You hear a lot as a parent that it is important to be involved in your child’s school. But in a world in which many parents are facing long work days and other activities, sometimes it can be hard to know how best to be involved. Today we are talking about a few ways that parents can be involved with their children’s schooling and why they might be so important to your child’s development in the short and longer term.
- Talking with your child about school. This may be one of the quickest and potentially most important ways to be involved in your child’s school. Just asking about his day and hearing about his activities can tell you a lot about how things are going at school. Also asking about his friends can give you information about who your child is hanging out with and what they like to do together. This will set up important habits that will become more and more important as your child gets older. Studies show that when parents know where their older children and teenagers are and who they are with, those kids are less likely to get into trouble. If your child is used to telling you what she is doing and who she is with as a younger child, then she is more likely to keep doing this as a teenager. Also, at any age, if you know what is going on with your child at school, you are likely to be able to head any small issues before they get to be bigger problems.
- Helping your child with homework. This is also a great way to keep up on what your child is learning in school. And it’s a great way to know if your child is struggling with something, like maybe he is having a hard time with subtraction, so that you can talk to the teacher and solve any issues quickly. It may be that a little struggling with homework is just about normal learning but it never hurts to check with your child’s teacher if you are concerned. Setting up good homework routines early can really help as children get older and are expected to do more reading and studying at home.
- Attending open houses and parent–teacher conferences. These are key opportunities to find out what your child is doing in school, meet your child’s teacher, and work with the teacher to address any issues that might have come up. For instance, your teacher might think that your child can handle more complex math, or wants to set up a home-school incentive plan to help her remember to bring her materials to class. These are also great times to let the teacher know about your family and what is going on at home. It may be that your child is bored by her math problems and needs more of a challenge. Or maybe you are working very long hours and it would help the teacher to know why sometimes it is hard for you and your child to finish all of his homework.
- Volunteering in your child’s classroom. This can be a great way to get to know your child’s teachers and her other classmates. And it does not have to take up a lot of time. If you cannot commit to a regular time every week or so, you could ask the teacher if he has one-time projects that he might need help with during the year. Or volunteer to chaperone on a field trip. There are lots of different ways to help out in your child’s class.
These are some of the ways that parents can be involved in children’s schooling. These are not the only ways. So if you would like to be more active in your child’s school, ask your child’s teacher or principal about what opportunities might be available. It can be a really fun way to hang out with your child!
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Image: © Mauricio Jordan De Souza Coelho | Dreamstime.com
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