Dad, are you a positive force in your child’s educational experience? If not, you certainly have the potential to become an advocate to help your child do well in school each year regardless of their grade level.
Surveys and statistics show children whose parents are involved in their schools are more likely to get mostly A’s and less likely to repeat a grade. Staying connected with our children does help them achieve success throughout the school year. The interest you take and invest into your child’s education has proven to make a huge impact.
Here are some tips to help you:
1) Visit the School and their website periodically for new and additional information. Familiarize yourself with their discipline policies on dress code, what can and cannot be brought to school, etc.
2) Ask your child about their teachers and classmates.
3) Quiz your kid in a conversation that doesn’t sound like a daily drill about their day, homework, friends, etc.
4) Plan to calendar and attend any parent-student conferences or meetings that are scheduled or asked to be scheduled. If time is crucial due to a conflict, maybe suggest an online platform like Zoom, etc.
5) Help them set achievable goals and check in on their progress.
6) Place an encouraging note in their lunch or book bag. Doing so really can motivate them to do better or stay on track. A friend of mine started an organization called Napkin Note Dads from an idea of encouraging his daughter every day in her lunchbox.
7) Read to your child daily or as often as possible. Reading stimulates imagination, enhances vocabulary, and introduces them to the world around them.
8) Support homework expectations… assisting if necessary, to complete assigned task early in the evenings.
9) Teach and encourage good daily study habits. Reward their success with something they really like to do.
10) Encourage and provide for outdoor family activities. Too many kids today get lost in the digital world of gaming and TV and lack exercise.
11) Most importantly, be there as a support through their school year. If you don’t have an answer they need, be honest and help them find the answer.
Whatever their grade level, never stop challenging your children, as they get older. Play word games, solve math puzzles, take walks to discover nature’s wonders, and experiment with simple science projects. Dads often begin to step back and allow teenagers to become more independent. Even though your child will not admit it, they need you even more in their teens as the educational pressure rises as they rise into higher grades.
Dad, you are important to your children’s success, not just academically but in all aspects of their lives. Yes, you really are a Dad 4 Life!!!
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