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Parental income determines child brain power

76 replies

LotusLight · 30/03/2015 18:38

What I always said... nothing a mother can do better for her child than earning £100k plus. It is not how many nappies you change but your income that really counts at the end of the day.
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3018263/Does-rich-make-SMART-Academic-success-linked-parents-wealth-study-claims.html

So get back to work and out earn men.

OP posts:
IAmAPaleontologist · 30/03/2015 18:39

shit, my kids are fucked

queentroutoftrouts · 30/03/2015 18:41

How goddamn patronising, judgemental and vile is your post! So your saying money and genetics\biology are somehow linked? What bullshit! A lot of people's children are doomed then aren't they.

airedailleurs · 30/03/2015 18:42

I saw that study on Teach First yesterday and thought what a complete load of rubbish.
DD had a reading age of 11 when she was 6 and will be sitting her level 6 English SATS in May with a fair chance of passing (national pass rate = 0.01%)
I have mostly worked part-time since she was 1 and still work part-time taking home less than £20k per year.
As I said, complete rubbish!

Philoslothy · 30/03/2015 18:42

I used to earn 100k, now I earn a nominal amount from my business whilst I am a SAHM. Did my children become thick overnight?

airedailleurs · 30/03/2015 18:46

exactly Philoslothy - anyone who is taken in by that "study" is obviously a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic themselves Wink

fourteen · 30/03/2015 18:47

queen I think is the OP is ironic? Smile

OhMjh · 30/03/2015 18:47

My mum brought me up on 12k a year for 12 years with minimal support from my father and I managed to homeschool myself into 17A* GCSE's after a tricky year at school due to MH issues..must be true! Hmm

fourteen · 30/03/2015 18:48

It's getting cause and effect completely muddled isn't it? So clever people earn more money (in general), and funnily enough those clever people have clever children.

It's not the money itself that makes you clever!

Philoslothy · 30/03/2015 18:50

I don't think that Lotus is being ironic

AuntieStella · 30/03/2015 18:52

Have they got cause and effect the wrong way round? If it's DM, do they even consider causation?

I can remember reading various pieces over the years that education level of the mother is one of the key things that makes a difference to family health, education in the broader sense, and upbringing of children (environment, interaction etc) And note; they meant this in a population typical kind of way, not the prescriptive way.

And perhaps those well educated women are the ones who (again generally, not specifically IYSWIM) secure the posts or found the businesses which pay that highly.

airedailleurs · 30/03/2015 18:58

I am very well-educated thank you very much (post-grad level), I have just chosen to spend time with my DD rather than outsource her care to someone else while I spend my whole day working.

btw I agree with Auntie Stella: education level of the mother is one of the key things that makes a difference to family health, education in the broader sense, and upbringing of children (environment, interaction etc) And note; they meant this in a population typical kind of way, not the prescriptive way

queentroutoftrouts · 30/03/2015 19:00

It is more likely it has something to do with the fact that more money equals access to better services and education e.g tutors, moving to schools in better areas or fee paying.

BuggersMuddle · 30/03/2015 19:00

Shit - it's a good thing my parents suddenly went from just making ends meet to comfortably off when DF changed industry mid career. That overnight jump in IQ has surely helped me a lot Hmm

So basically parents who the option to buy better childcare then? My 'daycare' was my granny who had to leave school at 14 to work in a mill. Mind you I could play a mean hand of whist by about age 8 Grin

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 30/03/2015 19:02

But last week we were told that breastfeeding for longer (which isn't generally compatible with full time work) is important for a child's IQ.

Looks like we're tucked either way.

Think I'll carry on doing what I'm doing.

ChocolateEggFace · 30/03/2015 19:14

So, you can buy higher quality childcare, and provide a stress free environment because you have no money worries?

My DC had the best early years education (I'm ace! Grin Wink) I breast fed, I took fish oil when pregnant, I had calm pregnancies, and they've had stress free child hoods.

Bloody hell, they would have been really thick if I hadn't done all that! Grin

ChocolateEggFace · 30/03/2015 19:15

FWIW, I think high earners expect more of their children. They expect their DC to achieve. I think an awful lot is down to parental exception.

airedailleurs · 30/03/2015 19:16

Queen my dd goes to independent school too despite my low income; she got a scholarship Wink. I can see your point about money facilitating access but it's not that simple is it?

pearpotter · 30/03/2015 19:20

Or is it that parental intelligence can mean access to higher paying jobs? Whether you then go for a high earning job depends on a lot of factors.

sailoratsea · 30/03/2015 19:25

Being at home is nothing to do with changing nappies. Your OP makes you sound vacuous, dismissive and arrogant. You just can't buy class.

Fairylea · 30/03/2015 19:26

Load of absolute nonsense.

pearpotter · 30/03/2015 19:27

If my parents had been high earners I probably wouldn't be earning as much now, as I wouldn't have felt the financial pressure to go and get a "proper job" and would have done something more creative and precarious in terms of income.

BuggersMuddle · 30/03/2015 20:07

Very good point pearpotter. My parents would always take me in, help me out if they could (as long as I was making an effort) and even today could and would bail me out but I am not anticipating inheriting a fortune (and indeed encourage them to enjoy themselves!).

Some of my friends with wealthy parents have taken routes that will either earn less money or take more time to bear fruit. In the former case, one acquaintance is finding it quite shocking that her parents expect her to now live on her wage having chosen to be an administrator in the charity sector.

I do feel some sympathy in the 'takes more time to bear fruit' case. That is much harder for someone with no money to fall back on (there is another thread running where the OP has 3 degrees). A good friend of mine is from a wealthy background and actually lives very frugally, however he had multiple £500k+ flats in multiple cities that he could 'have the use of' for as long as he liked. That surely makes it easier to choose the long road of MSc, PhD, low paying post-doc etc.

MrsDoylesCupOfTea · 31/03/2015 17:20

Oh dear have you resorted to having to quote from the Daily Mail.

It's a bit self aggrandizing to try and find 'studies' that suit your particular circumstances. You can find 'studies' to back up most hypothesis - Im sure, for example, that I could find studies showing how detrimental acrimonious divorces are to children...

morethanpotatoprints · 31/03/2015 17:38

Ha Ha, I haven't earned a penny in 23 years and dh is low income.
Our children are bright enough and one is highly gifted.
What a load of bollocks.

boogiewoogie · 31/03/2015 18:59

I think op is being ironic unless it's Xenia.