Children succeed

(cont'd, How Children Succeed)

A number of studies now show that IQ is not the best predictor of success in school.  The key seems rather to be a set of character qualities.  High GPA may occur all along the intelligence range if the student is able to delay gratification, stick to a goal, ignore distractions, control fear, pursue curiosity, and many more.

The strongest predictor of perseverance and social skills in students is not IQ but rather . . how their parents took care of them.  Really?  Yes.  Here are some summary statements of the findings of a number of studies:

"Babies whose parents responded readily and fully to their cries were, at one year, more independent and intrepid than babies whose parents had ignored their cries."

"Early parental care predicted which students would graduate even more reliably than IQ or achievement test scores."

"Children with secure attachment [to mother] early on were more socially competent throughout their lives."

"Children whose parents had been judged disengaged or emotionally unavailable in early assessments of their parenting style did the worst in preschool,"  that is, they were more often mean, antisocial, and insecure.

"Counselors rated campers who had had secure attachment in infancy as more self-confident, more curious, and better able to deal with setbacks."

"The early nurturing attention from their mothers had fostered in them a resilience that acted as a protective buffer against stress."

"High quality mothering  . . can act as a powerful buffer against the damage that adversity inflicts on a child's stress-response system."