Parental time has an impact on a child’s academic success

A new article published by researchers at Ohio State University last month captures how the time that children spend with their parents has a significant impact on their academic performance.

In order to reach this conclusion, the OSU researchers reviewed data for children that had lost a parent to divorce or death in Israel. In analyzing it, they were able to determine that they were more likely to follow down an educational path on par with what their custodial parent had pursued. The researchers also found that the longer a parent was out of the picture, the less that their educational pursuits had on their child in the future.

The lead researcher noted that this finding lends credence to the fact that genetics aren’t the only factor impacting a child’s academic success. He seemed to dismiss any notion that household income impacts educational achievements as well. He instead pointed out that this Israeli study sheds light on the fact that it matters how much time children spend with their parents.

He notes that they found that it matters which parent is absent from the home too. He found that a mother passing away or leaving the home adversely impacts the child’s academics more so than the loss of a father. He thinks that this has to do with children generally spending more time with their moms than dads.

That analysis also revealed that when a dad remarries, the introduction of a stepmother into the mix can help reduce the ill-effects that have been caused by the loss of their own mother from their lives. If a mother remarries, then the introduction of a new father figure into the mix has little to no impact on the child’s life as children tend to follow the lead of their moms.

The researchers also found that the impact of the absence of a parent from the home tends to affect girls more acutely than boys.

When Westerville couples decide to split up, one of the thoughts that most keeps parents up at night is wondering whether their children are going to be affected by their divorce. That’s why it’s important for you to ally with a child custody attorney that is intent on keeping families connected, especially if research shows that it’s in their best interest to do so.