What do mums want for their children?

The findings of a global poll of mums has revealed some interesting hopes for their children, especially when it comes to intelligence. 

The Hopes and Wishes survey carried out on behalf of toy maker Fisher Price found that mums, especially those of the millennial generation, want to strike a balance between IQ and EQ. 

While being smart continues to be an important wish of the parents, there is also a growing demand for emotional intelligence and there is a benefit in that for schools as well as for the children themselves.

Sara Harkness, Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Health and Human Development at the University of Connecticut explained: "Although traditional IQ is important for learning new information and thinking analytically, people with high emotional intelligence have an easier time making and keeping friends, and they are also more likely to be successful in school and at work."

Being happy was considered the ultimate ambition of the mums for their children and they ranked communication and collaboration skills highly as being important life tools for them. 

Many of those polled also believed that their children will have better opportunities than they did and that school and university will play an important role in that. In fact there was one thing that stood out cross all the countries surveyed, from Mexico and the UK through to China and Russia as being a key to their children’s future prospects – access to education.