Parents, Here’s How to Help Your Child Succeed in School: 5 Tips

Last updated on January 26th, 2023 at 04:04 pm

If you want to help your child succeed in school, it’s essential to understand what role you play in how well they do in their studies–and in all the other aspects of their lives. Healthy parenting promotes positive behaviors and better relationships between parents and children—and their teachers. 

Let’s look at some parenting tips that can help your child succeed in school.

5 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in School

Set Clear Expectations

Kids learn best when they understand what is expected of them. When you set clear expectations for your children, you’re teaching them how to behave in the world and helping them make good choices.

Studies show that a parenting style based on warmth while maintaining structure and guidelines in your parent-child relationship is associated with academic achievement. On the other hand, parenting based on either restrictive control or a lack of guidelines and inconsistency is associated with lower grades.

And, of course, setting a good example is crucial. If you want your child to be on time for school or bedtime, then make sure you are on time. If you start a project, follow it through. Let your children see what great things you can accomplish by following your own rules and expectations for yourself.

Praise Their Efforts

While it’s fine to praise your child for doing well on a test, it’s just as essential to praise them for working hard to complete homework. This way, your child understands that effort is what leads to success in school, not just getting the right answers on tests.

Praise efforts and strategies specific to your child and the efforts they’re making. Praise can help children with lower levels of self-esteem learn to see mistakes as opportunities and can help them learn to stick with difficult tasks.

Get Involved With Your Child’s Homework

There are many times when your child will need help with their homework. You can help them, but don’t do the homework for them.

Parents’ involvement and attitude while helping with homework can shape a child’s attitude toward learning. Giving them the correct answers may save time, but it will also rob them of the opportunity to learn and improve their skills. Instead, ensure a balance between how much help you provide and how much independent work they do.

When discussing a complex problem with your child, ask questions that challenge their thinking abilities. For example, if they have trouble understanding something, ask them what they think is happening before giving any suggestions or input, so that they feel empowered, rather than frustrated or embarrassed by failure.

You can also help your child find online resources to help them with their homework, which is especially useful for more difficult subjects, like higher-level math classes, chemistry, or physics. For example, there are many platforms that offer help on physics homework or demonstrate how to work through complicated math equations.

You can use this as an opportunity to make your child feel more independent. When your child searches for a specific problem on any online platform, he or she develops problem-solving skills.

Foster Independence

One of the most important things you can do to help your child succeed in school is to foster independence. Recent research has shown that about half of American children are behind schedule in at least one critical area of school readiness, and independence is a key to success in school. 

A significant part of fostering independence is giving your child the freedom to make their own choices, even if you disagree with them sometimes. Being able to make mistakes teaches children that failure isn’t fatal, and it helps them learn from their mistakes, so that next time around, they’ll be better prepared for whatever life throws at them.

One way you can foster independence in your child is by allowing him or her to make some of their own decisions. Of course, what this means will vary depending on your child’s age.

For example, for little ones, give them a choice between two outfits to wear, or let them decide what to pack in their school lunch (as long as the choices are healthy, of course). For older kids, you can give them more freedom in their choices, like how to spend their free time or what household chore they’d prefer to do out of a few different options.

Giving kids choices helps them develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills and teaches responsiblity.

Communicate With Teachers Often

As a parent, you are the most important person in your child’s life. In addition to providing them with food, shelter, and love, you can help your child succeed in school by communicating with their teachers regularly. A parent’s involvement in their child’s education and communication with teachers can significantly impact educational success.

Parents should always ensure their child’s teacher knows what, if anything, is happening at home that could interfere with their learning. And, of course, if your child has any special needs or health problems that affect his or her learning, the school must be involved and accomodations made. 

It’s essential for parents and teachers to communicate openly about a student’s progress throughout the year. That way any potential problems can be quickly addressed before they become serious.

Final Words

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that parenting is a journey. You can always improve and grow as a parent, and you don’t have to be perfect. As long as you try your best and love your children, they’re likely to find success in school and beyond.

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