What You Don't Know Can Hurt You and Your Kids
You love your kids. Their well-being is your foremost concern. But what if you knew that your children were lacking something just as important as proper nutrition, quality medical care, or a safe place to live?
Recent studies indicate that your college education is exactly that important. Researchers report that a parent's educational level has a direct impact on her children's success — today, tomorrow and even 10 years from now.
The following bullets represent just a fraction of the available data, all of which supports the need for parents — especially mothers — to pursue academics beyond the high school level:
Today
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"Parental education levels influence children's health and health-related behaviors, the level of education children will ultimately achieve, and their access to material, human and social resources."
Child Trends Databank. (n.d.). Parental Education. Retrieved January 11, 2006 from www.childtrends.org
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If a child's parents do not have a college education, the child is more likely to live in a low income household. Even if those parents are employed, full-time.
National Center for Children in Poverty. (2007). Parents' low education leads to low income, despite fulltime employment. Retrieved January 24, 2008 from www.nccp.org
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"Our study provides additional evidence that a bachelor's degree will help lift mothers out of poverty."
Bachelor's Degree for Women with Children: A Promising Pathway to Poverty Reduction. The Journal of Equal Opportunities International, March 2007.
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"More highly educated mothers have greater success in providing their children with the cognitive and language skills that contribute to early success in school."
Parents' Literacy and their Children's Success in School: Recent Research, Promising Practices, and Research Implications. Education Research Report, August 1993.
Tomorrow
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"Increases in maternal education levels have also been associated with improvements in children's academic performance."
National Center for Family Literacy. (2003) All about families: The effects of maternal education on child achievement. Retrieved January 9, 2007 from www.famlit.org
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"A growing number of large-scale, long-term studies now show that increasing parental education beyond high school is strongly linked to increasing language ability in children."
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Journal of Developmental Psychology. Volume 55, July 2009
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In a Washington D.C. literacy research project, 65% of children recognized significant benefits from their mothers' participation in adult education and training programs.
Office Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education
10 Years from Now
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"Students with college educated parents are more likely to attain higher levels of education than students of parents with lower levels of education."
A Longitudinal Analysis of Contextual Exposure to Peers with College Educated Parents and Students' College Enrollment. Social Science Quarterly. Volume 89, Number 4, December 2008.
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Parents' educational level when children are young significantly affects educational and occupational success for those children, 40 years later.
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Journal of Developmental Psychology. Volume 55, July 2009
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Maternal education is a significant predictor of children's college aspirations and their enrollment and persistence in secondary education.
Following in her footsteps: Revisiting the role of maternal education on adolescents' college plans. Gender Issues. Volume 22. Number 2. June 2005
Some of the reasons behind these findings are situational. Parents with a college education categorically earn more money. And a higher household income translates into less overall stress, a more positive home environment, and parents with more free time to lend to school involvement.
But other reasons are directly pursuant to a college education. College-educated parents display advanced organizational skills, greater literacy skills, and increased cognitive abilities. So even if parents have managed to secure stable employment, an absence of college-level skills prevents them from imparting direct support as children reach high school.
You don't have to be a child development expert to understand these results. Your education (or lack thereof) will affect your children. Going back to school now can dramatically change your future, and help your kids to achieve everything that they deserve.
Elizabeth O'Neill holds an MFA in Creative Writing. She is a contributing writer at eLearners.com, EarnMyDegree.com, and GradSchools.com.
Comments for What You Don't Know Can Hurt You and Your Kids:
1 comment(s)
simone On Thursday, June 24 2010
i am an educated mother, who has instilled moral, cognitive, and occupational skills in both my children. i have one child who has a mild case of cerebral palsy, and no matter my effort to obtain proper medical treatment, speech and occupational therapy,visits to an excellent neurologist and a mckay scholarship awarded for private schooling that caters to all of my oldest son's learning disabilities and delays- with out hindering his social skills)my child's father continues to shun all of my efforts. we have been battling custody for 7 years with no progress, including my son's documented academic/adaptive regression. my love will not allow me to give up on my son, hence why i continue to fight. i have watched him regress but because i can not afford a lawyer and the court system in Hillsborough County, fl do not see the neglect my child is suffering from. i am currently a stay at home mom,but i strongly believe,my economic situation is what stops me from protecting my son. my son's father has been investigated 9x for child abuse/ neglect and is manic bi-polar type2. my education has held through the test of times. when i am able to actually see my child, i work with him. the school he currently goes to have pushed him into the 3rd grade. my son joshua is reading on a advanced kindergarten level and can barely handle first grade language arts and math. when he comes to my home, we go to speech therapy, and when we get home, we practice workbook activities. i take him to the library everyday when he's here and we explore natural science as much as possible( parks, ocean, canals,woodland areas-camping)when josh was younger i worked two "jobs", to cover medical expenses and place him in the # one rated preschool academy in our town. when i moved back home with my mother because his medical bills became overwhelming the judge ruled that aside from my mother's help, i could not provide shelter,food or clothing and gave his father custody. now five years later i have another child, who i will not put into daycare because of the stigma the courts have placed on placing your child in outside childcare and am afraid to go back to work because the courts will say, as they did before," the father is at home all day, so the child can stay with him" the fact that my son has regressed is because he was not allowed to be around other children until kindergarden and had no stimulation or academic reinforcement until his father finally let me back into the picture almost 5 years later.
i write this because had i had a higher level of education, i would have been able to achieve more generated income and the fact that i was a blue collar worker would not have been a factor. maybe i am wrong but i strongly believe i can give more to my children mentally, emotionally, and financially if i was able to show them a more successful role model. not to say a stay- at- home mother is not successful, but i have to boys and strong work ethics will present a better future for them in a most competitive world. my new husband is a great role model, but with me going to school it show motivation, determination and confidence that this justice system has almost ripped away from me. i want to be able to honestly say follow by my example. if i work harder with my schooling, my oldest son will not feel as if he can not break through the barriers presented before him. i want to go back to school from environmental science. in order to teach my children where they come from, i have to teach about there environment. i am proud to say that i finally have the confidence to better myself, not just for me but for my children and that has to mean something to them. My husband is constantly working, so staying at home is an advantage- but finances have limited our quality time with each other and all the weight is on my husband. once again the medical bills have become my total responsibility( even though the judge has granted the biologic