised by stay-at-home mothers. While sons of working mothers also tended to pitch in more on household chores and childcare.

9. They have substantial socio-economic status

According to Stanford University researcher Sean Reardon, the achievement gap between high- and low-income families is quite huge, thus experts noted that “absent comprehensive and expensive interventions, socioeconomic status is what drives much of educational attainment and performance.”

Hence, parents of successful kids are always financially stable.

10. They have big dreams for their kids

Parents who see higher career prospect for their kids in the future “seems to manage them toward that goal irrespective of their income and other assets,” says professor Neal Halfon of University of California at Los Angeles.

11. They are less stressed

Experts explain that when parents are stressed, it could become contagious to the kids simply because people are most naturally sensitive to a mood swing. When parents are exhausted or frustrated, that emotional state could transfer to the kids.

12. They are authoritative, not authoritarians

Parents who raise successful kids are authoritative – they are rational in teaching and directing their kids towards the right path in all aspect of life. In other words, they simply practice the three F’s – Firm, Fair and Friendly.

Permissive parents don’t punish their children and are generally accepting of the child’s behaviour, whileAuthoritative parents try to shape and control the child. They have strict standards of conduct.

In other words, it is ideal for parents to be authoritative. This way, kids grow up with a respect for authority and not feel suffocated by it at the same time.