I heard a most disturbing fact recently; that there is a definite link between literacy and longevity.
It seems that if you are male and hail from Stockton-on-Tees (County Durham, N E England), you have a good chance of being illiterate; you also face the possibility of living for 26 years less that a male born in North Oxford, where literacy is at it highest.
If you are female and born in literacy-challenged Burnley (Lancashire), you can expect to live 21 years less than a similar woman from Mayfield, E Sussex.
Just imagine; you sacrifice over 20 years of your life simply because you can't read or write (or at least not too well).
I found this the most appalling indictment of how location/education can affect one's life.
So, the moral must be; make sure your children READ, presumably it will give them a longer life!
If you find this as unbelievable as I did? Have a look here.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15997445.26_year_life_expectancy_gap_from_Stockton_town_centre_to_Oxford/
I have repeated many times. My two basic essentials for child-rearing are a good story at night, and sitting around a table together for meals. Get these right, and you'll have well balanced, literate, long-lived, children.
40 comments:
I think as one grows older there is a tendency to vegetate in some communities. The brain and body need reasons to keep going against all the odds. When the body is taken care of, nourished, exercised etc. the mind needs to be kept occupied and reading IR telling stories is a way to do this, and if one is illiterate there other ways too - basically being in the world - remaining curious, interested, creative etc.. I try to read in 3 different languages: German because I want to know what Europes key players are up to, Italian because it's a beautiful language, and English the world's lingua franca of course. There's not a day goes by when I don't read something. Today I started here! :-)
I eco Gwil. I think if one's mind is occupied in old age it keeps one going. We have the University for the third age here and has two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon as to receive all the requests.
Greetings Maria x
Glad I can read or I would be dead long ago.
I'm sure you're right about 'reasons to stay alive'. Plenty of projects makes for an active mind, and that can only encourage longevity.
Physical and mental activities are essential for a healthy body. All is related.
But only if you came from Lancashire. Surrey gals live forever!
I am certain one must keep physically and mentally active.
Right!
Interesting concept. Looks like I'll ok for a few more years than I thought. Don't know about my side-kick. Does reading Facebook qualify?
I come from Lancashire........but I do read a lot!
I think that its harder for today's parents, my daughter being one of them. She and her husband, who is a lecturer in linguistics, tear their hair out trying to encourage my 11 year old grandson to read. He was fine up to being 9 or so but now it's all computer games. Even when his PlayStation is confiscated he wont read.
I don't know what I can do to help. He just says "oh it's so boring!"
It's ever so sad.
My comment has gone!
Yes, interesting article.
But I can't help wondering if these figures could also be something to do with income?
Or ethnics?
I hate to say it, but I expect reading just about anything helps; even facebook.
I wondered why I couldn't read it.
It's such a general survey that much must have been omitted. It would be interesting to see a much more detailed investigation.
I shall try again......
My daughter and her husband,who is a lecturer in linguistics, tear their hair out trying to encourage my 11year old grandson to read. Even when PlayStation privileges are withheld he still wondered. Aged 9 he was the best reader in his class and found it very easy. Now he just says "it's so boring!"
It's so sad.
I come from and still live in Lancashire but I read daily......
Not wondered, won't read is what I meant to say!
Technology is breeding a generation of non-readers. Children get an instant fix with their iPads; books take time. We still read a huge amount (Lady Magnon especially), and I also do daily crosswords. Hopefully we'll both live to a grand old age.
Christina's son is clever and not being stretched to his full potential by his school. He is bored, just as he says.
Cro, are you checking your comments because with Blogger at the moment many are not appearing and going into spam, for all of us?
Or grandson, rather.
Thanks, I've just had a look. I did notice that several comments that were published, were also classified as 'spam'; even a couple of yours! Chloe is (of course) the most often cited.
It is happening all round on blogs. I am having to 'release' several from spam each week. Unfortunately the ones that really are spam never seem to get caught for me.
Right now my grandson (9) is reading Harry Potter (no.7),he slept here over night .
I've not read any Harry Potter, but I believe that the books have done a lot to get children reading again. Well done J K Rowling.
Actually one has to wonder at the causal connection. I don't doubt from the evidence there is a correlation but I would suggest that the socio-economic factors cause both. A higher socio-economic group is likely to be more literate because it is likely to be better educated. I'm going back to my grad and post-grad days when I did both statistics and social economics as subsid subjects but I'll wager I'm correct.
I am completely in agreement with your statement, that I have repeated many times, that two basic essentials for child-rearing are a good story at night and sitting around a table together for meals.
I'm sure there's a lot more to the statistics, but the way they presented them makes better reading. However, why should 'better educated' relate to longevity? Something doesn't sound quite right to me.
I do agree with your #101 child raising points, but I think it are other factors rather than being a good reader that affects life expectancy. Poor literacy is surely linked to poverty and isn't that really what causes premature deaths? Along with poor lifestyle choices, which the less educated are inclined to make. An educated population is feared by despots the world over.
it are other factors! I think I first wrote is and went back and corrected it to are.
Everyone's blog today (including mine) seems to focus on education.
I think that newspaper may have gone from one factor to another, missing out a few hundred others in the middle. That's what they call 'lazy journalism', but I agree with you about eating together at a table without TV or mobile phones.
Better educated usually means higher socioeconomic status. Higher socioeconomic status means better nutrition, more awareness of health issues, better medical care (at least here where better medical care is dependent on one's ability to pay for it) etc etc. Don't confuse correlation with causation.
Yes, they missed-out a few essential interlinking factors.
Education Day. Essential from time to time.
It's also called 'Grabbing Headlines'. Why spoil a good story for the sake of facts.
That is an interesting study, totally agree that being literate is very important, my sons first word was book. One would have to think of all the down factors of not being literate and being poor that must factor into life expectancy. Of course what would lift you out of that is being literate.
Literacy equals decent job, and decent job equals decent lifestyle. I suspect it's the decent lifestyle that really affects longevity; not the ability to read.
I agree about eating together as a family with no phones or TV's and reading a story every night. Wise words.
Modern education is polite in that we all go at the speed of the slowest, whether the bright sparks can sparkle is a matter of little importance in the great scheme of thing. Emojis and tick boxes have arrived. One mustn't think any more. There are periods in history where independent thinking was abolished, either by law or by introducing an alternative. People sitting around tables enjoying their evening meal and talking is a quaint idea of Cro's. Normally the only family member who is talking, if anyone is, is the Cyclops in the corner.
I also taught my 3 children to read and write, but that's another matter.
This past Christmas when my ten yr old grandson spent the night I had him turn off his hand held whatever and I read O'Henry's Gift of the Magi to him. Two weeks later when he came again he asked for the same story. Score 1 point for the Yaya.It's what they call me. Grannie is so common :)
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