Role of Parents in their Child's Education | Think about What your Children Need
Parents should always consider getting involved with their child education center and child's academic life, as it can act as a very positive influence on their little one's life. It not only does it help children get through their early academic years, but it can also prove to be beneficial later during their life and development, as the person grows up stronger and stable. During the early childhood stage, children often want to look up to someone, as they find it hard to make decision themselves and want to emulate elders. Hence, parents have a huge impact both on their lives at this stage, but also on the decisions and how they will tackle them later on in life.
When parents get involved, children often feel far more supported and loved, which helps increase their confidence ... not to mention improvements in their grades and skills. As a parent, you need to be there to guide them when they divert away from studies, or decent behaviors, gently (or not so gently) nudging them back onto the right path and reinforcing the good and bad behavioral habits. Handled correctly, this will help to build a positive attitude towards school and homework in children, while also developing a close and supportive relationship between parent and child. However, unfortunately, it seems that many parents nowadays can’t find time for their children/child. If you are one of them, you may regret it at some point during your life, so try to make the effort to guide them, even if you can't spend a lot of time with them.
If you are in this 'busy parent group', do not threat, you are certainly not alone. Many parents find it hard to work and parent, especially when they are working as single parents. For single parents, it is definitely more of a challenge to make time for the younger members of the family and many feel that they are unable to contribute enough time to supporting their children due to long working hours at work. This is not even touching on the financial burdens that have been placed upon many single parents. However, studies carried out by experts have shown that if you could just take out a little time to spend with your child, providing positive support for your childs education, it can make a really big difference.
Simple 'play' activities can really improve early learning for children. Many activities actually involve learning, but because they are fun, the children don't even realize that they are still studying. These can even be used as reward activities for initial study. Therefore, the child learns and then revises with a 'play' activity.
Singing, dancing and other activities will not only educate, but help to develop the personalities of the children. Playing allows them to discover who they are, to learn what they are capable of and to gain confidence interacting with other. Social skills are so important! Hence, play is actually a vital part of child development.
Just 5-15mins spent with children, helping them on homework, or participating in activities, will really be noticed by the child and often have an immediate positive impact. If not appreciated now, it will be when they get older and look back on their lives. This support can help the parent and child to bond, while also helping to shape the child into being a better individual; supporting their development into being a well rounded and educated person. You could say that it is another method of conveying to your children the importance of education, while also letting them know their importance to you. However, also remember to spend fun times with them, as we all need rewards for our hard work, not to mention the need to just blow off a little steam ... something that exists even in the younger years.
Reading should also be equally emphasized early in a child's education and this can be done right from a tender age by reading to them. Reading in an interesting and animated way can help give them the motivation to read themselves, which can also help with their studies and general knowledge. Supporting them and teaching them the phonetic technique of reading is extremely important (with patience being key for this activity). However, with your involvement, you are directly contributing towards building a strong educational foundation for your kids.
Different preschools have different policies in terms of the involvement of the parents. So when making a choice of preschool for your kid, make sure you have assessed them well and also stick to a plan which you can stand up to (don't make promises that you can't keep). Most teachers know the importance of involving parents, especially as many are themselves a parent too. Hence, most encourage the active involvement of parents during preschool. Parents can get support in adopting strategies for improving their child’s education, things that can be done at home; with reading being one of the top priorities in this list.
The ideal time to implement such strategies would be during the summer months, as children do not have regular school work to attend to and many adults have a break from work at this time too. This break in routine can be a bit unbalancing for children, many resorting to sitting in front of the television or computer screen for hours on end. Even single parents can utilize some strategies to support their child, though they may lack lots of free time. In the case of single parents (and busy parents), setting up a schedule for homework and various other activities in the home can prove very beneficial and help have more of a positive effect on their children’s lives, even if they can't be their in person. A mix of fun and chores works best, normally so that the fun activities act as a motivator to complete the boring activities. However, all will help to build the character of your child and encourage them to feel proud of what they achieve and of a job well done.
If you can't be their yourself, small reward systems can be great motivators for children, so things like a star charts, coupon systems, or grand prizes are good for motivating your child to do what you ask of them. This can then be linked with chatty and supportive phone calls, if you have the time (even 5 minutes during a break can help as a motivator).
So, even if your life is busy, try to have a positive impact on your child's education and attitude to learning, as it can dramatically affect how their life turns out. Though you may not think a few minutes can help, your interest in what they are learning can really make a difference.
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