… What can economists possibly have to say about something as emotional, as nuanced, as humane, as parenting? Well, let me say this: because economists aren’t necessarily emotional (or, for that matter, all that nuanced or humane), maybe they’re exactly the people we need to sort this through. Maybe.

You may remember that we wrote a bit about parenting in Freakonomics; now we’ve put together an entire roundtable of economists to talk about a great many elements of child-rearing, with one essential question in mind: how much do parents really matter, and in what dimensions? …

New Freakonomics Radio Podcast: “The Economist’s Guide to Parenting”

All parents should listen to the audiocast linked above. It’s a shocker. They conclude that parents have remarkably little influence on how their children turn out.

The current research shows that parenting has little influence on a child’s educational attainment and on how much money the child will earn. Reading to your child doesn’t help, taking them to museums doesn’t help …

It does show that a parent can have a significant influence on whether your child smokes, is a heavy drinker, treats others with kindness and how happy your child is. Children with loving nurturing parents will be happier.

… But music lessons are simply a point of friction and unhappiness for both parent and child.

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The Economist’s Guide to Parenting: Full Transcript