but first of all I'm going to ask you a couple of questions.

但首先，我想先問幾個問題

How many people here have children?

這裏有多少人有孩子？

And how many of you are confident

你們當中有多少人

that you know how to bring up your children

對於用正確的方式教育孩子

in exactly the right way?

很有信心？

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

OK, I don't see too many hands going up on that second one,

好，我沒有看到很多人在第二題舉手

and that's my confession, too.

那也是我想說的

I've got three boys;

我有三個兒子

they're three, nine and twelve.

他們分別是三歲、九歲、十二歲

And like you, and like most parents,

而就如同你們，如同大部分的家長

the honest truth is I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing.

老實說我不太確定自己的教育方式

I want them to be happy and healthy in their lives,

我想讓他們的人生快樂又健康

but I don't really know what I'm supposed to do

但我不知道我該做什麼

to make sure they are happy and healthy.

去確保他們是快樂又健康的

There's so many books offering all kinds of conflicting advice,

世界上有很多書提供各種意見

it can be really overwhelming.

多到數不清

So I've spent most of their lives just making it up as I go along.

因此一路上我花費很多時間陪伴他們

However, something changed me a few years ago,

然而，幾年前，有件事讓我轉變了

when I came across a little secret that we have in Britain.

當我得知一個我們在英國的小秘密

It's helped me become more confident about how I bring up my own children,

它讓我在如何教育孩子上更有自信

and it's revealed a lot about how we as a society can help all children.

而它也揭露了許多我們社會能夠幫助孩子的方式

I want to share that secret with you today.

今天我想要跟你們分享這個秘密

For the last 70 years,

在過去的七十年當中，

scientists in Britain have been following thousands of thousands of children through their lives

英國科學家追蹤了幾千位孩子的一生

as part of an incredible scientific study.

成為了卓越的科學研究

There's nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.

世界上沒有任何研究能比得上它

Collecting information on thousands of children

蒐集幾千個孩子的資訊

is a really powerful thing to do,

真的是一件強大的事

because it means we can compare the ones who say,

因為我們可以比對不同人的說詞

do well at school or end up healthy or happy or wealthy as adults,

在學校表現傑出或是長大後變得健康快樂的

and the ones who struggle much more,

與受過較多挫折的

and then we can sift through all the information we've collected

然後我們可以過濾所有的蒐集的資訊

and try to work out why their lives turned out different.

然後試圖了解為什麼他們人生變得不同

This British study -- it's actually a kind of crazy story.

這個英國研究，像是個瘋狂的故事

So it all starts back in 1946,

從 1946 年開始

just a few months after the end of the war,

在二戰後結束沒幾個月

when scientists wanted to know

科學家想要知道

what it was like for a woman to have a baby at the time.

女人在生產時的狀態

They carried out this huge survey of mothers

他們做了媽媽們的調查

and ended up recording the birth of nearly every baby

最後在一週內幾乎每個寶寶都被記錄了

born in England, Scotland and Wales in one week.

在英國、蘇格蘭、威爾斯等地

That was nearly 14,000 babies.

大約有 14,000 個寶寶

The questions they asked these women

他們問這些媽媽們的問題

are very different than the ones we might ask today.

跟我們現今會問的問題非常不一樣

They sound really old-fashioned now.

它們聽起來非常過時

They asked them things like,

他們問媽媽們像是：

"During pregnancy,

「在懷孕期間，

did you get your full extra ration of a pint of milk a day?"

你是否每天攝取定額的脫脂牛奶？」

"How much did you spend on smocks, corsets,

「你花多少錢買罩衫、束腹、

nightdresses, knickers and brassieres?"

晚禮服、短褲與胸罩？」

And this is my favorite one:

接下來是我最喜歡的一個：

"Who looked after your husband while you were in bed with this baby?"

「當妳跟寶寶睡在一起時，誰來照料妳的丈夫？」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Now, this wartime study actually ended up being so successful

現在，這個戰後研究最後如此成功

that scientists did it again.

科學家重做了一次

They recorded the births of thousands of babies born in 1958

他們紀錄1958年出生的上千位寶寶

and thousands more in 1970.

然後上千位在1970出生的

They did it again in the early 1990s,

1990早期他們重複這個動作

and again at the turn of the millennium.

2000年又一次

Altogether, more than 70,000 children have been involved in these studies

綜合以上，超過70,000名孩子參與了這些研究

across those five generations.

橫跨了五個世代

They're called the British birth cohorts,

他們稱做英國世代研究

and scientists have gone back and recorded more information

科學家每隔幾年就會回溯並記錄更多

on all of these people every few years ever since.

關於這些人的資訊

The amount of information that's now been collected on these people

這些蒐集來的資訊數量

is just completely mind-boggling.

簡直難以置信

It includes thousands of paper questionnaires

它包含幾千份問卷

and terabytes' worth of computer data.

還有值上兆元的電腦資料

Scientists have also built up a huge bank of tissue samples,

科學家也建立了龐大的樣本庫

which includes locks of hair, nail clippings, baby teeth and DNA.

包含毛髮、指甲、寶寶的牙齒與 DNA

They've even collected 9,000 placentas from some of the births,

他們甚至蒐集了9000個胎盤

which are now pickled in plastic buckets in a secure storage warehouse.

現在被保存在安全貯存倉庫中的塑膠盒中

This whole project has become unique --

這整個計畫變得如此獨特

so, no other country in the world is tracking generations of children

沒有其他國家追蹤世代的孩童

in quite this detail.

如此精確

These are some of the best-studied people on the planet,

這些屬於人類做過最棒的研究之一

and the data has become incredibly valuable for scientists,

而這些數據對科學家來說價值不菲

generating well over 6,000 academic papers and books.

產出了超過6000份學術論文與書籍

But today I want to focus on just one finding --

但我今天只想要著重在一個發現

perhaps the most important discovery to come from this remarkable study.

或許是這個研究最重要的發現

And it's also the one that spoke to me personally,

而且對於我個人來說

because it's about how to use science to do the best for our children.

因為它以科學的方式解釋該怎麼做對我們的孩子來說是最好的

So, let's get the bad news out of the way first.

所以，我們先從壞的部分開始

Perhaps the biggest message from this remarkable study is this:

或許是這份研究最主要的訊息：

don't be born into poverty or into disadvantage,

別出生在貧困或環境不佳的家庭

because if you are,

因為如果你是，

you're far more likely to walk a difficult path in life.

你的人生可能走向較困難的道路

Many children in this study were born into poor families

在這個研究中，有許多孩子出生在貧困的家庭

or into working-class families that had cramped homes or other problems,

或是勞工階級家庭，有狹促的家或其他問題

and it's clear now that those disadvantaged children

很清楚的，這些生活條件差的孩子

have been more likely to struggle on almost every score.

幾乎在各方面都遭遇挫折

They've been more likely to do worse at school,

他們很有可能在學業方面表現差

to end up with worse jobs and to earn less money.

最後得到差勁的工作、賺到較少的工資

Now, maybe that sounds really obvious,

現在，或許這些聽起來理所當然

but some of the results have been really surprising,

但有些結果令人驚訝，

so children who had a tough start in life

那些起跑點較差的孩子

are also more likely to end up unhealthy as adults.

最終非常有可能變成不健康的大人

They're more likely to be overweight,

他們有可能體重過重

to have high blood pressure,

有高血壓

and then decades down the line,

數十年下來

more likely to have a failing memory, poor health and even to die earlier.

有很糟的記憶力、較差的健康，甚至早死

Now, I talked about what happens later,

現在，我想談談接下來發生什麼事

but some of these differences emerge at a really shockingly early age.

這些差異發生在令人訝異的年齡

In one study,

在一個研究中，

children who were growing up in poverty

在窮困環境生長的孩子

were almost a year behind the richer children on educational tests,

在教育程度測驗中幾乎晚了較富有的孩子一年

and that was by the age of just three.

從三歲就開始了

These types of differences have been found again and again across the generations.

這些差異重複地出現在每一個世代

It means that our early circumstances have a profound influence

這代表我們早期的境遇會對我們接下來的一生

on the way that the rest of our lives play out.

有深刻的影響

And working out why that is

而所找出的原因是

is one of the most difficult questions that we face today.

我們現今所面臨最困難的問題之一

So there we have it.

現在我們有了

The first lesson for successful life, everyone, is this:

第一堂成功人生課題，是這個：

choose your parents very carefully.

小心地選擇自己的父母

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Don't be born into a poor family or into a struggling family.

不要出生在貧窮或環境不好的家庭

Now, I'm sure you can see the small problem here.

現在，我確定你們發現了一個小問題

We can't choose our parents or how much they earn,

我們不能選擇自己的父母，或他們的收入

but this British study has also struck a real note of optimism

但這個英國研究也留下了令人樂觀的註解

by showing that not everyone who has a disadvantaged start

表示不是所有環境差的人

ends up in difficult circumstances.

最後都過得很辛苦

As you know, many people have a tough start in life,

如你們所知，許多人的一生一開始很辛苦

but they end up doing very well on some measure nevertheless,

但他們最後在各方面都表現得很好

and this study starts to explain how.

而這個研究開始解釋為什麼

So the second lesson is this:

因次第二堂課是

parents really matter.

父母真的很重要

In this study,

在這份研究中

children who had engaged, interested parents,

擁有參與度高、積極家長的孩子

ones who had ambition for their future,

對於孩子的未來有野心

were more likely to escape from a difficult start.

很有可能能夠擺脫辛苦的過去

It seems that parents and what they do are really, really important,

看起來家長對孩子的影響是非常非常重要的

especially in the first few years of life.

尤其在人生的前幾年

Let me give you an example of that.

讓我舉個例子

In one study,

在一項研究中

scientists looked at about 17,000 children who were born in 1970.

科學家觀察了近17000位出生在1970的孩童

They sifted all the mountains of data that they had collected

他們過濾了堆積如山的數據

to try to work out

想辦法得出

what allowed the children who'd had a difficult start in life

什麼才能讓起跑點較差的孩子

to go on and do well at school nevertheless.

能夠在學校有好的表現

In other words, which ones beat the odds.

換句話說，造就改變

The data showed that what mattered more than anything else was parents.

這個數據呈現了父母比其他因素來得重要

Having engaged, interested parents in those first few years of life

在人生的頭幾年有參與度、積極的父母

was strongly linked to children going on to do well at school later on.

跟孩子之後在學校表現良好有強烈的關係

In fact, quite small things that parents do

事實上，父母生活中的小細節

are associated with good outcomes for children.

關係著孩子是否有好的未來

Talking and listening to a child,

討論與傾聽孩子

responding to them warmly,

溫暖的回應他們

teaching them their letters and numbers,

教導他們字母與數字

taking them on trips and visits.

帶他們去旅遊

Reading to children every day seems to be really important, too.

每天念故事給他們聽也很重要

So in one study,

因此在某個研究中，

children whose parents were reading to them daily when they were five

那些父母從五歲起每天唸故事給他們聽的孩子

and then showing an interest in their education at the age of 10,

在十歲時就表現出對學業的興趣

were significantly less likely to be in poverty at the age of 30

到了三十歲時不太可能成為貧窮階層

than those whose parents weren't doing those things.

相較於那些什麼都不做的父母

Now, there are huge challenges with interpreting this type of science.

現在，解讀這類的科學是極大的挑戰

These studies show that certain things that parents do

這些研究顯示父母做的事

are correlated with good outcomes for children,

與孩子好的結果呈正相關

but we don't necessarily know those behaviors caused the good outcomes,

但我們並不需要知道這些行為如何導致這個結果

or whether some other factor is getting in the way.

或其他因素囊括在內

For example, we have to take genes into account,

例如：我們要將基因列入考量

and that's a whole other talk in itself.

這又是另一個議題

But scientists working with this British study

但科學家非常努力實行這個英國研究

are working really hard to get at causes,

只為了知道原因

and this is one study I particularly love.

這是一個我特別喜愛的

In this one,

在這份研究

they looked at the bedtime routines of about 10,000 children

他們觀察約10,000 為孩童的睡眠習慣

born at the turn of the millennium.

在21世紀出生的

Were the children going to bed at regular times,

孩子是否在固定時間上床，

or did they go to bed at different times during the week?

或是一週內有不同的上床時間？

The data showed that those children who were going to bed at different times

數據呈現這些在不同時間上床睡覺的孩子

were more likely to have behavioral problems,

比較有可能行為上的偏差

and then those that switched to having regular bedtimes

而那些規律睡眠的孩子

often showed an improvement in behavior,

行為上呈現進步的趨勢

and that was really crucial,

這是非常具決定性的

because it suggested it was the bedtime routines

因為這指出了睡眠習慣

that were really helping things get better for those kids.

真的能幫助孩子

Here's another one to think about.

這裏的另一個值得思考的地方

In this one,

在這裡

scientists looked at children who were reading for pleasure.

科學家觀察喜愛閱讀的孩子

That means that they picked up a magazine, a picture book, a story book.

這表示他們拿起雜誌、繪本、故事書

The data showed that children who were reading for pleasure

數據顯示這些孩子從閱讀中獲得快樂

at the ages of five and 10

在他們五到十歲之間

were more likely to go on in school better, on average,

平均來說在往後的人生中

on school tests later in their lives.

學校表現、考試表現較佳

And not just tests of reading,

而且不只是閱讀考試

but tests of spelling and maths as well.

拼字、數學測驗也是

This study tried to control for all the confounding factors,

這個研究嘗試控制變因

so it looked at children who were equally intelligent

因此它觀察相同智商的孩子

and from the same social-class background,

且同一個社會階層

so it seemed as if it was the reading which really helped those children

因此閱讀似乎幫助孩子

go on and score better on those school tests later in their lives.

在未來的考試中有較佳的表現

Now at the start,

現在回到一開始，

I said the first lesson from this study

我說這個研究教我們的第一堂課

was not to be born into poverty or into disadvantage,

別出生在貧困或環境差的家庭

because those children tend to follow more difficult paths in their lives.

因為這些孩子將走向相對辛苦的路

But then I said that parenting matters,

但我後來又說父母的因素

and that good parenting, if you can call it that,

你也可以說，好的育兒方式

helps children beat the odds

幫助孩子成為特例

and overcome some of those early disadvantages.

並且克服那些早期的困境

So wait,

等等

does that actually mean, then, that poverty doesn't matter after all?

難道這代表貧窮一點都不影響嗎？

You could argue it doesn't matter if a child is born poor --

你可以說如果一個孩子出生在貧困的家庭也沒關係

as long as their parents are good parents, they're going to do just fine.

只要他們的父母是好的父母，他們也可以做得很好

I don't believe that's true.

我並不這樣認為

This study shows that poverty and parenting matter.

這個研究指出貧困與教育方式相關

And one study actually put figures on that,

而一個研究事實上得出此數據

so it looked at children growing up in persistent poverty

它觀察孩子生長在長期貧困的家庭

and how well they were doing at school.

與他在學校的表現

The data showed

數據顯示

that even when their parents were doing everything right --

就算他們的父母把所有是做對了：

putting them to bed on time

讓他們準時睡覺

and reading to them every day and everything else --

還有，每天唸故事書等等其他

that only got those children so far.

他們只改變了這些孩子

Good parenting only reduced the educational gap

好的育兒方式只是減少了富有與貧窮孩子

between the rich and poor children by about 50 percent.

教育程度的差距近50％

Now that means that poverty leaves a really lasting scar,

代表現在貧窮對於小孩的成長真的帶來長久創傷

and it means that if we really want to ensure the success and well-being

也代表若我們想要確保下一代的

of the next generation,

成功與良好的表現

then tackling child poverty is an incredibly important thing to do.

解決孩童貧窮的問題是一件非常重要的事

Now, what does all this mean for you and me?

現在，這些對於你我有什麼意義？