Lessons from the longest study on human development | Helen Pearson

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

Today I want to confess something to you,

Danas želim nešto da vam priznam,

but first of all I'm going to ask you a couple of questions.

ali ću prvo da vam postavim nekoliko pitanja.

How many people here have children?

Koliko vas ovde ima decu?

And how many of you are confident

A koliko vas je ubeđeno

that you know how to bring up your children

da znate kako da podižete svoju decu

in exactly the right way?

baš na pravi način?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

OK, I don't see too many hands going up on that second one,

U redu, ne vidim da se previše ruku podiže na drugo pitanje,

and that's my confession, too.

a to je i moje priznanje.

I've got three boys;

Imam tri dečaka;

they're three, nine and 12.

imaju tri, devet i 12 godina.

And like you, and like most parents,

I poput vas, kao i poput većine reoditelja,

the honest truth is I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing.

iskreno da vam kažem, pojma nemam šta radim.

I want them to be happy and healthy in their lives,

Želim im da budu srećni i zdravi u životu,

but I don't know what I'm supposed to do

ali ne znam šta bi trebalo da uradim

to make sure they are happy and healthy.

da se postaram da budu srećni i zdravi.

There's so many books offering all kinds of conflicting advice,

Ima toliko knjiga koje nude razne suprotstavljene savete,

it can be really overwhelming.

zaista može da bude parališuće.

So I've spent most of their lives just making it up as I go along.

Pa sam provela veći deo njihovih života snalazeći se korak po korak.

However, something changed me a few years ago,

Međutim, nešto me je promenilo pre nekoliko godina,

when I came across a little secret that we have in Britain.

kada sam naišla na malu tajnu koja postoji kod nas u Britaniji.

It's helped me become more confident about how I bring up my own children,

Pomoglo mi je da budem samopouzdanija kod tog kako podižem svoju decu,

and it's revealed a lot about how we as a society can help all children.

i otkrilo je mnogo o tome kako mi kao društvo možemo da pomognemo svoj deci.

I want to share that secret with you today.

Želim sa vama da podelim tu tajnu.

For the last 70 years,

U proteklih 70 godina,

scientists in Britain have been following thousands of children through their lives

naučnici u Britaniji su pratili na hiljade dece tokom njihovog života,

as part of an incredible scientific study.

kao deo neverovatnog naučnog istraživanja.

There's nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.

Ništa slično ne postoji u svetu.

Collecting information on thousands of children

Sakupljanje informacija o hiljadama dece

is a really powerful thing to do,

je zaista moćna stvar

because it means we can compare the ones who say,

jer to znači da možemo uporediti one koji, recimo,

do well at school or end up healthy or happy or wealthy as adults,

su dobri u školi ili završe kao zdravi ili srećni ili imućni odrasli,

and the ones who struggle much more,

i one koji se mnogo više muče,

and then we can sift through all the information we've collected

a potom možemo da pročešljamo sve informacije koje smo sakupili

and try to work out why their lives turned out different.

i da pokušamo da otkrijemo zašto su im životi različito ispali.

This British study -- it's actually a kind of crazy story.

Ovo britansko istraživanje - zapravo se radi o šašavoj priči.

So it all starts back in 1946,

Dakle, sve počinje 1946,

just a few months after the end of the war,

svega nekoliko meseci po okončanju rata,

when scientists wanted to know

kada su se naučnici zapitali

what it was like for a woman to have a baby at the time.

kako je tada bilo ženama koje su imale bebu.

They carried out this huge survey of mothers

Sproveli su obimnu anketu među majkama

and ended up recording the birth of nearly every baby

i na kraju su zabeležili rođenje skoro svake bebe

born in England, Scotland and Wales in one week.

rođene u Engleskoj, Škotskoj i Velsu tokom jedne nedelje.

That was nearly 14,000 babies.

Radilo se o skoro 14.000 beba.

The questions they asked these women

Pitanja koja su pitali ove žene

are very different than the ones we might ask today.

se veoma razlikuju od onih koje bismo danas pitali.

They sound really old-fashioned now.

Sada zvuče zaista zastarelo.

They asked them things like,

Pitali su ih stvari poput:

"During pregnancy,

"Tokom trudnoće,

did you get your full extra ration of a pint of milk a day?"

da li ste dobijali puno dodatno sledovanje od pola litra mleka na dan?"

"How much did you spend on smocks, corsets,

"Koliko ste trošili na bluze, korsete,

nightdresses, knickers and brassieres?"

spavaćice, gaćice i brushaltere?"

And this is my favorite one:

A ovo mi je omiljeno:

"Who looked after your husband while you were in bed with this baby?"

"Ko je pazio vašeg muža dok ste bili u krevetu s bebom?"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now, this wartime study actually ended up being so successful

Sad, ovo ratno istraživanje je na kraju bilo toliko uspešno

that scientists did it again.

da su ga naučnici ponovili.

They recorded the births of thousands of babies born in 1958

Zabeležili su rođenje hiljada beba rođenih 1958.

and thousands more in 1970.

i još na hiljadu rođenih 1970.

They did it again in the early 1990s,

Ponovili su to ranih 1990-ih

and again at the turn of the millennium.

i ponovo početkom milenijuma.

Altogether, more than 70,000 children have been involved in these studies

Sveukupno, više od 70.000 dece je uključeno u ova istraživanja,

across those five generations.

u ovih pet generacija.

They're called the British birth cohorts,

Nazivaju ih britanskom kohortom rođenih,

and scientists have gone back and recorded more information

a naučnici su se vratili i zabeležili još informacija

on all of these people every few years ever since.

o svim ovim ljudima na svake dve godine.

The amount of information that's now been collected on these people

Količina informacija koja je sakupljena o ovim ljudima

is just completely mind-boggling.

je prosto zapanjujuća.

It includes thousands of paper questionnaires

Uključuje na hiljade upitnika na papiru

and terabytes' worth of computer data.

i terabajte kompjuterskih informacija.

Scientists have also built up a huge bank of tissue samples,

Naučnici su takođe sagradili ogromnu banku uzoraka tkiva,

which includes locks of hair, nail clippings, baby teeth and DNA.

koja uključuje pramenove kose, isečke noktiju, mlečne zube i DNK.

They've even collected 9,000 placentas from some of the births,

Čak su i sakupili 9.000 posteljica od nekih porođaja,

which are now pickled in plastic buckets in a secure storage warehouse.

koje su trenutno pasterizovane u plastičnim kofama u bezbednom skladištu.

This whole project has become unique --

Čitav ovaj projekat je postao jedinstven -

so, no other country in the world is tracking generations of children

dakle, ne, nijedna država na svetu ne prati generacije dece

in quite this detail.

ovako detaljno.

These are some of the best-studied people on the planet,

Spadaju među najizučavanije ljude na planeti,

and the data has become incredibly valuable for scientists,

a ovi podaci su postali izuzetno vredni naučnicima,

generating well over 6,000 academic papers and books.

proizveli su preko 6000 akademskih radova i knjiga.

But today I want to focus on just one finding --

Ali danas želim da se usredsredim samo na jedno otkriće -

perhaps the most important discovery to come from this remarkable study.

možda najvažnije otkriće koje je proisteklo iz ove izvanredne studije.

And it's also the one that spoke to me personally,

A to otkriće je i mene lično dotaklo

because it's about how to use science to do the best for our children.

jer se radi o tome kako da koristite nauku da uradite najbolje za vašu decu.

So, let's get the bad news out of the way first.

Dakle, prvo ćemo da se rešimo loših vesti.

Perhaps the biggest message from this remarkable study is this:

Verovatno najveća pouka iz ovog izvanrednog istraživanja je:

don't be born into poverty or into disadvantage,

nemojte da se rodite u siromaštvu ili oskudici

because if you are,

jer, ako se to desi,

you're far more likely to walk a difficult path in life.

veća je verovatnoća da ćete ići težim putem kroz život.

Many children in this study were born into poor families

Mnoga deca iz ovog istraživanja su rođena u siromašnim porodicama

or into working-class families that had cramped homes or other problems,

ili u porodicama radničke klase koje su imale tesne domove ili druge probleme,

and it's clear now that those disadvantaged children

i sada je jasno da su se ova neprivilegovana deca

have been more likely to struggle on almost every score.

češće mučila skoro na svakom koraku.

They've been more likely to do worse at school,

Veća je verovatnoća da su bili lošiji đaci,

to end up with worse jobs and to earn less money.

da su završili sa lošijim poslovima i zarađivali manje novca.

Now, maybe that sounds really obvious,

Sad, to možda zvuči očigledno,

but some of the results have been really surprising,

ali neki rezultati su zaista bili iznenađujući,

so children who had a tough start in life

dakle, deca koja su imala težak početak

are also more likely to end up unhealthy as adults.

takođe su na kraju postajala odrasli lošijeg zdravlja.

They're more likely to be overweight,

Skloniji su gojaznosti,

to have high blood pressure,

visokom krvnom pritisku,

and then decades down the line,

a decenijama kasnije,

more likely to have a failing memory, poor health and even to die earlier.

skloniji su tome da ih izdaje pamćenje, loše zdravlje, pa čak i da ranije umru.

Now, I talked about what happens later,

Sad, govorila sam o tome šta se dešava kasnije,

but some of these differences emerge at a really shockingly early age.

ali neke od ovih razlika se pojavljuju u iznenađujuće ranom uzrastu.

In one study,

U jednom istraživanju,

children who were growing up in poverty

deca koja su odrastala u siromaštvu

were almost a year behind the richer children on educational tests,

su na obrazovnim testovima zaostajala skoro godinu iza bogatije dece,

and that was by the age of just three.

a radi se o uzrastu od svega tri godine.

These types of differences have been found again and again across the generations.

Ovaj tip razlika je otkriven iznova i iznova širom generacija.

It means that our early circumstances have a profound influence

To znači da naše rane okolnosti imaju suštinski uticaj

on the way that the rest of our lives play out.

na to kako će se odigrati ostatak naših života.

And working out why that is

A otkrivanje zašto je to tako

is one of the most difficult questions that we face today.

je jedno od najtežih pitanja s kojim smo trenutno suočeni.

So there we have it.

Dakle, eto ga.

The first lesson for successful life, everyone, is this:

Prva lekcija za uspešan život, pazite, je sledeća:

choose your parents very carefully.

veoma oprezno birajte roditelje.

(Laughter)

Don't be born into a poor family or into a struggling family.

(Smeh)

Ne rađajte se u siromašnoj porodici ili u oskudnoj porodici.

Now, I'm sure you can see the small problem here.

Sad, sigurna sam da ovde zapažate maleni problem.

We can't choose our parents or how much they earn,

Ne možemo da biramo roditelje ili koliko će da zarađuju,

but this British study has also struck a real note of optimism

ali ovo britansko istraživanje je takođe imalo notu optimizma,

by showing that not everyone who has a disadvantaged start

pokazujući da nisu svi koji su imali neprivilegovan početak

ends up in difficult circumstances.

završili u teškim okolnostima.

As you know, many people have a tough start in life,

Kao što znate, mnogi ljudi imaju težak početak života,

but they end up doing very well on some measure nevertheless,

ali im na kraju ipak bude dobro do neke mere,

and this study starts to explain how.

a ovo istraživanje objašnjava kako.

So the second lesson is this:

Dakle, sledeća lekcija je:

parents really matter.

roditelji su zaista važni.

In this study,

U ovom istraživanju,

children who had engaged, interested parents,

deca angažovanih, zainteresovanih roditelja,

ones who had ambition for their future,

onih koji su bili ambiciozni za budućnost dece,

were more likely to escape from a difficult start.

bila su sklonija tome da izbegnu posledice teškog početka.

It seems that parents and what they do are really, really important,

Čini se da su roditelji i njihovi postupci zaista, zaista važni,

especially in the first few years of life.

naročito tokom prvih nekoliko godina života.

Let me give you an example of that.

Daću vam primer za to.

In one study,

U jednom istraživanju,

scientists looked at about 17,000 children who were born in 1970.

naučnici su posmatrali oko 17.000 dece koja su rođena 1970.

They sifted all the mountains of data that they had collected

Pročešljali su brda podataka koje su sakupili

to try to work out

kako bi otkrili

what allowed the children who'd had a difficult start in life

šta je omogućilo deci koja su imala težak početak života

to go on and do well at school nevertheless.

da svejedno budu dobri đaci.

In other words, which ones beat the odds.

Drugim rečima, šta je pobedilo statistiku.

The data showed that what mattered more than anything else was parents.

Podaci su pokazali da su roditelji važniji od svega drugog.

Having engaged, interested parents in those first few years of life

Imati angažovane, zainteresovane roditelje u prvih nekoliko godina života

was strongly linked to children going on to do well at school later on.

je čvrsto povezano sa kasnijim dečjim uspehom u školi.

In fact, quite small things that parents do

Zapravo, prilično sitne stvari koje roditelji rade

are associated with good outcomes for children.

su povezane sa dobrim ishodima kod dece.

Talking and listening to a child,

Razgovaranje i slušanje deteta,

responding to them warmly,

pružanje toplog odgovora,

teaching them their letters and numbers,

podučavanje slovima i brojevima,

taking them on trips and visits.

odvođenje na putovanja i u posete.

Reading to children every day seems to be really important, too.

Svakodnevno čitanje deci se takođe čini prilično važnim.

So in one study,

Dakle, u jednom istraživanju,

children whose parents were reading to them daily when they were five

deca čiji su roditelji im čitali svakodnevno kada im je bilo pet godina

and then showing an interest in their education at the age of 10,

i potom su pokazivali interesovanje za njihovo obrazovanje u 10. godini

were significantly less likely to be in poverty at the age of 30

značajno su imali manje šanse da žive u siromaštvu sa 30 godina

than those whose parents weren't doing those things.

od onih čiji roditelji nisu radili sve to.

Now, there are huge challenges with interpreting this type of science.

Sad, postoje ogromni izazovi pri tumačenju ovog vida nauke.

These studies show that certain things that parents do

Ova istraživanja pokazuju da određene stvari koje roditelji rade

are correlated with good outcomes for children,

su povezane sa dobrim ishodima za decu,

but we don't necessarily know those behaviors caused the good outcomes,

ali mi nužno ne znamo da li su ta ponašanja uzrokovala dobre ishode

or whether some other factor is getting in the way.

ili se neki drugi faktor našao na putu.

For example, we have to take genes into account,

Na primer, moramo da uzmemo u obzir gene,

and that's a whole other talk in itself.

a to je samo po sebi neki drugi govor.

But scientists working with this British study

No naučnici koji rade na ovoj britanskoj studiji,

are working really hard to get at causes,

rade zaista vredno da pronađu uzroke,

and this is one study I particularly love.

a evo jednog istraživanja koje naročito volim.

In this one,

they looked at the bedtime routines of about 10,000 children

U njemu

su posmatrali rutine pred spavanje oko 10.000 dece

born at the turn of the millennium.

rođene početkom ovog milenijuma.

Were the children going to bed at regular times,

Da li su deca išla u krevet uvek u isto vreme

or did they go to bed at different times during the week?

ili su išla u krevet u različito vreme tokom nedelje?

The data showed that those children who were going to bed at different times

Podaci su pokazali da su ona deca koja su išla u krevet u različito vreme

were more likely to have behavioral problems,

bila sklonija problematičnom ponašanju,

and then those that switched to having regular bedtimes

a ona koja su se prebacila na ustaljen odlazak u krevet

often showed an improvement in behavior,

su često pokazivala napredak u ponašanju,

and that was really crucial,

a to je bilo zaista krucijalno

because it suggested it was the bedtime routines

jer je nagoveštavalo da rutine pripreme za krevet

that were really helping things get better for those kids.

zaista pomažu da se stvari poprave za tu decu.

Here's another one to think about.

Evo još jednog za razmišljanje.

In this one,

U ovom istraživanju,

scientists looked at children who were reading for pleasure.

naučnici su posmatrali decu koja su čitala iz zadovoljstva.

That means that they picked up a magazine, a picture book, a story book.

To znači da bi uzeli časopis, slikovnicu, priče za decu.

The data showed that children who were reading for pleasure

Podaci su pokazali da deca koja su čitala iz zadovoljstva

at the ages of five and 10

u uzrastu od pet do deset godina,

were more likely to go on in school better, on average,

imala su više šanse u proseku da imaju bolji uspeh u školi,

on school tests later in their lives.

na školskim testovima kasnije u životu.

And not just tests of reading,

I ne samo na testovima iz čitanja,

but tests of spelling and maths as well.

već i na testovima sricanja i matematike.

This study tried to control for all the confounding factors,

Istraživanje je pokušalo da kontroliše sve zbunjujuće faktore,

so it looked at children who were equally intelligent

pa je posmatralo decu koja su podjednako inteligentna

and from the same social-class background,

i imaju isto socio-klasno poreklo,

so it seemed as if it was the reading which really helped those children

pa se činilo kao da je čitanje to što je zaista pomoglo deci

go on and score better on those school tests later in their lives.

da imaju bolje rezultate na testovima kasnije u njihovom životu.

Now at the start,

Sad, na početku

I said the first lesson from this study

sam rekla prvu lekciju iz ovog istraživanja

was not to be born into poverty or into disadvantage,

da se ne treba roditi u siromaštvu ili oskudici

because those children tend to follow more difficult paths in their lives.

jer ta deca često idu težim putem u životu.

But then I said that parenting matters,

Ali sam zatim rekla da je roditeljstvo važno

and that good parenting, if you can call it that,

i da dobro roditeljstvo, ako ga tako nazovete,

helps children beat the odds

pomaže deci da pobede statistiku

and overcome some of those early disadvantages.

i prevaziđu neke od tih ranih nedostataka.

So wait,

Dakle, čekajte,

does that actually mean, then, that poverty doesn't matter after all?

da li to onda zapravo znači da siromaštvo naposletku uopšte nije važno?

You could argue it doesn't matter if a child is born poor --

Možete da tvrdite da nije važno, ako se dete rodi siromašno -

as long as their parents are good parents, they're going to do just fine.

dokle god ima dobre roditelje, biće mu sasvim dobro.

I don't believe that's true.

Ne verujem da je to tačno.

This study shows that poverty and parenting matter.

Istraživanje pokazuje da su važni i siromaštvo i roditeljstvo.

And one study actually put figures on that,

A jedno istraživanje je zapravo to procenilo,

so it looked at children growing up in persistent poverty

pa je posmatralo decu koja su odrastala u trajnom siromaštvu

and how well they were doing at school.

i kako im je išlo u školi.

The data showed

Podaci su pokazali

that even when their parents were doing everything right --

da čak i kad su njihovi roditelji sve radili kako treba -

putting them to bed on time

slali ih u krevet na vreme

and reading to them every day and everything else --

i čitali im svakodnevno i sve ostalo -

that only got those children so far.

to je tek toliko uticalo na decu.

Good parenting only reduced the educational gap

Dobro roditeljstvo je samo umanjilo obrazovni jaz

between the rich and poor children by about 50 percent.

između bogate i siromašne dece za oko 50 procenata.

Now that means that poverty leaves a really lasting scar,

Sad, to znači da siromaštvo ostavlja zaista trajan ožiljak,

and it means that if we really want to ensure the success and well-being

i znači da ako zaista želimo da obezbedimo uspeh i dobrobit

of the next generation,

sledeće generacije,

then tackling child poverty is an incredibly important thing to do.

onda je bavljenje dečjim siromaštvom neverovatno važan postupak.

Now, what does all this mean for you and me?

Sad, šta sve ovo znači za vas i mene?

Are there lessons here we can all take home and use?

Šta iz ovog možemo da naučimo i da primenimo?

As a scientist and a journalist,

Kao naučnica i novinarka,

I like to have some science to inform my parenting ...

volim kad mi nauka potkrepljuje roditeljstvo...

and I can tell you that when you're shouting at your kids

i mogu da vam kažem da kad vičete na decu

to go to bed on time,

da idu u krevet na vreme,

it really helps to have the scientific literature on your side.

zaista pomaže kad imate naučnu literaturu na vašoj strani.

(Laughter)

And wouldn't it be great to think

(Smeh)

I zar ne bi bila sjajna pomisao

that all we had to do to have happy, successful children

da sve što je potrebno da bismo imali srećnu, uspešnu decu

was to talk to them, be interested in their future,

jeste da pričate s njima, budete zainteresovani za njihovu budućnost,

put them to bed on time, and give them a book to read?

stavljate ih u krevet na vreme dajete im knjige da čitaju?

Our job would be done.

Naš posao bi bio završen.

Now, as you can imagine,

Kao što pretpostavljate,

the answers aren't quite as simple as that.

odgovori nisu ni blizu tako jednostavni.

For one thing, this study looks at what happens

Prvo, ovo istraživanje posmatra šta se dešava

to thousands and thousands of children on average,

hiljadama i hiljadama dece u proseku,

but that doesn't necessarily say what will help my child or your child

ali to nužno ne govori šta bi pomoglo mom ili vašem detetu

or any individual child.

ili bilo kom detetu pojedinačno.

In the end, each of our children is going to walk their own path,

Konačno, svako naše dete će da prati sopstvenu stazu,

and that's partly defined by the genes they inherit

a ona je delimično određena genima koje nasleđuju

and of course all the experiences they have through their lives,

i, naravno, svim iskustvima koja budu imali u životu,

including their interactions with us, their parents.

uključujući interakciju s nama, njihovim roditeljima.

I will tell you what I did after I learned all this.

Reći ću vam šta sam uradila, nakon što sam ovo saznala.

It's a bit embarrassing.

Malo me je sramota.

I realized I was so busy working,

Shvatila sam da sam bila toliko zauzeta radeći,

and ironically,

i, ironično,

learning and writing about this incredible study of British children,

učeći i pišući o ovom neverovatnom istraživanju britanske dece,

that there were days when I hardly even spoke to my own British children.

da je bilo dana kad jedva da sam i govorila sa sopstvenom britanskom decom.

So at home, we introduced talking time,

Pa smo kod kuće uveli vreme za razgovor,

which is just 15 minutes at the end of the day

a to je svega 15 minuta na kraju dana

when we talk and listen to the boys.

kada razgovaramo i slušamo dečake.

I try better now to ask them what they did today,

Sad se više trudim da ih pitam šta su radili danas,

and to show that I value what they do at school.

i da pokažem da cenim njihov trud u školi.

Of course, I make sure they always have a book to read.

Naravno da se staram da uvek imaju knjigu za čitanje.

I tell them I'm ambitious for their future,

Govorim im da imam ambicije za njihovu budućnost

and I think they can be happy and do great things.

i smatram da mogu da budu srećni i postignu velike stvari.

I don't know that any of that will make a difference,

Ne znam da li će išta od toga da bude značajno,

but I'm pretty confident it won't do them any harm,

ali sam prilično sigurna da neće da im škodi,

and it might even do them some good.

a možda im čak i pomogne malo.

Ultimately, if we want happy children,

Naposletku, ako želimo srećnu decu,

all we can do is listen to the science,

sve što možemo je da slušamo nauku

and of course,

i, naravno,

listen to our children themselves.

da slušamo i samu decu.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.