Helping your child succeed in school (2)

Dear Parents, How are you all doing? How did the assignment go? (For those of us who needed to do it). I’m glad we are making progress to improve the relationship with our children. The second and concluding part of “Helping your child succeed in School”. Fourthly, provide your children with a well-balanced life. A stable home, filled with love, serves as a solid foundation for your child performing excellently in school. Establish routines so your children get enough sleep, eat regular nourishing meals (Keep healthy cereals and fresh fruit on hand, and stock your refrigerator with proteins that are easy to prepare). “A protein breakfast is good and will keep your children active during the day. Ensure they receive sufficient exercise. Limit excessive TV-viewing and the playing of video and computer games. Let your children organize as much as possible ahead of time: lay out clothes the night before, sort out their bags, arrange homework and whatever they would be taking to school the following day. It’s amazing how attention to these little details can help the morning go more smoothly. Fifthly, read to your children every day and encourage them to read extensively. Most of the learning your children do in school involves reading. Read to your children to teach them about reading, expand and enrich their vocabularies, and broaden their experiences. Reading aloud exposes them to materials that would be difficult for them to read on their own. Also make sure there is a wide variety of interesting reading materials in your home to encourage the reading habit. It is important to note that you cannot give what you don’t have, so if as a parent you do not read (whether books or newspaper), you will have a hard time getting your children to like reading. Sixth, talk to your children about school. Your children spend hours in school every day. A lot can happen during that time. Show that you are genuinely interested in their day by asking questions about what they did and talking with them about the work they bring home. When problems occur, work with your children to find solutions. I had the privilege of meeting with a parent who has 2 children (a boy and a girl). The girl wanted to change her school so he was contemplating changing both of them (school runs made easy). After the placement test, only the girl resumed, when I asked after the boy, he said the boy said he was okay with his present school and didn’t want a change. And I got to know from the discussion we had, that he spent time talking with his son and understanding from the boy’s point of view reasons why he preferred to remain where he is. I was so impressed! Little things like asking your children which club they would like to join in school can make a whole lot of difference to your relationship. You will be amazed that you will learn a lot about your children this way. Lastly, visit your child’s school. Be knowledgeable about the place where your child learns. I hope this will be helpful in making your child’s stay in school an excellent one and to improve your relationship with them. Remember that our children are always learning, if we are not the ones teaching them someone else will be doing the teaching and if we are not “following”, we lose track of what they are doing and our children will be led astray, (please say God forbid). Till next time, keep “following” your children and be aware of what happens around them. God bless!