How to help my child succeed at school

As a parent, you certainly want your children to do well in school and come out with flying colours in their examinations. As much as emphasis is now being laid on the whole-child approach to education - a concept

Interestingly, as a parent, you are empowered by virtue of your strong influence on your child to help them achieve academic success as well as success in other aspects of life. What exactly can you do to help your child succeed in school beyond what they are being taught in the classroom?

This article will provide practicable answers to that question. 

How to help my child success at school 

Encourage reading 

We cannot discuss academic success without mentioning good reading habits. Reading opens up a child’s minds and expands their imagination. This could translate to academic success, especially when children read beyond their recommended textbooks. 

See Also: How to help a child who is struggling with reading.

Help your child develop love for reading. Model reading habit too. Children learn more from what they see you do than what you tell them to do. Buy age-appropriate books for your children and create a beautiful reading space at home with lots of books that your child can explore.

Know your child’s teacher 

Get to know your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Let them know that you are always available for your child. If your child has a special need, do not hesitate to let their teachers know about it. 

Teachers love it when parents show interest in their children’s learning. The teachers would in turn show a keen interest in your child, seeing to it that they succeed at school.

Pay a visit to your child’s teacher at least twice a term to know how your child is faring at school. A call, text message or email when you are too busy to visit physically could go a long way to show that you really care. 

See Also: How to save for your child's future needs

Create and participate in homework time 

No matter your child’s age or class, their teachers would give them take-home assignments daily. 

As much as many parents see their kids’ homework as a huge burden, aspirational parents can capitalize on such homework to develop study habits for their kids. Studious students would most likely to succeed at school than students who find it difficult or impossible to study.

Create a small fancy corner in the room for the kids’ homework. Always talk about homework in a positive light and let your kids look forward to doing their homework. As much as possible, join your kids when they are solving their assignments and give them the needed moral support. 

You don’t have to do the homework for your child - this can encourage laziness and hinder them from getting the desired good grades eventually.

All you need to do is support them while trying to figure their homework out. You can help your child explain the homework questions so that they can understand them better or just cheer them up when they are on the right path. 

Just make sure you are always available during homework time. 

How to help my child succeed at school

Show interest in your child’s school activities 

Schools organize several activities during a school term. From open days to PTA meetings, end-of-the-year events, inter-house sports, etc. You can also volunteer to take part in the school’s projects. 

See Also: 9 Lucrative skills your kids should learn

Let your child know that you take their school seriously through your involvement. This will motivate them to give their school work the very best effort and make you proud. 

Monitor and help your child control screen time 

One of the major distractions for pupils is their mobile devices. As digital natives, today’s pupils need to use technology tools. If kids are not well monitored, they can easily get carried away in games, movies, cartoons, and other screen content that abound on the internet.

Some monitoring Apps have been created to help monitor and control the time children spend on their mobile devices and the websites they visit. Apart from creating more study time, such Apps could also prevent your child from being open to unwholesome content like pornography.

When your child is able to give in more time for school work, they are more likely to succeed at school. 

Don’t hesitate to seek extra support for your child

You can help your child succeed in school by helping them with the support they need. If you feel that your child needs extra tutoring or coaching beyond what you can offer, why not go ahead and get such help for your child? 

Some parents enlist the help of a tutor or their child’s teacher to help coach their kids further or help with their homework. While is it encouraged that you take this role, extremely busy parents can get needed help.

Make sure you know exactly what the tutor is up to and create time to be at the lessons with your child for most of the lessons.

Help your child prepare for tests and exams

Most schools still base their assessment on academic performance. So, your child’s performance in their tests and examinations would largely determine whether they would succeed in school or not.

You need to provide needed support and help for your child, especially during their tests and examinations. 

Start preparing them for their tests a few weeks before it commences. During the test week, you can reduce their house chores load so that they can put in more study time. Do the same during examination periods. 

Studies show that when parents are fully involved in their children’s education, they are more likely to succeed at school. What the family does is more important to a child's school success than how much money the family makes or how much education the parents have. 

So practice these tips suggested above if you truly want to help your child succeed at school and improve in their academic performance.