Children who suffer adverse experiences tend to do worse in school than kids who don’t, but a U.S. study suggests parents may still help improve academic outcomes by simply talking to their kids. For the study, researchers examined survey data on almost 66,000 students ages 6 to 17 gathered during the 2011-2012 school year. Even for kids who endure a lot of adversity, however, certain protective factors may still help minimize the effect of these stressors on their school performance. Negative school outcomes were less likely with protective factors like safe neighborhoods, supportive neighbors, non-smoking households, regular family dinners, and parents who take time to have conversations with their kids. “Kids who do better in elementary school are more likely to do well in high school, college, and beyond,” Dudovitz added.

Source: National Post July 08, 2019 19:40 UTC