A new study has shown that children who are stubborn may lead a more successful life, and this may be comforting to parents everywhere. Children come in all shapes and sizes, and temperaments. They all develop their own personality, and some are laid-back and relaxed, and some are more stubborn and determined. While there are pros and cons to every single personality trait, parents will often come together in agreeance that it can be difficult to raise a stubborn child. A child who does not always like to listen to their parents.
According to Entrepreneur, a report from 2015 shows that children who have a tendency to break the rules at an early age, go on to earn more money than their peers as an adult. So, stubbornness may be an indicator of a successful career in the future.
The study was published in the National Library of Medicine, and can be read in full here. It was completed in 2015 and it suggested that stubborn equals success in the future, and that this may be a positive sign in child development if you have a stubborn and “hard-headed” child. The researchers followed more than 700 children between the ages of 12 and 40, and they paid close attention to their tendency to break rules, the sense of entitlement they had, their willingness to go against their parents rules as well as how much time they spent studying.
What they found was that those children that went against their parents the most went on to have the highest salaries. The researchers could not provide an explanation as to why this is, but they had some theories. One of the theories they had, that seems to make the most sense, is that stubborn children are typically competitive students and they then grow into competitive and demanding adults.
However, it is important to note that the researchers could not rule out that the adults, who defied the rules as a child, did not break the rules when it came to making money. They also did not look at specific career paths to try and determine that connection.
While they may not have gotten all the answers they wanted, there was some clear answers that pointed parents to know that when their child pushes back against them, it may mean that they are in for a bright future. We have been told that questioning authority (to a certain level) is not always a bad thing.
Sources: Entrepreneur, National Library of Medicine