Red Talk By Helen Pearson Ted Talk Analysis

In Helen Pearson’s TED Talk, Lessons from the Longest Study on Human Development, she opens by questioning her audience on their confidence in parenting. Pearson, then admits that she, like most other parents, of course wants only the best for her children but is not certain she knows exactly how to achieve a level of perfect parenting. She then states, “However, something changed me a few years ago, when I came across a little secret that we have in Britain. It's helped me become more confident about how I bring up my own children, and it's revealed a lot about how we as a society can help all children. I want to share that secret with you today.” Over the course of seventy years, a study has taken place in Britain surveying mothers on their lives during their pregnancy. Beginning in
The study came to be known as the British Birth Cohorts. The British Birth Cohorts proved to be very informative and has been referenced in thousands of books and various other writings. The first lesson Pearson presents her audience with is comedic but later explained thoroughly and is ties to the overall focus of this paper. Pearson states, “…choose your parents very carefully.” She explains that being born into a life of poverty obviously presents its disadvantages but can later lead to health and developmental issues. The second lesson of the discussion is “parents really matter.” Data from the study showed that parents talking with their children, teaching them, going places with them, and reading to them had a positive effect on their children’s performance levels. Daily parental involvement and genetics are important factors in children’s overall development. Although parents sometimes tend to think otherwise, according to the study, a set bedtime schedule improves children’s behavior. As Pearson closes her discussion, she expressed to the audience that both parenting and poverty have an equal effect in child