“Teach your children well” is more than just a CSNY song.

If parents can instill the value of self-control in children at an early age, new research indicates it will pay dividends in the long run.

The study, published in Psychological Science, finds that children with high self-control — that is, those who are typically better able to pay attention, persist with difficult tasks, and suppress inappropriate or impulsive behaviors — are much more likely to find and retain employment as adults, spending 40 percent less time unemployed than those who had less self-control as children.

“The study highlights the importance of early life self-control as a powerful predictor of job prospects in adulthood,” says lead researcher Michael Daly of the University of Stirling in Scotland.

The researchers looked at data from 15,000 British children to analyze the link between self-control and employment.

Their results found “clear evidence” linking to two, according to the journal.

After studying data from the 1980s recession, the researchers found “those with low childhood self-control experienced a pronounced spike in joblessness during this difficult economic period.”

“Less self-controlled children may be particularly vulnerable to unemployment during times of economic downturn in later life,” according to Daly.

“Developing greater self-control in childhood, when the capacity for self-control is particularly malleable, could help buffer against unemployment during recessions and bring long-term benefits to society, through increased employment rates and productivity.”

They urge parents should focus on instilling the values in children.

“Preschool interventions, school programmes, and activities such as yoga and martial arts, and walking meditation exercises have all been shown to help develop better self-control and related abilities,” Daly says.