Helen Pearson: Lessons from the longest study on human development
הלן פירסון: לקחים מהמחקר הארוך ביותר על ההתפתחות האנושית.
Helen Pearson's book, "The Life Project," tells the extraordinary story of the longest-running study of human development in the world. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
a couple of questions.
to bring up your children
going up on that second one,
ידיים באוויר לשאלה השניה,
pretty much no idea what I'm doing.
happy and healthy in their lives,
offering all kinds of conflicting advice,
כל מיני עצות סותרות,
just making it up as I go along.
בניסיון ללמוד תוך כדי.
a few years ago,
that we have in Britain.
about how I bring up my own children,
האופן בו אני מגדלת את הילדים שלי,
how we as a society can help all children.
יכולים לעזור לכל הילדים.
with you today.
thousands of children through their lives
אלפי ילדים לאורך כל חייהם
anywhere else in the world.
on thousands of children
the ones who say,
להשוות בין אלה שאומרים,
or happy or wealthy as adults,
או שמחים או עשירים בבגרותם,
all the information we've collected
their lives turned out different.
it's actually a kind of crazy story.
זה סיפור די מטורף.
after the end of the war,
to have a baby at the time.
באותה התקופה.
this huge survey of mothers
of nearly every baby
של כמעט כל תינוק
and Wales in one week.
במהלך שבוע אחד.
we might ask today.
of a pint of milk a day?"
של חצי ליטר חלב ביום?"
on smocks, corsets,
while you were in bed with this baby?"
מרותקת למיטה עם התינוק?"
actually ended up being so successful
למעשה היה כל כך מוצלח
of thousands of babies born in 1958
have been involved in these studies
היו מעורבים במחקרים האלה
and recorded more information
every few years ever since.
that's now been collected on these people
of paper questionnaires
a huge bank of tissue samples,
nail clippings, baby teeth and DNA.
ציפורניים, שיני חלב וDNA.
from some of the births,
in a secure storage warehouse.
is tracking generations of children
שעוקבת אחרי דורות של ילדים
people on the planet,
incredibly valuable for scientists,
academic papers and books.
on just one finding --
to come from this remarkable study.
מהמחקר יוצא הדופן הזה.
that spoke to me personally,
to do the best for our children.
לעשות הכי טוב עבור הילדים שלנו.
out of the way first.
from this remarkable study is this:
מהמחקר יוצא הדופן הזה הוא זה:
or into disadvantage,
to walk a difficult path in life.
למסלול קשה בחיים.
were born into poor families
cramped homes or other problems,
בתים צפופים או בעיות אחרות,
that those disadvantaged children
on almost every score.
להיאבק על כמעט כל מדד.
לציונים נמוכים בבית הספר,
to do worse at school,
and to earn less money.
ולהרוויח פחות כסף.
have been really surprising,
נקודת פתיחה גרועה בחיים
unhealthy as adults.
למבוגרים בעלי בריאות לקויה,
poor health and even to die earlier.
בריאות לקויה ואפילו למות בגיל צעיר יותר.
at a really shockingly early age.
צצו בגיל ממש מוקדם.
the richer children on educational tests,
במבחני השכלה לעומת ילדים עשירים,
again and again across the generations.
בדורות השונים.
have a profound influence
של החיים שלנו יש השפעה מכרעת
of our lives play out.
that we face today.
איתה אנחנו מתמודדים כיום.
everyone, is this:
or into a struggling family.
the small problem here.
or how much they earn,
או כמה הם ירוויחו,
a real note of optimism
בשורה די אופטימית
who has a disadvantaged start
שהיתה לו התחלה מאתגרת
התחילו את חייהם ממקום מוחלש,
have a tough start in life,
on some measure nevertheless,
בכל זאת לצאת ממצב זה,
interested parents,
from a difficult start.
מההתחלה הקשה.
are really, really important,
הם ממש ממש חשובים,
who were born in 1970.
that they had collected
who'd had a difficult start in life
at school nevertheless.
לנצח כנגד כל הסיכויים.
more than anything else was parents.
יותר מהכל היו ההורים.
in those first few years of life
באותם שנים ראשונות לחייהם
to do well at school later on.
שהצליחו בבית הספר מאוחר יותר בחייהם.
that parents do
outcomes for children.
תוצאות טובות של הילדים.
seems to be really important, too.
הוא גם עניין מאוד חשוב.
to them daily when they were five
שכשהיו בני חמש
in their education at the age of 10,
to be in poverty at the age of 30
נמוכה להיות עניים בגיל 30
weren't doing those things.
with interpreting this type of science.
בתרגום של מחקרים מסוג זה.
that certain things that parents do
שההורים עושים
outcomes for children,
those behaviors caused the good outcomes,
שההתנהגויות האלה גרמו לתוצאות הטובות,
is getting in the way.
genes into account,
with this British study
of about 10,000 children
של כ10,000 ילדים
at regular times,
at different times during the week?
בשעות שונות במהלך השבוע?
who were going to bed at different times
שהלכו לישון בשעות שונות
לסבול מבעיות התנהגותיות,
to have behavioral problems,
to having regular bedtimes
it was the bedtime routines
שדווקא נוהגי שעת ההשכבה
get better for those kids.
who were reading for pleasure.
a magazine, a picture book, a story book.
ספר תמונות, ספר קריאה.
who were reading for pleasure
better, on average,
להצליח בבית הספר, בממוצע,
for all the confounding factors,
הגורמים המעורבים,
who were equally intelligent
בעלי אינטליגנציה שווה
which really helped those children
school tests later in their lives.
במבחנים מאוחר יותר בחייהם.
or into disadvantage,
more difficult paths in their lives.
במסלול חיים יותר קשה.
if you can call it that,
of those early disadvantages.
that poverty doesn't matter after all?
if a child is born poor --
אם ילד נולד למשפחה עניה --
they're going to do just fine.
הם יהיו בסדדר.
and parenting matter.
put figures on that,
growing up in persistent poverty
were doing everything right --
and everything else --
the educational gap
by about 50 percent.
leaves a really lasting scar,
to ensure the success and well-being
רוצים לוודא את הצלחתו ושגשוגו
is an incredibly important thing to do.
עניין חשוב מאין כמותו.
for you and me?
we can all take home and use?
יכולים לאמץ וליישם בבית?
to inform my parenting ...
you're shouting at your kids
צועקים על הילדים שלכם
the scientific literature on your side.
happy, successful children
כדי לגדל ילדים שמחים ומצליחים
be interested in their future,
and give them a book to read?
ולתת להם ספר לקרוא?
as simple as that.
looks at what happens
of children on average,
what will help my child or your child
על מה יוכל לעזור לילד שלי או שלכם
is going to walk their own path,
יצטרך למצוא את המסלול שלו,
by the genes they inherit
they have through their lives,
with us, their parents.
after I learned all this.
אחרי שלמדתי את כל זה.
study of British children,
המחקר המדהים הזה על ילדים בריטיים,
even spoke to my own British children.
עם הילדים הבריטיים שלי.
at the end of the day
what they did today,
את מה שהם עושים בבית הספר.
what they do at school.
they always have a book to read.
for their future,
and do great things.
להיות שמחים ולעשות דברים נפלאים.
will make a difference,
it won't do them any harm,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Helen Pearson - Science journalist, editor, authorHelen Pearson's book, "The Life Project," tells the extraordinary story of the longest-running study of human development in the world.
Why you should listen
In March 1946, scientists began tracking almost every British baby born in a single week. What they discovered would change how we are born, grow up, raise children, live and die. Helen Pearson's 2016 book, The Life Project, is the story of this incredible project and the remarkable discoveries that have come from it. It was named best science book of the year by The Observer and was a book of the year for The Economist.
As Chief Magazine Editor for the world’s leading science journal, Nature, Pearson oversees all its journalism and opinion content. Her own stories have won accolades including the 2010 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award and two best feature awards from the Association of British Science Writers.
Helen Pearson | Speaker | TED.com