The Economies of Super Parenting (What Matters and What Doesn't)

Freakanomics Radio on NPR has a near hour-long program about the costs of parenting, with a roundtable of humorous, kid-rearing economists. Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and father of four, said he and another economist couldn't find evidence that parental choices based on the premise that quality activities lead to academic and later life success. The other big point: Parents don't matter all that much, nor do all those pricey activities. For the evidence (think nurture vs. nature), listen to An Economist’s Guide to Parenting.

In The New York Times Your Money section, reporter Alina Tugend also contemplates Levitt's work, along with that of other economists. In "Family Happiness and the Overbooked Child," Tugend points to research that suggest the costs -- both financial and otherwise -- simply aren't worth it, if a parent is after lasting impact in their child's life. From the article:

"[w]e have to move away from the idea that if we do not start children early, they will not reach their full potential. After all, we know the human brain doesn’t fully mature until around 25," said William Doherty, a professor of family studies and director of the marriage and family therapy program at the University of Minnesota.

Oh, and culture cramming and obsessive parenting don't work, either. What matters most is "who parents are, not what they do." Determination, apparently, can be inherited.

Sources: An Economist’s Guide to Parenting | Freakonomics Radio, The New York Times