Taking the Time to Make a Difference

The older I get, the more I see my father’s face in the mirror. And the more thankful I am for how my parents brought me up. That thought was prompted by a recent statistical study: “Parental family structure and supporting traditional family values key to children having academic success and avoiding becoming students-at-risk.” The report came from Religion Press Release Services, on research done by Dr. William Jeynes, a professor at California State University in Long Beach and a non-resident scholar at Baylor University. Jeynes looked at all the studies he could find on the influence of certain family factors on children. Then he synthesized the results. Jeynes concluded that “the farther one departs from a two biological parent family structure, the greater a negative impact this has on the children's academic outcomes and what are commonly referred to as at-risk behaviors, including consuming various types of illegal drugs and unhealthy amounts of alcohol and becoming involved in a single parent teenage pregnancy.” Jeynes was not making judgments about family life. He was examining statistics. He was observing how children were raised and what happened to them Jeynes noted that, “As a general rule, the more difficult family transitions a child encounters, the more likely it is that family issues will negatively affect that child's academic achievement and behavior.” He also said that at-risk behaviors are more strongly associated with low educational outcomes than people assume. A hopeful sign, given the reality of how many children grow up today, is that there are factors that mitigate the effects of non-traditional family structures. They include parental involvement, the love of other major adults in the youth's life, and the child being a person of faith. How can parents make a difference? These are the things that bring about the best results, Jeynes said: having high expectations of one's children, maintaining high levels of communication and having a balanced parental style. By balanced parental style, Jeynes asserts that, “Children learn best in a home atmosphere that provides love and a reasonable degree of structure” And, he said, a child's religious faith can reduce the influence of marital dissolution and cut the socioeconomic and racial achievement gaps in half. His findings also indicated that when children are religious and come from a two biological parent family, the achievement gaps are totally eliminated.

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Jeynes is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago. He is one of the leading quantitative researchers on family issues and their effects on children.

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In my experience of the Christian Family Movement method – Observe, Judge and Act – it is very evident that the clearest observations can lead to the most honest judgments and the most possible actions. Jeynes made some significant observations.

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What was your home like, in regard to high expectations, good communication, love and structure? How can you provide that for your children, or for the children in your parish or neighborhood? Jeynes concluded that children growing up in non-traditional family structures could benefit from the involvement of a parent, the love of other adults and from being a person of faith. Such observations could guide a caring Christian to Big Brothers Big Sisters or to other organizations that connect kids and grown-ups. Or being a witness of faith to a young neighbor. You can make a difference with a donation. You can make a difference with your time. You can make a difference by helping to provide “love and a reasonable degree of structure.”

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