Every parent wants to give their child the best life possible. I know that's true for many of the parents I know, and now that many of us are raising our own kids, we feel the same way. Sure, raising kids and giving them opportunities takes time and money; money that would be a lot easier to spend if we were millionaires. And while that would be awesome, that's not the case for most people. That's where the concept of the birth lottery comes in.

The birth lottery is the idea that our success is totally dependent upon our parents and the socioeconomic circumstances that we're born into. In other words, everything that we go through and experience is affected by if our parents are rich or poor, where we live and grow up, and what kinds of opportunities we're given.

It's definitely a fascinating concept, if not a little bit depressing. But don't worry. Even though signs point to the birth lottery making a lot of sense, there are some ways in which kids can still succeed. So it's worth looking at both sides of this subject. Read on to find 10 unsettling ways in which the birth lottery affects kids and 10 stats that show all hope is not lost.

20 Kids Do Better In School With Educated Parents

Many believe that when our parents are educated, we're going to have a much easier time when we start our own school journey.

As Thought Distiller puts it, "Typically, parents who have finished high school and gone on to receive additional schooling understand the pressures and stresses of school and are more equipped to handle them with their children when they go through school."

That does make sense: if your mom and dad have gone through this before, they can help you succeed in areas they may have struggled in.

19 How Much Money Your Parents Make Can Say Whether Or Not You Get A College Education

According to Business Insider, if your parents are on the wealthier side and your family is comfortable, that definitely points to you going to college.

If the opposite is true and your family is struggling financially, then according to the concept of the birth lottery, you might not receive a college education.

This is a depressing idea, but it does seem factual: if a family has more in the bank, they have the money to send their kids to college (or at least the tools to help). There are only so many scholarships that you can get and sometimes the odds are simply stacked against you being able to pay for college.

18 Where You Live Says A Lot About Friendships, Resources, And Success

Another point about the birth lottery that is worth noting (as the same Business Insider article says) is that the place where you grow up has a lot to do with how successful you are.

If you live in an area where you have good friends who do well later on and help you out, that's going to make you a lot more successful. People do often say that it's "who you know" and that networking and connections can help you with your career and getting ahead in life. Where you live also tells you what kinds of opportunities your kids will have.

If you're in a poorer community, it's possible that you wouldn't have any opportunities and that everyone you know would be in the same boat.

17 Poor Kids Aren't As Social

As Thought Distiller puts it, it seems that signs point to children who come from a poor family not having the same social skills as children from other circumstances: "Low-income children have lower vocabulary test scores, more mother-reported aggression, social withdrawal, and anxiety behavior problems."

In order to thrive socially, children need to feel supported at home so they can go out into the world and go to school and be confident. How they feel about their circumstances would definitely affect how they behave at school and around their peers.

16 Smart Parents Could Give Kids An Advantage

Do you think that having smart parents can affect how successful a child is?

It turns out that there seems to be some truth here. According to Thought Distiller, "Finally, some research shows us that intelligence is actually somewhat heritable; intelligent parents coupled with the right environmental variables can help a child win the birth lottery."

This is an interesting idea and it could be that parents who are interested in education and learning would pass that love of knowledge down to their children. But it also seems like with everything that the birth lottery is talking about, there are some things that kids just "inherit" or are born into.

15 The Country You're Born In Can Mean You're Literate Or Not

Here's another take on the birth lottery that affects whether a child can read or not. If a child is born in a certain country, that fact alone could have everything to do with their literacy levels.

As Everyday Social Biology states, "Literacy rates (the percentage of the population age 15 and older who can read and write) is another statistic that varies widely by location. Some countries such as Finland and Norway have a literacy rate of 100%. At the bottom of the list are countries like South Sudan and Mali with literacy rates of 27%. In the United States, literacy rates are somewhat debatable."

14 If Your Mom And Dad Didn't Go To College

We might think that if a kid gets a college education and their parents didn't, that still sets them up for success in life. According to the birth lottery, if your parents don't have a college education, that really does affect you.

As this expert on Colorado Trust wrote, "If you are white with parents with college degrees, but don’t get a college degree yourself, the study found that you will still earn 9 percent more income and have 58 percent more wealth than a person of color who does get a college degree, but whose parents did not."

They quoted authors of a study who said, "College clearly is important, but contrary to conventional wisdom, your own college education does not completely level the playing field. The birth advantage (or disadvantage) remains.”

13 Whether Your Parents Are Married And Financially Stable Can Matter

If your parents are married and have a comfortable amount of money in the bank, it looks like that will set you up for success.

This quote from Business Insider about a study is really interesting: "Your parents' marriage and family stability might be the biggest determinant of all. Growing up in a single-parent household significantly hurts a child's chance of upward income mobility."

It's sad to hear that if you have a single parent, your future financial success could be affected. This is another part of the birth lottery that can be tough to hear but it's the reality for some people.

12 There Are Some Areas Of The U.S. That Could Mean "Losing" The Birth Lottery

When we think about the area that we grew up in, we can see how it would have had a lot to do with how successful we are today. Did our parents have money to pay for private school or were they living in a "good" area that had high quality public schools? Did we have access to community centers or places that helped us learn new skills and have new experiences? Did we fall in love with hobbies or interests?

Some experts believe that the area you live in as a child will affect your future success. This is even true of different areas in the same country. Living in the Southeast of the U.S. is said to be bad for "upward mobility" and the West and Midwest are said to be better.

11 Your Parents' Financial Situation Can Sometimes Affect Teen Pregnancy

It's an unfortunate reality for some high school girls that if their parents are struggling financially, that could mean that they're going to get pregnant during their adolescence years.

While we may be used to watching reality shows that feature teen moms, this is actually a theory that is part of the birth lottery. Some experts even say that poorer parents and teen pregnancies basically go hand-in-hand. As Business Insider explains, "Your parents' income also directly affects your likelihood of going to college, and, for women, of becoming a teenage mom."

10 If Parents Show A Healthy Relationship, That Will Do A Lot For Their Kids

All hope is definitely not lost, though. There are many things that parents can do to help their children, regardless of whether they are super wealthy, comfortable enough, or struggling to make ends meet.

According to Inc.com, if parents show that they are in a healthy relationship, that does a lot for their kids.

This is great to hear and really proves that there is nothing like love. It can be such a healing thing. When kids have their parents' love and constant support while seeing them as a happy family "unit," many good things can come from that.

9 Any Parent Who Makes Sure To Be Close To Their Children Will Help Them Succeed

What's another way that parents can help their children succeed? If they are close to their children. It's all about being caring, loving, and compassionate.

This quote from Business Insider sheds light on that: "A 2014 study of 243 people born into poverty found that children who received 'sensitive caregiving' in their first three years not only did better in academic tests in childhood, but had healthier relationships and greater academic attainment in their 30s."

For the parents among us who love our children so much and want to always be there for them, this is really good news. Yes, money is important, but so is a parent's love.

8 It Can Help If Families Can Relocate To Better Housing With Wealthier Neighbors

This City Lab article says that when a family can move to an area that has wealthier neighbors (perhaps they have left public housing), that can be a huge benefit to your child.

It seems like the concept of the birth lottery is that the circumstances where you come from affect your future success. On that note, it seems like if you can move to a better area or a better apartment or house, that can help you out a lot, and all hope is not lost. It doesn't have to be that where you were born is the only indicator of whether you do well or not.

7 Any Parent (Rich Or Poor) Can Help Their Kids Perform Socially

We've heard when a child loses the birth lottery that it can make them struggle when it comes to social situations. As it turns out, though, parents can help their kids have success by getting along with their peers and making friends.

If parents can help their kids have great social skills, regardless of finances, that is really good news. It's comforting to the kids and helps soften the harsh idea that money and background are all that matter. We know that those things affect us, but we also know that when parents do everything within their power to be the best parents they can be, that pays off.

6 Parents Who Have Their Kids Do Chores Are On The Right Track

This Business Insider article makes the point that when kids do chores, that can help put them on the right path: "Lythcott-Haims believes kids raised on chores go on to become employees who collaborate well with their coworkers, are more empathetic because they know firsthand what struggling looks like, and are able to take on tasks independently. She bases this on the Harvard Grant Study, the longest longitudinal study ever conducted."

The idea is that this teaches kids hard work and they realize that this is a "part of life." This idea is both research-based and logical. Plus, it's extra hands helping out around the house.

5 It's Important For Parents To Help Children Learn To Deal With Stressful Situations

Yes, the birth lottery is a thing, and it can affect how successful or not a child is in the future. It proves that money, resources, opportunity, and future success are all tied together. But it doesn't account for how resilient a kid can be or how they can deal with things that life throws their way.

In an article in Greater Good Magazine called "How To Help Low-Income Students Succeed," a good point is brought up: if parents can help their children when they're in the middle of stressful situations, that helps them with future success.

4 Affection From A Parent Is Key

Experts at Motherly believe that "affection" has a huge role to play in a child's life and how successful they are later on: "Science supports the idea that warmth and affection expressed by parents to their children results in life-long positive outcomes for those children, according to Child Trends, the leading nonprofit research organization in the United States focused on improving the lives and prospects of children, youth, and their families."

This proves that while money is a big deal, it's not everything, and it's not all that it takes to raise a healthy and happy child. Affection and caring are still really integral parts of raising a child.

3 Teachers Will Be A Huge Influence On Poor Kids

Teachers are such a big part of a child's life. If you have children, you have probably seen that firsthand. If your child loves their teacher, they can seriously thrive in their classroom. They look forward to going to school and it can really instill a lifelong love of learning.

When kids come from poorer backgrounds, that might not set them up for the easiest time in life, but if they have a teacher who cares about them and helps them out, that can be a huge deal. Teachers can be a massive influence on poor kids and this definitely proves that all hope is not lost.

2 Encouraging Kids To Always Work Hard Will Help

What can parents do to help their children, regardless of their income? They can encourage them to work hard.

This lines up with the kinds of stories that we hear from time to time: a poor kid grows up without any resources or opportunity, but they were always told to work hard by their family. That support from their family helped them build an incredible and inspiring work ethic. That's what set them up for success and look at them now, they're doing so well.

After all, even if we are fortunate to come from a wealthier background, we know that hard work does pay off.

1 Having A Mom With A Job Is Great For Role Modeling

When you're a kid with a mom that has a career, you'd probably be inspired by her and believe that working hard is always a good thing. This is one of those things that allows experts to believe it to be true.

According to Business Insider, having a mom who works is good for "role modeling" and this can be a huge factor in a child's future success.

It's nice to know that even though the birth lottery does affect us, there are many things that parents can do to help set their kids up for the greatest life possible.

Sources: Thoughtdistiller.com, Businessinsider.com, Businessinsider.com, Everydaysociology.com, Inc.com, Coloradotrust.org, Citylab.com, Greatergood.berkeley.edu, Mother.ly