Millennial parents are busy parents. Some even are running more than two jobs. This makes it difficult for them to keep track of their children’s growth and development process.
However, it is now proven that children tend to perform better if parents are involved in their early childhood education and parental involvement also influences a child’s behavior. After all, a child trusts no one better than parents.
Parental involvement in a child’s education can support the teacher’s contribution and improve children’s learning rate. According to research conducted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with active parental involvement, children are more likely to succeed in all aspects of their growth, including social, cognitive, academic, and emotional development.
Why is parental involvement essential for a child’s growth?
- Research shows that family involvement improves children’s academic and social performance regardless of parents’ educational levels and children’s ethnicity. If parents and teachers work together, it leads to children’s success. It prepares them to experience better school years in the future.
- Their academic skills are improved, but children also are reported to learn empathy and acceptance at an early age.
- Children develop a positive attitude towards learning and education. Spending time on homework and reading sessions are no anymore enforced activities. Children tend to inculcate the habit of self-discipline.
- Children who get the best of both from parents and teachers reportedly grow more confident and optimistic than children who don’t. Self-confidence plays a vital role in adolescent years when children go through a phase of building their personality.
- Children with more family involvement have better mental health than those who don’t. Parents who are more involved with their children will likely develop better emotional navigation skills and better behavioral skills. Children with better mental health lead a happy, confident life compared to those who don’t.
Why do parents need to be involved more in early childhood education?
- Parents will get better exposure to their children’s academic curriculum. It will result in improving a better understanding of teachers’ teaching methods. Communication between parents and teachers is improved.
- With more parental involvement in early childhood education, they will find it easier to conduct a compelling and exciting learning session at home. Punishment and forceful learnings can be avoided.
- Parents will get a better insight into their children’s way of working minds. This will lead to forming a strengthening bond between parents and children.
- Parents will get better in parenting skills and in decision-making skills that involve their children. Parent involvement in children’s studies can also help facilitate a child’s learning.
Do parents’ involvement help schools and teachers?
Research shows that in 2012, parental involvement decreased by maximum numbers, which continued until then. It took four years to fill the gap, and in 2016, parents were found much active in contributing to their children’s education.
A study suggests that- the significant thing to be noticed during that period was the lack of communication between parents and teachers. According to the childcare experts, if there is no trust between parents and teachers, the repercussion falls on the children’s academic and spiritual development.
The more parents and families are involved in their children’s early education; it uplifts the teachers’ morale. Teachers feel acknowledged and more comfortable sharing their observations and insights with parents. A trusting relationship is built between parents and school members.
How can your childcare center encourage parental involvement?
According to the childcare experts, these few necessary steps will help you to encourage parental involvement in your childcare center:
- Ask parents to attend the school parent meetings – it will allow parents to learn more about your school culture, school environment, staff, and teachers. You can invite parents for children’s feedback sessions as well. This will allow both parents and teachers to form a trustworthy relationship.
- Ask parents if they are interested in volunteering in special classes for children – it can be anything from reading to children or helping teachers organize any school event. Parents are more than happy to volunteer for any school event. Make sure you don’t miss any chances to bring parents in.
- Always show readiness to communicate with parents. If your childcare center uses a communication app or follows the traditional way of communication, either way always shows up for parents. Initiating contact with parents also helps them develop a bond and are encouraged to participate more in school activities.
- Ask parents to join the live classes. The pandemic has made live courses an essential part of the curriculum today. Inform parents a week ahead of time about live classes. Parents can attend the live classes and can even share their feedbacks.
- Include parents once in a while for preparing weekly lesson plans for younger students. This will help both educators and teachers collaborate effectively and improve the quality of education for children. Apart from these, you can continuously seek other intriguing ways to increase family engagement activities at your childcare center.
Three ways parents can actively involve themselves in children education
Parents who take an active role in their children’s education are offering the support their children need to grow in school. As the participation of parents can enhance the learning experience, but the involvement process can be demanding for parents who are tied up with work commitments.
Our experts recommend these three simple ways for parents to expand their role in their kids’ education:
- Apart from helping children with their homework, at home, you can create activities like reading sessions or wordplay. You can also help your children to prepare for any upcoming school tests. Helping them with math and art skills is yet another important activity you can do with your children.
- Be a part of their extracurricular activities. If your children are interested in any art activities then encourage them by participating in their activities. Singing together, dancing together, or cycling together with your kids can be a learning session for parents as well.
- According to childcare experts- effective communication is a pillar activity to educate young children. Asking questions about their school activities, their favorite poems, their favorite activities, teachers or friends gives powerful insight to parents. It later can contribute to growing young minds with a healthy and positive mindset.
The Takeaway
It is very clear that parental involvement is beneficial. It can definitely benefit the student in question, but it can also benefit the teachers, the school, the parents themselves, and the community, as well as other children in the family.
Everything possible should be done by the school system to encourage the parents to become involved. Apart from school activities, parents should be aware of the fact that they themselves can create certain activities at home with their children to increase parental involvement.
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