Rather unsurprisingly, parents who push their kids to achieve better academic grades will see their kids achieve these higher grades. In fact they are more likely to have a greater impact on their kids’ grades then the kids’ teachers. However, research shows that parents put in less effort the more children they have.

As reported by the BBC, the researchers measured the amount of time parents spend reading to their children and attending school meetings. They also asked teachers about the parents’ perceived involvement. Measuring the children’s success, they looked at academic grades and their attitudes, and whether they thought education was a waste of time or not.

It was found that a lot of a school’s success and children’s success was down to effort. Parents put a lot of effort into ensuring their kids would achieve the best grades. When parents were rewarded with better grades they would put in even more effort. Interestingly, the schools which work hardest were the ones in more privileged surroundings. Researchers believed this was down to middle-class mums being better able to vocalise their demands to teachers and the school.

The report says parents put less effort into their children’s education the more offspring they have. “There is a trade-off between quantity and quality of children: a child’s number of siblings influences negatively the effort exerted by that child’s parents toward that child’s education.”