Social Emotional Development and Parenting Skills that Build Great Kids

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Teachers and Parents Working Together To Improve Our Students’ Social Emotional Development and Raise Successful Kids

Pushy Moms Help Social Emotional DeelopmentAs educators, we all know that the most successful students are those where parents and teachers work hand in hand for the betterment of the pupil. Teachers can only do so much without parents’ cooperation and participation.

Therefore, I read with interest some recent studies as to the best actions parents can take to help their children succeed in school. The findings were surprising.

A study from the University of Essex in England based on statistics from 15,500 pupils between the years 2004 through 2010 found that girls were most likely to remain in school, not become prematurely pregnant, earn better wages, and partner with successful men if they had mothers who nagged them. Yes, you read that right! Pushy mothers who expected their daughters to go to college succeeded in dropping the teenage pregnancy rate by four percent which led to other positive milestones.

The study found that demanding mothers had a greater influence than fathers. It also found that the effect was more pronounced in girls who were the least academic, who had few friends or who did not have teachers who took a particular interest in them.

In a different study done at Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University over a twenty year time span, researchers found that kindergartners who demonstrated the skills of sharing, cooperation and kindness became more successful grownups. Social emotional development makes a real difference in our student’s lives.

These students were more likely to graduate from college, stay out of trouble with the law, find full-time jobs and avoid drug and alcohol problems. Researchers were surprised to find that good behavior from such a young age had a lasting influence into adulthood.

This study tracked 753 male and female subjects. As kindergartners, they were rated by teachers on a scale of one to five on various skills. Those young students who scored highest on social and emotional skills were four times more likely to be responsible adults.

What can we conclude with these studies? Social and emotional development and awareness is at least as important as cognitive ability to succeed in life. As educators, it is important for schools to communicate to parents that they need to encourage their children to not only want a successful future by having high academic goals but also develop good character through kindness and cooperation.

As teachers and parents, we can first and foremost demonstrate these skills ourselves through the way we interact with others in the classroom and in our homes. By doing so, we will have a future to look forward to.

What are your experiences with your students who have had the most success in life? We’d like to hear from you.

2 Responses to Social Emotional Development and Parenting Skills that Build Great Kids

  1. Prasenjit Chakraborty says:

    Very true. In recent days people thought that more lenient they were to their children, better the development. But the research finding you mentioned proves that greater involvement of parents ensures greater chances of success for kids. This was the practice in past. Things of the past need not necessarily be always bad.

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