Parents are Natural Teachers: Why Every Parent Needs to Get Involved in their Child’s Learning
Every parent has anxiety about their child’s education.
From the earliest days after they are born, to the moment they leave for college, what our children need to learn and how well they are learning, dominate our thinking as parents.
We do not often think about it, but the knowledge we pass on to our children is substantial and significant. It goes well beyond the ability to read, write, understand numbers, or appreciate art and culture. In fact, we teach our children an infinite number of things, including manners, empathy, how to walk, how to get dressed, how to reason, how to learn, and more.
From little things to big things, parents are more naturally geared towards teaching than anyone else our children will encounter in their lives.
Nevertheless, many parents often become discouraged or intimidated from playing a role in their child’s education when they reach school-age. After all, teachers and counselors in our public and private schools receive specialized degrees and training. Academic administrators set policies and curriculum. School boards determine education funding. And teachers build out the lesson plans our children are supposed to follow.
As the years go on, as parents, we can feel our role as a teacher lose importance. Many of us believe that we could never be a primary teacher, which makes us shy away from doing things such as becoming more involved in school or deciding to homeschool our children.
However, parents need to keep their role, and their value, in perspective. The value parents provide is significant!
Here are some reasons why every parent needs to be actively involved in their child’s learning:
- School age children spend 70% of their waking hours (including weekends and holidays) outside of school. The younger the child, the more likely they are spending that time with you. While a teacher may have a lesson plan they developed for a classroom, you have greater insight into your child’s interests, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. You do not need a complex lesson plan or years of training to expose your child to all the learning opportunities available in the world around you.
- Academic research shows conclusively that increased parental involvement in a child’s education improves academic performance. What’s more, parental involvement increases a child’s motivation, raises their self-confidence, and leads to better mental and physical health.
- Establishing a love of learning and imagination in younger children carries with them throughout their schooling, and tends to remain after they graduate college. Read to your children, do creative activities, take trips, and encourage your children to explore and seek out new experiences. Albert Einstein once said that if parents want their children to be intelligent, they should read them fairy tales. And if they want their children to be very intelligent, read them more fairy tales.
If you need one more reason why every parent needs to be involved in their child’s learning, try this… Increased interaction and discussion with your children makes you a more responsive and confident parent, and it gives you better decision-making skills.
This means that any doubts you may have about taking on more of a role in teaching your child can easily be eliminated over time.
With less anxiety about teaching your children, you can take command of what they’re learning and how they’re learning to ensure they are achieving the results you know they’re capable of reaching.