Academic success is not determined by socioeconomic status or the prestige of your child's school but rather a parent's involvement in their children’s education.

A parent’s involvement in their children’s education leads to increasing academic success and the development of a lifelong love of learning. The earlier parents involve themselves in their children’s education the stronger the foundation created will be for their child’s future academic success.

Below are 5 easy and practical tips for effectively involving yourself in your child's education and developing a strong foundation for their future academic success.

1. Develop a healthy schedule with your child

As I’m sure most people will have experienced, a daily schedule is a very healthy way of organising your day. Helping your child develop their own daily schedule will benefit them immensely in the present and future. Setting aside certain periods of the day for different activities will help your child to excel at school, and reduce lazy behaviour.

Your child’s daily schedule should be developed with your child. Setting wake up times, homework times, physical exercise times, bedtime and chill times will help your child make productive use of their time. This will not only help them excel at school but will also improve mental health. Daily schedules shouldn’t be very strictly structured, remember that children still need to have fun while at school and unnecessary pressure can be counterproductive.

If your child is unhappy with the schedule that you have developed together then it would be wise to reassess how that schedule can be restructured in a way that will be more appealing to your child while still ensuring everything necessary is included.

1. Create a designated workspace in your home

The right workspace makes a huge difference in your mindset and ability to learn or work, and your child is no different. Creating a designated workspace in your home is important for having a structured learning environment.

It is also important as it creates a separation between the child's workspace and playspace, which will assist in developing healthy habits in the future. When creating a designated workspace at home it is vital to ensure your child has everything they need to have an effective workspace, whether that is a set of headphones to listen to helpful Maths videos on YouTube or enough pens and paper to do their homework.

The designated workspace should be comfortable, but at the same time it is important to remember that you are not creating a space for your child to play and relax. This is to be their area of focus.

1. Stay in contact with your child's educator

The contact allowed between parents and teachers will differ depending on the policies of your child's school or schooling district. These policies should be communicated to parents, and abiding by these policies will help parents build healthy relationships with teachers.

It is important to keep in regular contact with your child’s educator as they can help you focus your efforts in helping your child excel in their school work. Teachers have a good understanding of your child’s academic strengths and weaknesses, and will have helpful advice on how you can assist them in tackling their academic weaknesses.

Staying in touch with your child’s educator will keep you up-to-date with their progress at school and improve your ability to make informed decisions when it comes to effectively assisting your child to excel in their school work.

1. Make learning a lifestyle

Teach your child that learning doesn’t only take place at school. Learning is a daily part of people's lives and it is important to show your child through your own actions how simple daily activities, such as watching television, reading books and walking around your town or city, can be opportunities to learn something new.

It is important to encourage your child to explore the things that interest them. If your child is interested in cars then don’t just buy them a toy car, rather teach them about how cars work and let them help when fixing or washing your own car.

Activities like outings to the local museum or trips to the park to look at flowers can enhance learning about subjects like history and science, and children won’t see these activities as merely school work. Relating these real-world activities will help to show your child how their school work and learning is related to everyday life. Showing them how their school learning can be applied in useful ways in their everyday lives.

1. Monitor progress through goal setting

Effective communication with your child is essential to developing a conducive learning environment at home. Ask about how their school work is going and not just their marks, ask about what subjects they are enjoying and what they are learning about that they find interesting.

It’s important to show interest in your child's school work as this will help them value the knowledge they are learning and not just see it as ‘School Work’.

Setting goals should be done with your child, talk to them about goal setting and explain the importance of setting daily and weekly goals, give them examples of how you set goals for yourself in your daily life and career.

Help your child with setting realistic goals that give them small daily wins and big weekly wins. Talk to your child in the evenings at the dinner table or while watching TV about how their school work is going and celebrate their wins with them.

Many children struggle with motivating themselves and providing them with affirmation for their achievements might be all the motivation they need to tackle their school work.

Develop Healthy Relationships with Technology

The importance of a parent's involvement in their children’s learning journey is of no doubt. However, it can be difficult to involve yourself in your child’s learning journey and establish what is acceptable in terms of behaviour and expectations.

This is made even more challenging with the involvement of technology.

Linked Parental Controls, by Mobile Guardian, allows for parents to help guide their children in developing healthy and beneficial relationships with their devices at home. Parents are able to better understand how their children are utilising their mobile devices and also create schedules for device use to ensure their children are getting healthy levels of sleep.

Find out more about our Linked Parental Controls and how they may impact a students learning journey and the development of healthier and more positive relationships with technology.

Onwards

Michael Rosenthal

Team Mobile Guardian