Today I want to confess something to you, but first of all I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. How many people here have children? And how many of you are confident that you know how to bring up your children in exactly the right way?
今天,我要向各位承認一件事, 但首先,我要先問你們一些問題。 在座有多少人有孩子? 有多少人有信心 知道如何用正確的方式 來養育你的孩子?
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
OK, I don't see too many hands going up on that second one, and that's my confession, too. I've got three boys; they're three, nine and 12. And like you, and like most parents, the honest truth is I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing. I want them to be happy and healthy in their lives, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do to make sure they are happy and healthy. There's so many books offering all kinds of conflicting advice, it can be really overwhelming. So I've spent most of their lives just making it up as I go along. However, something changed me a few years ago, when I came across a little secret that we have in Britain. It's helped me become more confident about how I bring up my own children, and it's revealed a lot about how we as a society can help all children. I want to share that secret with you today.
好,第二個問題沒有很多人舉手, 我要承認的也是這件事。 我有三個兒子; 分別 3 歲、9 歲、12 歲。 我和你們……和大部分父母一樣, 老實說我真的不知道我在做什麼。 我想要讓孩子一生都快樂、健康, 但我並不知道我該怎麼做, 才能確保他們能快樂和健康。 很多書提供了各種意見, 有些還互相矛盾, 這種書多到不行。 所以,他們大部分的人生, 我都是邊摸索邊養大的。 然而,幾年前,有件事改變了我, 我偶然發現我們英國有一個小秘密。 它協助我對如何養育 孩子變得更有信心, 也有很多關於我們社會 要如何協助所有孩子的資訊。 今天我想和大家分享這個秘密。
For the last 70 years, scientists in Britain have been following thousands of children through their lives as part of an incredible scientific study. There's nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. Collecting information on thousands of children is a really powerful thing to do, because it means we can compare the ones who say, do well at school or end up healthy or happy or wealthy as adults, and the ones who struggle much more, and then we can sift through all the information we've collected and try to work out why their lives turned out different.
過去七十年, 英國的科學家一直在追蹤 數千名孩童的一生, 並整理出一項了不起的科學研究。 世界其它國家都沒有這樣的研究。 要收集數千名孩童的資料 是件非常強大的事情, 因為那意味著,我們可以將那些 在學校表現出色, 或長大後健康、快樂、有錢的人, 和碰到比較多困境的人做比較, 接著我們詳細研究了 所有收集到的資料, 試著找出為什麼他們的 人生發展結果不同。
This British study -- it's actually a kind of crazy story. So it all starts back in 1946, just a few months after the end of the war, when scientists wanted to know what it was like for a woman to have a baby at the time. They carried out this huge survey of mothers and ended up recording the birth of nearly every baby born in England, Scotland and Wales in one week. That was nearly 14,000 babies. The questions they asked these women are very different than the ones we might ask today. They sound really old-fashioned now. They asked them things like, "During pregnancy, did you get your full extra ration of a pint of milk a day?" "How much did you spend on smocks, corsets, nightdresses, knickers and brassieres?" And this is my favorite one: "Who looked after your husband while you were in bed with this baby?"
這項英國研究── 其實是個有點瘋狂的故事。 一切開始於 1946 年, 在戰爭結束後幾個月, 科學家想要知道 女性在那時有孩子 是什麼樣的感覺。 他們針對母親進行了一個大型調查, 最後記錄了當週在英國、蘇格蘭、 威爾斯誕生的每個寶寶的出生資訊。 有近 14,000 個寶寶的資料。 他們問這些女性的問題 和我們現今可能會問的問題差很多。 現在聽來會覺得很老套。 問的問題類似這樣: 「在懷孕期間, 你是否每天都有拿到 額外配給的一品脫牛奶?」 「你花多少錢在工作服、緊身胸衣、 睡衣、襯褲、胸罩上?」 我最喜歡的是這個: 「當你和這個寶寶在床上時, 誰照顧你的先生?」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Now, this wartime study actually ended up being so successful that scientists did it again. They recorded the births of thousands of babies born in 1958 and thousands more in 1970. They did it again in the early 1990s, and again at the turn of the millennium. Altogether, more than 70,000 children have been involved in these studies across those five generations. They're called the British birth cohorts, and scientists have gone back and recorded more information on all of these people every few years ever since. The amount of information that's now been collected on these people is just completely mind-boggling. It includes thousands of paper questionnaires and terabytes' worth of computer data. Scientists have also built up a huge bank of tissue samples, which includes locks of hair, nail clippings, baby teeth and DNA. They've even collected 9,000 placentas from some of the births, which are now pickled in plastic buckets in a secure storage warehouse. This whole project has become unique -- so, no other country in the world is tracking generations of children in quite this detail. These are some of the best-studied people on the planet, and the data has become incredibly valuable for scientists, generating well over 6,000 academic papers and books. But today I want to focus on just one finding -- perhaps the most important discovery to come from this remarkable study. And it's also the one that spoke to me personally, because it's about how to use science to do the best for our children.
這項戰時的研究最後非常成功, 讓科學家決定再做一次。 他們記錄了 1958 年 出生的數千名寶寶, 1970 年又再記錄了數千名。 九〇年初期他們又做了一次, 在千禧年時又做了一次。 全部加起來,這些研究涉及了 超過 70,000 名孩童, 跨越五個世代。 他們稱之為 「英國出生世代的大型調查」, 每幾年,科學家就得回去 記錄所有這些人的更多資訊。 從這些人收集來的資料量 多到難以想像。 包括了數千份的紙本問卷, 及好幾兆位元組的電腦資料。 科學家也建立了一個 組織樣本的大型資料庫, 包含頭髮綹、剪下的指甲、 寶寶牙齒及 DNA。 他們甚至從一些分娩中 收集了 9,000 個胎盤, 它們目前被醃漬在塑膠桶中, 安全地儲存在倉庫裡。 這整個計畫變得獨一無二── 所以,目前沒有其它國家 追蹤數代孩童資料 追蹤地那麼仔細。 這些人是地球上 被研究得最透徹的人, 這些資料對科學家來說 是極度有價值的, 產生了超過 6,000 篇 學術論文以及書籍。 但現今,我只想著重 在其中一項發現── 也許是這了不起的研究 帶來最重大的一項發現。 且這項發現對我個人蠻有意義的, 因為它告訴了我,如何利用科學的方法 帶給孩子最好的教育。
So, let's get the bad news out of the way first. Perhaps the biggest message from this remarkable study is this: don't be born into poverty or into disadvantage, because if you are, you're far more likely to walk a difficult path in life. Many children in this study were born into poor families or into working-class families that had cramped homes or other problems, and it's clear now that those disadvantaged children have been more likely to struggle on almost every score. They've been more likely to do worse at school, to end up with worse jobs and to earn less money. Now, maybe that sounds really obvious, but some of the results have been really surprising, so children who had a tough start in life are also more likely to end up unhealthy as adults. They're more likely to be overweight, to have high blood pressure, and then decades down the line, more likely to have a failing memory, poor health and even to die earlier.
所以,我們先談談它的黑暗面。 也許這項偉大研究是要告訴我們: 不要出生於貧困或弱勢, 因為若是這樣的話, 你人生走得較艱苦的可能性 會高很多。 這項研究的許多孩童 生在貧窮的家庭, 或勞動階級家庭,有的住處狹窄, 有的家中有其它問題。 現在很明顯可看出,那些弱勢孩童 在各方面幾乎都走得比較艱苦。 他們很可能在學校的表現較差, 後來的工作比較差, 賺的錢也比較少。 也許這聽起來是不用說也知道, 但有些結果卻十分讓人意外, 人生起跑點就比較艱苦的孩童 長大也比較可能會 變成不健康的成人。 他們比較可能會過胖、 有高血壓, 且在數十年後, 比較可能會記憶衰退、 健康狀況差,甚至早逝。
Now, I talked about what happens later, but some of these differences emerge at a really shockingly early age. In one study, children who were growing up in poverty were almost a year behind the richer children on educational tests, and that was by the age of just three. These types of differences have been found again and again across the generations. It means that our early circumstances have a profound influence on the way that the rest of our lives play out. And working out why that is is one of the most difficult questions that we face today.
我剛說的是後續發生的狀況, 但另人吃驚的是, 有些差異在很早期就會浮現。 在一項研究中, 在貧窮環境中成長的孩童 在教育考試的表現, 會落後有錢孩童一年之多, 而且在三歲時就會顯現出來。 在各世代,我們都會 發現這類的差異。 這意味著,我們早年的處境, 對人生後續發展有著深遠的影響。 找出這背後的原因, 是我們現今面臨到 最困難的問題之一。
So there we have it. The first lesson for successful life, everyone, is this: choose your parents very carefully.
所以,就是這樣。 各位,成功人生的第一課就是: 小心選擇你的父母。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Don't be born into a poor family or into a struggling family. Now, I'm sure you can see the small problem here. We can't choose our parents or how much they earn, but this British study has also struck a real note of optimism by showing that not everyone who has a disadvantaged start ends up in difficult circumstances. As you know, many people have a tough start in life, but they end up doing very well on some measure nevertheless, and this study starts to explain how.
不要生在貧窮 或是謀生艱困的家庭中。 我相信各位都能發現, 這裡有一個小問題。 我們無法選擇父母或是他們的收入, 但這項英國研究也傳達出 一項樂觀的訊息, 研究顯示,並非所有 在起跑點就屬弱勢的人 最後就一定會身處困苦的境遇。 如你所知,許多人 在人生剛開始很辛苦, 最後他們在某些地方 表現非常出色, 而這項研究對此做了解釋。
So the second lesson is this: parents really matter. In this study, children who had engaged, interested parents, ones who had ambition for their future, were more likely to escape from a difficult start. It seems that parents and what they do are really, really important, especially in the first few years of life.
所以第二課是: 父母真的很重要。 在這項研究中, 如果孩童的父母很投入、很關心, 對他們的未來有著野心, 這些孩童就比較有機會 脫離困苦的開端。 似乎父母本身,以及他們的 所做所為,都非常重要, 特別是在孩童人生中的前幾年。
Let me give you an example of that. In one study, scientists looked at about 17,000 children who were born in 1970. They sifted all the mountains of data that they had collected to try to work out what allowed the children who'd had a difficult start in life to go on and do well at school nevertheless. In other words, which ones beat the odds. The data showed that what mattered more than anything else was parents. Having engaged, interested parents in those first few years of life was strongly linked to children going on to do well at school later on. In fact, quite small things that parents do are associated with good outcomes for children. Talking and listening to a child, responding to them warmly, teaching them their letters and numbers, taking them on trips and visits. Reading to children every day seems to be really important, too. So in one study, children whose parents were reading to them daily when they were five and then showing an interest in their education at the age of 10, were significantly less likely to be in poverty at the age of 30 than those whose parents weren't doing those things.
讓我舉個例子。 在一項研究中, 科學家研究了約 17,000 名 生於 1970 年的孩童。 他們仔細探究了 他們收集到的大量資料, 試圖想要找出 是什麼因素 讓人生開端很困苦的孩童 能繼續走下去 並在學校表現出色。 換言之,他們是如何創造不可能的? 資料顯示,最重要的因素就是父母。 大部分後續能在學校 表現出色的孩童, 在人生的前幾年都有 投入且關心的父母相隨。 事實上,父母做的一些小事, 都與孩童將來的好表現有關。 跟孩童說話並傾聽他們、 以溫暖的方式回應他們、 教他們字母和數字、 帶他們出去玩或造訪別人。 每天唸書給孩童聽也非常重要。 所以,在一項研究中, 孩童在五歲時,若父母 每天唸書給他們聽, 在十歲時,若父母展現出 對他們所學的內容感到興趣, 相較於父母不做這些事的孩童, 這些孩童在三十歲時, 有很大的機率不會貧窮。
Now, there are huge challenges with interpreting this type of science. These studies show that certain things that parents do are correlated with good outcomes for children, but we don't necessarily know those behaviors caused the good outcomes, or whether some other factor is getting in the way. For example, we have to take genes into account, and that's a whole other talk in itself.
要詮釋這類的科學, 有很大的挑戰。 這些研究顯示, 父母是否有做這些事情 對孩子將來的表現好壞有關, 但我們並不清楚 是那些行為造成了好表現, 或是還有其它因素夾在中間。 比如,我們得要考量基因, 光這點就可以再做一場演說。
But scientists working with this British study are working really hard to get at causes, and this is one study I particularly love. In this one, they looked at the bedtime routines of about 10,000 children born at the turn of the millennium. Were the children going to bed at regular times, or did they go to bed at different times during the week? The data showed that those children who were going to bed at different times were more likely to have behavioral problems, and then those that switched to having regular bedtimes often showed an improvement in behavior, and that was really crucial, because it suggested it was the bedtime routines that were really helping things get better for those kids.
但做這項英國研究的科學家 非常努力地想要找出原因, 而我特別喜愛的一項研究, 是這項研究: 他們去研究一萬名千禧年出生的孩童 上床睡覺時間的習慣。 研究這些孩童 是否有固定的上床時間, 或是平常日上床睡覺時間都不同? 資料顯示,在不同時間上床的孩童 比較有可能會產生行為問題, 而有固定上床時間的孩童 通常在行為上就會有改善, 這點非常重要, 因為它意味著,規律的上床時間 真的能協助孩童有更好的表現。
Here's another one to think about. In this one, scientists looked at children who were reading for pleasure. That means that they picked up a magazine, a picture book, a story book. The data showed that children who were reading for pleasure at the ages of five and 10 were more likely to go on in school better, on average, on school tests later in their lives. And not just tests of reading, but tests of spelling and maths as well. This study tried to control for all the confounding factors, so it looked at children who were equally intelligent and from the same social-class background, so it seemed as if it was the reading which really helped those children go on and score better on those school tests later in their lives.
還有一項研究值得思考。 在這項研究中, 科學家研究的是 把閱讀當樂趣的孩童。 也就是常拿起雜誌、 圖畫書、故事書的小孩子。 資料顯示,在五歲和十歲時 把閱讀當樂趣的孩童, 平均來說,將來比較有可能在學校 有較好的考試成績。 不只是閱讀相關的考試, 也包括拼字和數學的考試。 這項研究試圖控制所有 會造成混淆的因素, 所以它研究的孩童, 有同等的智力、 來自同樣的社會階級背景, 所以這樣看來, 的確是閱讀幫助了這些孩童 在後續的考試中能有好的表現。
Now at the start, I said the first lesson from this study was not to be born into poverty or into disadvantage, because those children tend to follow more difficult paths in their lives. But then I said that parenting matters, and that good parenting, if you can call it that, helps children beat the odds and overcome some of those early disadvantages. So wait, does that actually mean, then, that poverty doesn't matter after all? You could argue it doesn't matter if a child is born poor -- as long as their parents are good parents, they're going to do just fine. I don't believe that's true. This study shows that poverty and parenting matter. And one study actually put figures on that, so it looked at children growing up in persistent poverty and how well they were doing at school. The data showed that even when their parents were doing everything right -- putting them to bed on time and reading to them every day and everything else -- that only got those children so far. Good parenting only reduced the educational gap between the rich and poor children by about 50 percent. Now that means that poverty leaves a really lasting scar, and it means that if we really want to ensure the success and well-being of the next generation, then tackling child poverty is an incredibly important thing to do.
在一開始, 我說過,這項研究教導的第一課 就是不要生在貧窮或弱勢的家庭中, 因為這些孩童傾向會有 比較辛苦的人生道路。 但接著我說,父母是重要的, 好的養育,如果可以這麼稱它的話, 好的養育能協助孩童突破不可能 並克服早期的一些弱勢。 等等, 那麼這是否意味著 是否貧窮完全不重要? 你會主張說:孩童是否 出生於貧窮並不重要── 只要他們的父母是好父母, 他們之後的表現就會很好。 我不相信這是對的。 這項研究顯示貧困和養育是重要的。 有項研究真的加上了數字, 它研究了一直在貧困中成長的孩童, 看他們在學校的表現。 資料顯示, 即使他們的父母做對了一切── 讓他們準時上床, 每天唸書給他們聽, 及其它的每一件事── 也只能幫孩子到這樣。 好的養育也只能將 富有孩童和貧窮孩童 之間的教育落差減少約 50%。 那意味著,貧窮留下的傷疤 會一直持續下去, 也意味著,如果我們真的 想要確保下一代的 成功和幸福, 那麼如何處理孩童的貧困, 就是非常重要的事。
Now, what does all this mean for you and me? Are there lessons here we can all take home and use? As a scientist and a journalist, I like to have some science to inform my parenting ... and I can tell you that when you're shouting at your kids to go to bed on time, it really helps to have the scientific literature on your side.
對你我來說,這又有什麼意涵? 有什麼我們可以帶回家用的方法嗎? 身為科學家和新聞工作者, 我會想要用科學的方法 來教我如何養育孩童…… 我可以告訴各位,當你在大聲叫 孩子準時上床時, 那你的案例對科學的 文獻貢獻會很大。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
And wouldn't it be great to think that all we had to do to have happy, successful children was to talk to them, be interested in their future, put them to bed on time, and give them a book to read? Our job would be done.
如果說要讓我們的孩子 能快樂、成功,我們 只需要和他們說話、 關心他們的未來、讓他們準時上床、 給他們一本書看,這樣不是很好嗎? 我們的工作就完成了。
Now, as you can imagine, the answers aren't quite as simple as that. For one thing, this study looks at what happens to thousands and thousands of children on average, but that doesn't necessarily say what will help my child or your child or any individual child. In the end, each of our children is going to walk their own path, and that's partly defined by the genes they inherit and of course all the experiences they have through their lives, including their interactions with us, their parents.
各位應該可以想像, 答案並沒有那麼簡單。 理由之一是,這項研究所探討的 是數千名孩童的平均狀況, 但那不表示它就一定能 幫助到我的孩子、你的孩子, 或任何各別的孩子。 最終,我們的孩子 都得要走他們自己的路, 有部分是取決於他們被遺傳的基因, 當然,還有他們一生中 走過的所有經驗, 包括與我們── 也就是他們的父母──的互動。
I will tell you what I did after I learned all this. It's a bit embarrassing. I realized I was so busy working, and ironically, learning and writing about this incredible study of British children, that there were days when I hardly even spoke to my own British children. So at home, we introduced talking time, which is just 15 minutes at the end of the day when we talk and listen to the boys. I try better now to ask them what they did today, and to show that I value what they do at school. Of course, I make sure they always have a book to read. I tell them I'm ambitious for their future, and I think they can be happy and do great things. I don't know that any of that will make a difference, but I'm pretty confident it won't do them any harm, and it might even do them some good.
讓我告訴各位, 學到這些後我做了什麼。 其實有點尷尬。 我發現我忙著工作, 很諷刺的是, 我也忙著學習和撰寫這項 關於英國孩童的偉大研究, 忙到有些日子我幾乎沒時間 跟我的孩子說話。 所以回到家後, 我們設立了談話時間, 在每天結束前的 15 分鐘, 我們要和孩子說話 並傾聽他們的聲音。 我現在做得比較好, 會問他們今天做了什麼事, 讓他們知道我看重他們 在學校做的事。 當然,我也會確保 他們隨時都有本書能讀。 我告訴他們, 我期望他們有好的未來, 我認為他們能過得快樂、 能成就偉大的事。 我不知道這樣做是否能造成改變, 但我很有信心, 這樣做對他們無害, 甚至對他們會有些好處。
Ultimately, if we want happy children, all we can do is listen to the science, and of course, listen to our children themselves.
最終,如果我們想要孩子快樂, 我們能做的只有聽科學怎麼說, 當然,還有, 聽我們的孩子怎麼說。
Thank you.
謝謝。