You Are Your Child’s Best Teacher

The biggest influence in a child’s life is his or her parents. Teachers and extended family and friends are important, but the child’s parents are his or her first and most important teachers. Parents have profound influence on what children learn, what children feel, and how children react to the world around them.

How can parents best fill their role as teachers? Get involved with your child’s school. More than any other factor; parent involvement influences children’s success. Parents can start early with being present in their child’s school during functions and conferences. Also, very simple involvement such as collecting items for the classroom is important because it shows support for the school and the complex work teachers do.

Another way to fill the “teacher role” is to read your child each day. This will help your child become a reader.

Finally, become partners with your child’s teacher. Talk about concerns or issues before little concerns become big problems. Ask for reference material and share the ideas you find with your child’s teacher. When the parent-teacher relationship works, the teacher-child relationship works, too. It is worth the effort!