Why Parents Must Get Involved in the Child’s Education

Parents should be actively involved in the education of a child despite the fact that there are already several teachers, administrators and other school personnel to provide them the guidance they need through the school’s rules and regulations, the curriculum, and the learning.

Although it has been shown from studies that the children whose parents are involved in their education by helping them review lessons and study for exams exhibited higher scores in exams and performed better in the overall aspect, this is not how and why they should get involved. If being involved meant teaching and the reason for getting involved was for better grades, then all parents had to be well-educated and good at instruction. Furthermore, it such was the reasoning, then parents will fail to clearly express what the purpose of the education of a child is.

No, being involved could include but is not limited to teaching the child and reviewing him prior to exams. Parents must get involved in the education of a child, NOT his classroom. Also, the reason why parents must involve themselves is not for the child to develop a better academic performance, but to make sure that they are getting the proper learning and experience they would need once they are out in the real world. Remember that teaching your child the day’s lessons, attending parent-teacher meetings, or baking pineapple upside-down cake for their Christmas party are not the things that will determine your progress as an adult, and your success as an individual.

The following are some ways by which parents can get involved in their child’s education. Some of these ways need not even require parents to visit the child’s classroom.

- Regularly talk with the teacher of your child. Check on your child’s progress and ask if there are certain problems your child is experiencing in particular. The teacher can tell you what subjects are difficult for him, so you can teach your child at home or hire a tutor for him.
- At least discuss with your child his homework (if not help him with it).
- Obtain a copy of the school curriculum and get supplementary materials in advance for your child.
- Do not just depend on your child’s teachers; monitor his progress yourself!
- Set up a quiet study area for your child at home. This need not be an entire room. A table and a chair with a desk lamp at the corner of your child’s room would do. See to it that a specific time is set aside for doing homework.
- Always motivate your child! Let him feel how much you support him and that you want to help him get the best education of a child possible.

A Child’s Education Should Begin at Birth!

Early child education, or simply “early education”, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), refers to the phase in the period of childhood characterized by the child beginning to learn through play, spanning the human life from birth up to the age of eight.

Over the years, researchers, teachers, and parents have all recognized the importance of early education on the child’s overall development. Numerous studies have been conducted to establish whether there is a connection between early education and the child’s academic performance and behavioral development patterns. Findings varied in some ways but one thing remained dominant—the findings show that majority of those who did not have early education end up getting arrested or drawn into the use of alcohol, drugs or tobacco. One particular study came up with shocking findings suggesting that students who lacked early education are 70% more likely be to be arrested for a violent crime by age the of 18. This clearly shows how early education is vital for a child’s overall development.

However, many people, especially parents, have this common misconception that early child education simply means enrolling the child at an early age—three years old as the earliest possible. While that could in fact be the earliest age for a child to be eligible to enroll, early education does not necessarily mean learning at school. As how NAEYC defines it, early education begins at birth!

To further emphasize why even infants need to be exposed to stimuli at such an early age, here is a little trivia for parents. An average newborn infant has roughly 12 million neurons. These refer to the cells in the brain. When a child reaches the age of 12, all unused neurons die. Thus, most of the 12 million neurons of a child when he was still an infant die since they were not used. Although a few parents already know this scientific discovery, they do nothing about it.

Your child should be given early brain stimulation as early as a month old to retain most of their neurons. At 10 months, he should be exposed early to math and reading. There are programs on early child education designed even for infants that create learning pathways in the brain, enabling them to understand math and read even before they reach the age of 2.

The Five Foundations of Any Child’s Education

“Is the education of a child important?” This might just be the most ridiculous and obvious question ever asked. Ask any parent this question and for sure, you will get the same answer again and again. However, if the question had asked for the reason behind this importance, there will, without a doubt, be many different answers. One parent may say “So he will be able to easily get a job”. Another may say that it is important so that his child will learn responsibility. Another reason could be that the child’s learning will help him make good decisions. Parents have countless other reasons for a child’s education but ultimately, they mean the same thing—to prepare the child for adulthood.

Some might disagree with this; in fact, many parents do not want to think of adulthood yet, saying they do not want their children to grow up fast. Well nobody said anything about reaching adulthood fast. Rather, it is progressing from childhood and growing up to be adults. You have to bear in mind that in the end, only two things can happen: your child grows up with you, with your guidance, or your child grows up without you, guided by his friends. Which ending do you want for your child?

Surely, you want your child to grow up guided by you. If you are to prepare them to become responsible adults, you must make them learn, understand and live by five essential things. The proper education of a child involves the teaching of values, morals, ethics, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Values are the feelings, thoughts and opinions which your family has determined important. The values of one family may, of course, differ from those of another. A child needs to learn what the things he values are. Morals refer to what things are right and what are wrong. Usually, our morals are shaped by a bigger community’s standards and beliefs. Every child must be able to distinguish right from wrong. Ethics refer to the ideology of how one should behave. These are the principles of conduct and manners. A child will follow what he sees. If parents are not there to show the child how one should rightfully behave, he will then follow those whom he sees; he will pattern the way his peers behave.

Problem solving is the ability to come up with a solution for a particular task or difficulty AND the ability to do everything required to carry it out. Knowing that sand can put out a spreading fire is useless if you do not know where and how to get that sand. A child must be able to determine what must be done with a problem and know to do it. Lastly, decision-making is the ability to make sound decisions that will be for the betterment of all. A good decision is one that is based on the first four essential principles. A child must learn have the ability to make good judgments and sound decisions so that he will be able to determine which direction to follow.

These five elements shape the entire education of a child. Without these five, your child may grow physically and biologically, but he will never grow from being a child to becoming an adult.

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