Lessons from the longest study on human development | Helen Pearson

翻译人员: chunhua zhang 校对人员: Amy H. Fann

Today I want to confess something to you,

今天我想跟你们坦白一些事情,

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

但是首先我将要问你们一些问题。

How many people here have children?

在座的有多少已经有小孩了？

And how many of you are confident

你们中又有多少可以自信地说

that you know how to bring up your children

你知道如何完全正确地

in exactly the right way?

养育你的小孩？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

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

好的，我看第二个问题 没有多少人举手,

and that's my confession, too.

而这也是我要坦白的。

I've got three boys;

我有三个儿子,

they're three, nine and 12.

他们分别是3岁、9岁和12岁。

And like you, and like most parents,

就像你，就像大多数父母一样,

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

老实说我真的不知道我在做什么。

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

我希望他们生活得健康、快乐

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

但是我不知道我应该怎么做

to make sure they are happy and healthy.

才能确保他们健康快乐。

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

市面上有很多提供 各种互相矛盾的建议的书籍，

it can be really overwhelming.

真的是令人不知所措。

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

所以大多数时间 我都是边摸索边抚养他们的。

However, something changed me a few years ago,

然而，几年前的一些事改变了我，

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

那时我无意间发现了 我们英国的一个小秘密。

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

它使我对于如何养育小孩 有了更多的自信，

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

它还揭露了作为一个社会整体， 我们该如何帮助所有的小孩。

I want to share that secret with you today.

今天我想跟你们分享这个秘密。

For the last 70 years,

在过去70年里，

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

英国科学家跟踪调查了 成千上万小孩子的一生

as part of an incredible scientific study.

作为一项惊人的科学研究的一部分。

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

这世上没有另外一件 像这样的事情了。

Collecting information on thousands of children

收集成千上万的小孩子的信息

is a really powerful thing to do,

真的是一件很厉害的事，

because it means we can compare the ones who say,

因为这意味着我们可以将那些

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

在学校表现好或者 成年后变得健康、快乐或富有的小孩

and the ones who struggle much more,

跟那些苦苦挣扎的小孩进行对比，

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

然后从收集到的信息中进行筛选

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

试着去找出为什么 他们的生活会变得大不相同。

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

这一项英国的研究—— 事实上是一个疯狂的故事。

So it all starts back in 1946,

它最初开始于1946年，

just a few months after the end of the war,

也就在二战结束后的几个月

when scientists wanted to know

当时科学家想要知道

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

在当时一个妇女 有了小孩会是怎样的。

They carried out this huge survey of mothers

他们对妈妈们进行了这项巨大的调查

and ended up recording the birth of nearly every baby

并最终纪录下了 几乎所有在一个星期内

born in England, Scotland and Wales in one week.

出生在英格兰、苏格兰和 威尔士的小孩。

That was nearly 14,000 babies.

那是将近一万四千个小孩。

The questions they asked these women

他们当时问这些妇女的问题

are very different than the ones we might ask today.

跟我们今天要问的问题大不相同。

They sound really old-fashioned now.

这些问题现在看起来真的很守旧。

They asked them things like,

他们问的问题是像这样的：

"During pregnancy,

“在怀孕期间

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

你是否每天都得到了 额外配给的一品脱牛奶？”

"How much did you spend on smocks, corsets,

“你在罩衫、紧身内衣

nightdresses, knickers and brassieres?"

睡衣、短裤以及胸罩上 花了多少钱？”

And this is my favorite one:

而我最喜欢的是这一个：

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

“你跟小孩在床上的时候， 谁照顾你丈夫？”

(Laughter)

(笑声）

Now, this wartime study actually ended up being so successful

这项战争时代的研究最终非常成功，

that scientists did it again.

科学家后来又重新进行了这项研究。

They recorded the births of thousands of babies born in 1958

他们纪录下了成千上万的 出生于1958年的小孩

and thousands more in 1970.

并且纪录下了更多出生于 1970年的小孩。

They did it again in the early 1990s,

他们在上世纪90年代早期 又做了一次，

and again at the turn of the millennium.

然后在千禧年前后又做了一次。

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

总共有超过七万个小孩 参与到了这项研究中来

across those five generations.

横跨了五代人。

They're called the British birth cohorts,

他们被称为英国出生组群。

and scientists have gone back and recorded more information

科学家每隔几年会重访所有这些人

on all of these people every few years ever since.

并收集纪录下更多的信息。

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

从这些人那里收集到的信息总量，

is just completely mind-boggling.

是完全不可想像的。

It includes thousands of paper questionnaires

它包含了数千份的调查问卷，

and terabytes' worth of computer data.

和巨量的电脑数据。

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

科学家还建立了个巨大的标本数据库

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

里面存有头发、指甲、 婴儿的牙齿以及DNA。

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

他们从一些分娩中 收集了9000个胎盘，

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

这些胎盘现都储存塑料桶里， 存在个安全的储存室中。

This whole project has become unique --

这整个项目是独一无二的——

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

这世上没有任何其它国家这么细致地

in quite this detail.

对几代小孩进行跟踪调查。

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

这是一些这个星球上 被研究得最透彻的人，

and the data has become incredibly valuable for scientists,

这些数据对科学家来说 有无可估量的价值，

generating well over 6,000 academic papers and books.

由此产生了超过6000篇的 学术论文和书籍。

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

但是今天， 我要关注的只是其中的一项发现——

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

也许是这个伟大研究里最重要的 发现，

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

它对于我个人来说也是挺有意义的，

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

因为它是关于如何利用科学 去为孩子们做到最好的。

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

首先我们来说一说坏消息。

Perhaps the biggest message from this remarkable study is this:

也许这个伟大研究发出的 最大的消息就是：

don't be born into poverty or into disadvantage,

不要出生在贫穷落后的家庭，

because if you are,

因为如果你出身不好，

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

你就更有可能走上一条 艰难的人生道路。

Many children in this study were born into poor families

这个研究中的许多小孩 都出生在住在狭窄的房子里，

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

或者有其它各种问题的 贫困家庭或工人阶级家庭，

and it's clear now that those disadvantaged children

现在很清楚的一点是 这些处于劣势的小孩

have been more likely to struggle on almost every score.

更有可能在几乎每个方面中挣扎。

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

他们可能在学校表现得更糟糕，

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

最终找一份更糟糕的工作 并赚更少的钱。

Now, maybe that sounds really obvious,

也许这些听起来像是明摆的事，

but some of the results have been really surprising,

但是也有一些结果令人很吃惊，

so children who had a tough start in life

那些人生的起点就很艰苦的小孩

are also more likely to end up unhealthy as adults.

也更可能在成年后 身体没有那么健康。

They're more likely to be overweight,

他们更可能超重，

to have high blood pressure,

患上高血压，

and then decades down the line,

然后几十年后，

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

更有可能记忆衰退、身体不佳 甚至死得更早。

Now, I talked about what happens later,

我上面谈到的都是一些后期的影响，

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

但是有一些差异是在 一个令人震惊的早期就显现出来的。

In one study,

在其中的一个研究中，

children who were growing up in poverty

贫困家庭长大的小孩

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

在教育测试上要比 富裕家庭的小孩落后一年，

and that was by the age of just three.

而这还只是在他们3岁的时候。

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

这种的差异在几代人之间 一次又一次的被发现。

It means that our early circumstances have a profound influence

这意味着我们早期的生活环境

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

对我们的余生有着更深远的影响。

And working out why that is

而找出这其中的原因,

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

是我们今天所面对的 最困难的问题之一。

So there we have it.

我们现在已经有答案了

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

各位，获得成功人生的第一堂课是：

choose your parents very carefully.

小心地选择你的父母。

(Laughter)

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

（笑声）

不要出生在一个贫困的家庭。

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

我敢肯定你们可以看出 这里的一个小问题，

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

那就是我们不能选择父母或者 他们的收入水平，

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

但这项英国的研究通过展现不是所有

by showing that not everyone who has a disadvantaged start

出身卑微的人最终都陷入困境

ends up in difficult circumstances.

因此带来了希望。

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

正如你所知道的，很多人出身贫苦

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

然而最终在某些程度上来说 过得也不错，

and this study starts to explain how.

而这个研究将要解释如何实现这个。

So the second lesson is this:

所以第二课是：

parents really matter.

父母真的很重要。

In this study,

在这项研究中，

children who had engaged, interested parents,

那些拥有负责任、关心自己的 父母的小孩

ones who had ambition for their future,

会对未来有野心，

were more likely to escape from a difficult start.

并更可能从贫困的生活中逃离出来。

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

看来父母以及他们的行为真的真的 很重要，

especially in the first few years of life.

尤其是在孩子刚出生到几岁大 这段时间。

Let me give you an example of that.

让我来举个例子

In one study,

在一个研究中，

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

科学家调查了大约一万七千个出生在 1970年的小孩。

They sifted all the mountains of data that they had collected

他们筛选了收集到的海量信息

to try to work out

试图去找出

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

是什么让这些出身贫苦的小孩

to go on and do well at school nevertheless.

能够坚持下去并在学校表现出色。

In other words, which ones beat the odds.

换句话说， 是什么让他们打败命运的魔咒。

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

数据显示， 比任何事情都重要的就是父母

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

从小拥有一个负责任、 关心孩子的父母

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

和孩子之后在学校表现好 有很强的联系。

In fact, quite small things that parents do

事实上，父母做的一些很小的事

are associated with good outcomes for children.

就能对小孩产生一些好的影响。

Talking and listening to a child,

倾听他们说的，

responding to them warmly,

亲切地回应他们，

teaching them their letters and numbers,

教他们字母和数字，

taking them on trips and visits.

带他们去旅行。

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

每天为孩子们朗读故事 似乎也很重要。

So in one study,

因此在一个研究中，

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

那些父母在孩子五岁时 每天为他们朗读故事

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

然后在孩子十岁时关心他们的教育 的小孩们

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

在30岁的时候变得贫穷的可能性

than those whose parents weren't doing those things.

明显比那些父母没有那样去做的小孩 要少得多。

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

现在，在解释这门科学上 面临很大的挑战。

These studies show that certain things that parents do

这些研究表明父母做的某些事情

are correlated with good outcomes for children,

跟孩子以后能有一个好的结果是 相关联的，

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

但是我们未必知道是 这些行为导致了好的结果

or whether some other factor is getting in the way.

或者是否还有其它的因素 在妨碍这种结果。

For example, we have to take genes into account,

例如，我们需要也考虑基因的影响，

and that's a whole other talk in itself.

但这个它本身就值得另外一个演讲。

But scientists working with this British study

进行这项英国研究的科学家

are working really hard to get at causes,

很努力地在寻找原因，

and this is one study I particularly love.

而这也是我个人特别喜爱的 一个研究。

In this one,

在这个研究中，

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

他们观察了大约一万个出生在 千禧年的小孩

born at the turn of the millennium.

的睡眠时间规律。

Were the children going to bed at regular times,

这些孩子是在固定的时间睡觉，

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

还是在一星期中每天的睡眠时间 都不一样？

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

数据显示那些不按规定时间睡觉的 小孩

were more likely to have behavioral problems,

更有可能出现行为问题。

and then those that switched to having regular bedtimes

然后那些不按时睡觉的小孩 变成按时睡觉后

often showed an improvement in behavior,

经常会在行为上有所改善，

and that was really crucial,

这真的很重要，

because it suggested it was the bedtime routines

因为它表明睡眠时间规律

that were really helping things get better for those kids.

真的能够帮助这些小孩表现更好。

Here's another one to think about.

这里还有另外一个需要去思考的 研究。

In this one,

在这个研究中，

scientists looked at children who were reading for pleasure.

科学家观察了那些 为快乐而阅读的孩子

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

也就是说他们经常拿起一本杂志、 画册、故事书。

The data showed that children who were reading for pleasure

数据显示那些5到10岁的

at the ages of five and 10

为快乐而阅读的孩子，

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

通常来说更可能在学校 有着更好的表现

on school tests later in their lives.

在学校的测试成绩也会更好。

And not just tests of reading,

而且不仅仅是阅读方面的测试，

but tests of spelling and maths as well.

还包括过拼写以及数学测试。

This study tried to control for all the confounding factors,

这个研究试图控制所有的干扰因素,

so it looked at children who were equally intelligent

因此它是观察了同等智力水平

and from the same social-class background,

并来自相同社会阶级背景的小孩，

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

所以看起来似乎是阅读 真的帮助了这些孩子

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

在以后的学校测试中 取得更好的成绩。

Now at the start,

开始的时候，

I said the first lesson from this study

我说过从这个研究中学到的第一课

was not to be born into poverty or into disadvantage,

是不要出生在一个贫穷落后的家庭。

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

因为这些孩子容易走上一条 更艰难的生活道路。

But then I said that parenting matters,

但是后来我又说了父母很重要，

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

好的养育方式，如果你觉得这就够了，

helps children beat the odds

能帮助孩子打破命运的魔咒

and overcome some of those early disadvantages.

并且克服部分早期的劣势。

So wait,

等一下,

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

这是否就意味着贫穷 只是一件无关紧要的事？

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

你可以说它无关紧要， 如果一个小孩出身贫穷——

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

只要他们的父母是称职的， 他们也会过得好。

I don't believe that's true.

但是我不相信这种说法。

This study shows that poverty and parenting matter.

研究表明贫穷和养育方式都对孩子 影响很大。

And one study actually put figures on that,

事实上有一个研究对此进行了 量化对比，

so it looked at children growing up in persistent poverty

它观察了那些在长期穷困的家庭 长大的孩子

and how well they were doing at school.

以及他们在学校的表现。

The data showed

数据表明，

that even when their parents were doing everything right --

即便他们的父母正确的做了 每一件事——

putting them to bed on time

督促他们按时睡觉

and reading to them every day and everything else --

每天给他们朗读等等——

that only got those children so far.

也只能帮孩子到这样。

Good parenting only reduced the educational gap

好的育儿方式也只能将 富孩子和穷孩子

between the rich and poor children by about 50 percent.

之间的教育差距缩小一半。

Now that means that poverty leaves a really lasting scar,

那意味着贫穷会留下一个 持续的创伤,

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

也意味着如果我们真的想要确保 下一代

of the next generation,

能够成功并且幸福,

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

那么消除儿童贫困就是一件 非常重要的事情。

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

所有这些对你和我来说 又意味着什么呢？

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

我们能从这学到什么并为我所用吗？

As a scientist and a journalist,

作为一个科学家和记者，

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

我想用一些科学来报告 我的育儿经验

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

我可以告诉你， 当你对你的孩子大喊着

to go to bed on time,

让他们按时睡觉时，

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

知道科学数据可以帮助你很多。

(Laughter)

And wouldn't it be great to think

（笑声）

如果我们只需要跟孩子交谈、 关心他们的未来

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

让他们按时睡觉、给他们书去阅读

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

就能让他们快乐、成功，

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

这难道不是想想就让人很高兴的事吗？

Our job would be done.

我们的工作完成了。

Now, as you can imagine,

正如你能想像得到的，

the answers aren't quite as simple as that.

答案不止这么简单。

For one thing, this study looks at what happens

首先，这项研究调查了

to thousands and thousands of children on average,

成千上万的普通小孩，

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

但这未必就能帮助我的或你的小孩，

or any individual child.

或任何其他的单个小孩。

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

最终，每个小孩都有自己的路要走，

and that's partly defined by the genes they inherit

而那条路部分取决于 他们所继承的基因

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

当然，还有就是他们生活中的经历，

including their interactions with us, their parents.

包括他们与身为父母的我们的互动。

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

告诉你们，我在知道所有这些后 所做的事。

It's a bit embarrassing.

那真的是有点尴尬。

I realized I was so busy working,

我意识到我太忙于工作了，

and ironically,

而讽刺的是，

learning and writing about this incredible study of British children,

在学习和撰写这个关于英国小孩的 伟大研究时，

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

有好多天我都难得跟我自己的 英国小孩说话。

So at home, we introduced talking time,

所以我们在家里引入了谈话时间，

which is just 15 minutes at the end of the day

也就是在每天睡觉前的15分钟里，

when we talk and listen to the boys.

我们会跟男孩子们交谈。

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

我比以前更努力地问他们 今天做了什么，

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

并向他们表明我很重视 他们在学校的表现。

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

当然，我会确保他们随时 有一本可以阅读的书。

I tell them I'm ambitious for their future,

我告诉他们我对他们的未来 充满期望,

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

我认为他们能快乐 并做出了不起的事。

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

我不知道我做的这些是否对他们 有影响，

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

但是我很相信至少不会对他们 造成伤害，

and it might even do them some good.

甚至可能对他们有一些帮助。

Ultimately, if we want happy children,

最后，如果我们想要孩子们快乐

all we can do is listen to the science,

我们所能做的就是听信科学，

and of course,

当然，

listen to our children themselves.

还有就是聆听孩子们的声音。

Thank you.

谢谢。