Raising a child should come with a manual. Unfortunately, they don’t. As parents, we’re left to instinct, our own upbringing, and endless parenting literature. Before spending a few hundred dollars at your local bookstore, check out these helpful insights into parents that raised successful entrepreneurs.

How Parents Raise Successful Children

In their desire to rear the perfect child, some parents go a little too far. The story of Todd Marinovich is enough to make think twice about the dad screaming at the referee during a kids soccer game. Of course, parents know their children the best but it’s important to remember to keep your expectations realistic.

The Scientific Approach to Raising Successful Children

Jokes

Findings from the Economic and Social Research Council show that making jokes with toddlers and young children helps them manage stress and make friends. Joking with your child also has the added benefit of helping them think creatively, which yields positive results in school and professional life.

Mental Health

Children raised in a limited stress environments are much better adjusted and less likely to have their own mental health issues later. Even for adults, managing stress and mental health issues can be difficult. Research has shown that kids with depressed mothers have a lower threshold for stress than their peers.

Don’t Require Perfection

Famed artist Salvador Dali once famously said, “Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never attain it.” Rigorous and inflexible standards can increase a child’s stress levels to the point it can cause depression, social anxiety, and more.

If you noticed a bit of pattern among the last three entries, you’re right. Childhood stress is a major factor to the long term mental health and ultimate success of a person.

Advice from Successful Parents of Successful People

Set the Example

In a Washington Post article featuring advice from successful parents, one tip resonated most clearly: set the example you want your children to follow. When parents work hard, children learn to work hard. If parents value education, a child will likely value education as well. Rosemary Tran Lauer raised five children who went on to become financial advisers, architects, nutritionists, and more. She managed to do this while running her own successful business and eventually becoming a real estate agent.

Rosemary added, “I love them, but [I made] a lot of sacrifice. And I think the children know. How do they know? First of all they don’t have time with you. But you don’t take that time to do something crazy. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I just work. So even my son, when he was very young, he know he has to help me. When we come here he [was] 3 years old. If I do something, he has to watch the baby… I didn’t have a vacation for 17 years.”

Guide Your Child to Interests but Don’t Push Them

When you’re working hard to set an example, it could be tempting to choose the specific activities your child engages in. Some of the most successful parents suggest options while letting their child’s interest guide them. Want them to play music? Great! Let them pick the instrument? Want your child to be more active? Way to go! Let them pick the sport or activity. As one parent, who raised two children following the death of her husband, said, “One of the things that my son and his father bonded on was music, and so I gave all of his guitars to my son, of course. And people said to me, ‘You gotta get him music lessons.’ And my instinct said no… People criticized me about it. That if he wanted to be good like his father, he should get lessons. That I should help him. And I think I helped him by getting out of the way.”