Baby's First A+

Looks like your child’s academic success begins long before her first day of kindergarten. A recent study from the University of Colorado Denver linked breast-feeding to better high-school grades and a greater probability of college enrollment. Researchers looked at the academic records of 126 siblings, some of whom were breast-fed as infants and others of whom were not, from 59 families. The breast-fed group’s high-school grade point averages were higher on average than those of their formula-fed siblings. Then, looking specifically at the breast-fed participants, researchers determined that those who nursed for an additional month were about 2 percent more likely to attend college. “Infants who are breast-fed seem to be smarter and healthier, and as a result do better in school,” says study coauthor Daniel Rees, PhD. This study is the first of its kind to use data from siblings, which eliminates potential academic-performance variables such as socioeconomic standing, home environment, and parental intelligence.