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The impact on children of [emotionally adept] parenting is extraordinarily sweeping …beyond [a better relationship with their parents], these children also are better at handling their own emotions, are more effectively at soothing themselves when upset, and get upset less often. The children are also more relaxed biologically with lower levels of stress hormones and other physiological indicators of emotional arousal. Other advantages are social: these children are more popular with and are better-liked by their peers, and are seen by their teachers as more socially skilled. Their parents and teachers alike rate these children as having fewer behavioural problems such as rudeness or aggressiveness. Finally, the benefits are cognitive; these children can pay attention better, and so are more effective learners. Holding IQ constant, the five-year-olds whose parents were good coaches had higher achievement scores in math and reading when they reached third grade (a powerful argument for teaching emotional skills to help prepare children for learning as well as life). Thus the payoff for children whose parents are emotionally adept is a surprising – almost astounding – range of advantages across, and beyond, the spectrum of emotional intelligence.
-Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence
Endnotes
The evidence is consistent, positive, and convincing: families have a major influence on their children’s achievement in school and through life… and the research continues to grow and build an ever-strengthening case. When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more1. -Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp. Student Success Starts at Home: John Abbott speaks
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Positive interdependence means that when you succeed, I succeed, too; my interest in your learning is matched by your interest in mine. Featured Video
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- Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp. A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement, Annual Synthesis for the National Center for Family and Community Schools, 2002.
