Research suggests that parental involvement is a key ingredient to support success in school.   But lots of parents don’t feel qualified to tackle the responsibility of teaching and wonder what they can do to help.  Following are some things you can do and talk about to help your kids succeed–and feel good about it.

1) Make learning relevant–Make sure your child sees what he’s learning reflected in the “real” world. Ask questions. Find out what interested him/her during school lessons…then find examples related to those topics of interest and expand your conversation. Look for real world stories on the internet, at the library or in the newspaper or magazines. By supplementing their at-school learning experience at home, you’re expanding their vision and promoting the idea that more info can be fun–and that what they learn is relevant.

2) Be cautious about how you talk about “learning” and “education” with your kids and around them. Kids inherit your attitudes and ideas about everything–they listen, they watch and they accept your beliefs as truth. It is important to avoid negative statements (i.e. how you had “difficulty in school” and that “teachers are unfair”). Instead, share your positive experiences in learning (i.e. how something you learned was useful or remembering your favorite teacher or an inspiring experience in school).

3) Model goal-setting behaviors. Kids are usually pretty “immediate”. They live in the moment and can’t always see the value of long-term goals–and sometimes they lose patience.   When you talk about your own goals and how long-term planning helped you achieve your goals (and how much better off you are as a result), you’re demonstrating a pattern of behavior and thinking. If you talk without lecturing, kids will hear your stories and (without effort) assume your attitude as “the way we do things in our family”.

4) Demonstrate your commitment to your child’s success. Be sure you’ve supplied the “tools” for success: purchase a calendar or to-do list notebook to help him/her keep on schedule; dedicate a quiet, comfortable and well-lit space for home-work;  maintain (and re-supply as necessary) a handy assortment of school/study supplies (paper, pencils, etc).

5) Organize your living space to reserve a special area for your child’s school papers. Dedicate a shelf or table top for books, backpack, school communications, lunch money, etc. When school materials are blatantly kept in a prominent area (rather than stashed away), you’re providing a constant visual reminder of the value of being prepared for school–And, important items are less likely to get lost or forgotten.

6) Be a “Coach”–actively support your child with encouraging words and confidence-building praise.   It isn’t your job to teach your child when you’re helping with homework–teaching is the teacher’s role. Teachers assign homework to give students an opportunity to review what was learned in school and practice skills that were taught and exercise independent responsibility. Kids will be more willing to buckle down with their homework (and actually learn) when they feel positive support from you rather than reacting to nagging, teasing or threats of punishment. Coaches get more “work” out of their team with “you-can-do-it” type statements than they would with “do-it-or-else” threats. So, one more time:  be a “Coach” for your kids to support their school success.

When you found out that you were going to be a parent, did you feel you were prepared for parenthood? How did you prepare to become a parent? What school did you attend to acquire the best parenting skills? Do you feel you are doing a good job as a parent? It is so unfortunate to know that parenting is one of the areas in our society in which no one is required to get some sort of formal preparation. Most of us go into parenthood blindfolded with no clue as to what’s the best way, approach, or method to raise a child. Did someone take some time to give you some positive parenting tips? Most of us go into parenting following what we learned while growing up. But what if our parents did not implement the best strategies on us? What if during our childhood all we faced was neglect, abuse and lack of love? Is that what we ought to teach our own children?

As a parent you must decide what you want and don’t want for your child. Do you wish for your child to endure the same things you did when you were growing up? Or do you want to provide your little one with a nurturing environment where love, respect, patience and respect dominate everything around him? Many parents do not realize that the problems they face with their children reflect their own lack of skills, strategies and discipline methods. So what is it that you are missing when it comes to raising your little(s) one that is not working? There are several factors such as your approach, methods, attitude, and views that contribute to a child’s bad behavior. Some positive parenting tips can help you understand what you may be missing when educating your little one.

First of all, what is your approach when your child starts crying, doing a temper tantrum, biting, pushing or hitting? The approach you take can seriously determine whether he stops or continues with such bad behavior.

Next, what methods do you use to help your child change or modify his bad behavior? Do you simply get mad and punish him or do you allow him to explain what his problem is? Again, your approach will guide the outcome of your child’s behavior. Some positive parenting tips can make a difference on your approach, view, methods and attitude about raising your child.

Being a parent can bring you satisfaction and despair at the same time. When your child displays the best behavior possible it gives you a feeling of pride and joy. But when your child displays the opposite, it gives a parent a feeling of despair and failure. Any parent can accomplish a great job raising a child. All it takes is the desire to modify ones behavior, attitude and views about child rearing and of course some good positive parenting tips.

Also, what is your view about how you deal with your child’s upbringing? Do you believe that you should follow the same strategies your parents used? Or do you have your own believes and attitudes about how to raise your child? You have to remember that there is a big difference between the time when you were little and now.