How can Parents Promote Student Success? Parents play a key role in ensuring that their child or adolescent achieves school success. When parents, students, and staff work together, the student will obtain their academic goals. Some of the actions that parents can take to promote school success are:
communicate with school staff to be aware of homework assignments and when there are concerns
review your child’s homework
encourage your child to be friends with positive role models and help others become positive role models
try to do something enjoyable with your child at least once a week
set clear expectations about homework
get acquainted with the school and teachers
attend school function such as conferences, programs, and events
encourage your child to participate in after school activities and sports
enforce household rules
set aside a time when the whole family reads
encourage your child to talk about school, activities, and interests
teach right and wrong and practice these values
provide a quiet place for your child to study and do homework
support school discipline practices
talk to your child about tobacco, drugs, alcohol, bullying, etc.
monitor your child’s choices of TV programs, video games, music, and internet use
adapted from a website
Feelings I notice that a lot of children of all ages have trouble knowing how they feel and expressing those feelings appropriately. You can help at home by using feeling words, asking your child how he or she feels and accepting those feelings (after all, we can’t very well tell someone else how he or she should feel, can we?), pointing out how others feel by looking at their facial expressions and body language, and giving them ways to express those feelings. Some good ways to express feelings are talking, drawing, writing, playing with play-doh, clay, or doing something creative, singing, dancing, getting active, relaxing, etc.
Responsibility Responsibilities help a child gain independence and self-reliance by learning to do a job and taking credit for it. This trait will help the child in school and in all of life’s endeavors. Responsible children become responsible adults and are generally more productive and content in their lives. Responsibility doesn’t just happen to jump into children, though. It is a character trait that has to be taught and learned, beginning at home. The following are some ideas for ways that parents can begin teaching children to be responsible people.
Set a good example by keeping your promises, honoring your commitments, and accepting consequences for your own actions instead of blaming others.
Expect your child to do things for the good of the family. Show them that when everyone contributes, everyone benefits. This includes having your child do chores around the house.
Help your children learn to do things for themselves instead of doing things for them. When children have a feeling of independence, they have more confidence to try new things and expand their capabilities. If we constantly do things for our children, they will come to think they are not capable of doing things on their own.
Make agreements with your child and expect them to follow through. Provide firm, fair, and consistent consequences.
When things go wrong, help your child take responsibility for her part and make a plan to do things differently next time. We all want our children to be happy and it hard to see them disappointed, however, allowing your child to accept the consequences of something he or she has done wrong instead of coming to his or her rescue, will help your child be more happy and be able to problem solve in the long run.
Study Skills Tips to help your child study for tests:
Set aside a time to study each day. Reviewing each day helps your child remember material better than cramming the night before the test.
Make sure your child completes homework. This is practice for the test.
Make sure your child has all materials ready. Help him or her get organized.
Make sure your child has a study space that is free from distractions.
Quiz your child.
Make flash cards. This works very well with vocabulary.
Your child can draw pictures to help him or her remember something he or she has learned. You can also make things into songs or rhymes to help memorize.
Have your child summarize important material.
Remember all children learn differently. Some learn by hearing, some by seeing and some by doing. Try to incorporate this into your studying.