How Do Parents Support Children’s Learning?

If you were a parent, how would you help your child succeed in school? Just how can they encourage them to keep trying even when the going gets tough? I’ll be answering these and related questions in a new blog post.

Working together with your child is one way to help them stay motivated.

Find out what it is that they enjoy doing, and then help them pursue that pleasure in exciting new ways. Communicating to kids that you value their accomplishments is crucial.

Children need positive reinforcement to keep working hard, and this comes largely in the form of praise for their efforts.

The article also suggests fun activities that you can do with your kids, as well as strategies for teaching them the basics like reading and arithmetic. Also, it will teach you how to help your kid learn in a way that’s fun and useful.

Many students find themselves struggling at some point during their schooling. That’s where we come in – Dr Study has a wide range of tutors in Melbourne to help your child catch up and get ahead.

Working With Parents To Support Children’s Learning

It is well established that parents who are actively involved in their children’s education have children who are more successful in school.

According to data gathered for our Teaching & Learning Toolkit, parent involvement that yields positive results can increase a student’s annual learning by as much as three months.

However, getting all parents on board in ways that are helpful to their children’s education can be difficult, especially if those parents did not have a good school experience themselves.

The purpose of this report is to provide principals and other school administrators with information that will help them effectively collaborate with parents.

Simple things you can do to help your child learn at home:

• Tell your kid often that he or she has your full support. Instill in your child a sense of confidence in his or her abilities from an early age.
• Read aloud to your kid, sing to them, and have conversations as much as possible.
• Involve the extended family – aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, godparents, babysitters, neighbours, and friends – in your child’s academic success. Your child should not be allowed to watch as much television as you would like them to. This applies whether your kid is in your care, a babysitter’s, or home alone. To develop their language skills, kids need to be exposed to adult conversation.
• Take an active interest in your child’s academic progress to instill in them a value for education. Then, figure out how to best support your kid’s academic growth.
• Check your child’s homework each night to ensure completion. Put your child’s knowledge to the test by having him or her explain what they’re studying. Check to see that homework is finished. In addition to assigning homework each night, make sure your child has a dedicated study space and time.

Tips For Parents To Support Learning At Home

Tip 1: You Are Not the Teacher

Keep in mind that you are not meant to stand in for actual schooling.

Remember that you are your child’s parent, not his or her teacher. It’s impossible to find two couples more different from one another than these.

You have the ability to strike a balance between being accommodating and steadfast. By establishing some rules and routines and explaining them to your family in detail, you can reframe the tasks that your family is capable of completing together at home.

You might want to create a “trigger” to let your kids know when it’s “school time,” which can help them adjust their behaviour accordingly.

Normally, this trigger occurs automatically as part of the routine of transporting children to and from school; however, if you are at home, you will need to consciously bring it into existence. As a result, they might, for instance, keep wearing their school uniform and help make a “school lunch.”

When it comes to helping your child succeed in school, one of the best things you can do is to designate a “specific learning space” for them.

Your child should be able to tell right away that they will be doing some sort of guided learning here, so make sure the space is calm and relaxing.

If you do this, you’re priming your brain for learning.

Consistency and readiness go a long way towards providing comfort and security for your child.

You can improve the quality of your time spent teaching your child at home and increase the likelihood that your child will want to continue doing so by doing things like:

• Make a weekly schedule and list of objectives.
• Keep a clock out to keep tabs on how long things are taking and make sure breaks are scheduled.
• Include a range of activities, from those that require focused attention to those that are more free-form and encourage innovation.
• Get some water and healthy snacks out there.

Physical activities, such as aerobics or a nature walk to learn more about your neighbourhood, are a great way to break up the monotony of studying for tests and writing papers. It’s beneficial to couple mental and physical development in the classroom.

The terms “traditional homeschooling,” in which parents make the decision to educate their children at home, and “distance education” are not interchangeable.

Parents who choose to educate their children at home are also responsible for ensuring that their children have access to age-appropriate materials. But that’s not what’s expected of you.

Your child will continue to work through the same curriculum at home as they would in school, with their teacher sending them age-appropriate activities to complete.

You won’t have to go out of your way to find the reading material; it’ll all be supplied to you in some form or another, electronic or print….

Some instructors will use virtual classroom tools like Google Classroom or SeeSaw to assign and grade work, while others will use tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to teach remotely.

Every one of these has an easy setup and configuration process.

The disparity in opportunities between the “haves” and the “have nots” may widen as a result, which is obviously undesirable. There needs to be more help for kids who don’t have access to the internet and other forms of technology at home.

Tip 2: Developing Autonomous Learners

The majority of classroom learning is done individually. Students are encouraged to develop a sense of independence in their learning by engaging in inquiry-based instruction, which involves them in creating their own questions and conducting their own research to find answers.

This is something you can do in the comfort of your own home.

The best way to teach your child is to give them a stimulus, let them explore the idea for a while, and then help them deconstruct and investigate it.

You can help your child learn more about a subject by asking them questions about it and then pointing them in the right direction so they can do their own research and find the answers.

As a parent, you may want to set aside some time so your kid can “present” the findings of their enquiry. Many different options exist for students to show they have learned the material:

• Talk: Draft and give a talk to the relatives.
• In the realm of technology, make a digital presentation like a slideshow, website, or software.
• Create a formal report in which you detail all of your enquiries and the information you found in response to them.
• Article: Publish a written piece about their study in a regional newspaper.
• Story: Have them write about one of the people they studied; Multimedia: Have them make an audio recording or short film outlining their findings;
• Build a model to demonstrate their understanding using the skills they’ve acquired.
• Poster: Make a poster to show off what they’ve learned.

To further stimulate and entertain your child, try some of the following:

• Reading a recipe, weighing and timing your ingredients
• Establish a vegetable garden by learning the optimal times to plant various crops and creating a routine for tending to the garden with watering and weeding.
• Make a robot, a dollhouse, a marble run, collages, and more out of used materials.
• Throw a teddy bear tea party.
• Create a “store” with item costs – Engage in conversation with your kid as you “shop” with the money he or she has made.
• Make greeting cards or start a blog to share with family and friends.

Tip 3: Questioning, Wait Time And Pacing

Engage your child’s curiosity by posing thoughtful questions and model doing the same.

What’s an interesting question?

There is a lot of questioning going on in classrooms, both from students and from teachers.

Simple questions like, “What days of the week are there?” are fine. How complicated is it that during the day the sky is blue?

Data is gathered through the use of straightforward questions. In order to dig deeper, it helps to ask more complicated questions.

What is the correct amount of wait time after posing a question?

Quick answer: between three and five seconds.

The impact of this one-word change is enormous.

Waiting the appropriate amount of time before asking your child (or anyone else!) a question can have a dramatic effect on the quality of their response.

To get a response to a question, we usually have to wait until we think the other person has given the question some thought. You will see improvement in the quality of their answers as you model patience for your child.

The pressure on your child to respond instantly will be reduced if you give them more time to consider what they are going to say.

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Employing wait time

Introduce the question by emphasising its importance and letting your kid know they’re expected to provide an answer.

Second, inform them that you will be instituting a waiting period of three to five seconds so that they can all think about responding, and that during this time, you will not be accepting any responses.

If your child doesn’t know the answer to a question, try asking a different one.

The importance of this cannot be overstated. Asking the same question again, only louder, won’t help. You should try coming at the problem from a different angle, or even just rephrasing the question.

It’s still in your kid’s best interest to give you more answers, even if he or she gives you the one you were hoping for. The fact that you took the time to write a lengthy response shows, however, that you value depth of thought over speed.

A second pause after your child has answered will give them more time to think of something to add to their initial response.

Many of us have lost our cool and answered a child’s question when we were supposed to be asking it. The problem is that if you answer your own questions, your kid will learn that you always have a ready response for him or her.

It’s simple to fall into this pattern, but once you’ve started, it’s very difficult to break. Once your kid is confident in your ability to answer their questions, they will be content to sit back and let you do all the work.

Pace lessons

Don’t expect your child to concentrate for long periods of time, and vary the types of lessons they’re taking. Please refer to the chart below for an explanation of the average attention span of different age groups of children. According to most estimates, a child’s attention span should be around two to three minutes for every year of their age. That’s how long the average kid can stay focused on something.

According to studies, the typical human attention span is as follows:

Age Attention Span

• 2 years old four to six minutes
• 4 years old eight to 12 minutes
• 6 years old 12 to 18 minutes
• 8 years old 16 to 24 minutes
• 10 years old 20 to 30 minutes
• 12 years old 24 to 36 minutes
• 14 years old 28 to 42 minutes
• 16 years old 32 to 48 minutes

An estimate from developmental psychologists suggests that a two-year-attention old’s span can last up to 10 minutes, or five minutes for every year of their age. This is a broad generalisation, though.

Tip 4: Read, Read, Read: you can’t do too much of this!

This reading programme is a staple in the curriculum of many different educational institutions. It’s a great way to get kids back into reading and get them interested in school again.

You must also be reading a book for this to function properly. avoidance of electronic devices and cellular phone communication.

If you’re new to this, it’s best to start with a shorter time period and work your way up to at least 15 minutes.

Within these 15 minutes, there will be complete silence. In light of this fact, it is not uncommon for people to refer to a programme of this type as Silent Reading.

Keep in mind that as long as your child is reading something that is not on a screen, such as a comic book, a book of fiction or nonfiction, a book on sports statistics, a book on recipes, etc., you should feel comfortable. Anything that gets people interested in reading books and newspapers should be considered.

Tip 5: Scaffold Learning

We live in uncertain times, but you and your child will have more opportunities for meaningful one-on-one time, so there is cause for optimism.

You can tell the difference between the child’s natural abilities and the things they can accomplish with your guidance and encouragement when you work with them one-on-one.

The goal is not to “do the work” for the learner, but to “scaffold the learning” by providing the learner with clues, prompts, learning tools, and questions that will allow them to “get there” largely on their own. Simply put, this is what is meant by “scaffolding the learning.”

In order to give your child enlightening experiences, you need to have a firm grasp on the basics.

Some kids will get it after one or two tries, while others will need a lot of different hints before they can grasp the concepts at the same level of depth.

Educators should help kids perfect their nearly-mastered skills by giving them more practise with them.

Let’s pretend for a second that you’re looking at a circle that’s about the size of a grapefruit. In a nutshell, this is everything your kid can learn and do.

Next, think of a second circle, this one perhaps in the form of a rockmelon. By this point, you should be able to visualise a doughnut.

To help your child build a strong foundation upon which to build a more expansive understanding of the world, you can use the space between the inner and outer circles as a learning scaffold.

Parental Involvement is Key to Student Success

Extensive studies have shown that students’ chances of academic success increase when their parents are involved in their education.

This article looks at how both mothers and fathers can make a difference in their children’s education.

Furthermore, it examines what the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) says about parental involvement and gives parents advice on how they can be involved in their children’s education.

Countless studies and reports have looked into the important role that parents should play in their children’s academic development.

The research results almost unanimously indicate the following hypotheses. It has been shown that students whose parents take an active role in their education perform better in school.

The more involved parents are in their children’s schooling, the more of an impact they will have on their children’s success in school.

Parental Involvement Leads To Better Classroom Behavior. 

Improvements in academic performance and positive effects on students’ attitudes and behaviours are the results of parental involvement in their children’s education.

Parents’ involvement and support in their children’s education has been shown to have a positive effect on their children’s attitudes towards school, classroom behaviour, self-esteem, absenteeism, and motivation.

Parents Should Stay Involved In Their Children’s Education From Preschool Through High School

Parental involvement in their children’s education is important at every age.

Unfortunately, parents’ involvement tends to peak with young children and wane as they get older. It’s likely that this trend will keep going.

However, studies show that the involvement of parents of elementary, middle, and high school students is just as crucial.

A parent’s support, for example, may be a factor in whether or not a child decides to continue their education after high school.

Similarly, if a child’s parents take an active interest in their academic progress and discuss the advantages of going to college with their child, the child is more likely to seriously consider attending college.

Training Helps Parents Of Disadvantaged Children Get Involved

There is a statistically significant gap between the levels of parental involvement in their children’s schools between parents from disadvantaged backgrounds (such as minorities or low-income households) and those from more advantaged backgrounds.

But let’s say we give them the tools and support they need to succeed.

Assuming this to be true, parents of minority or low-income children have the same potential as parents of children from more affluent backgrounds to influence their children’s academic success.

Also, as will be shown in the next section, one of the goals of NCLB is to encourage parental participation in the academic lives of children who are not performing to standard.

Reading Together At Home Greatly Improves Reading Skills

In particular, reading is a skill that benefits greatly from parental modelling and shared family reading time. Reading aloud to a child is also known to help that child become a better reader, according to studies.

Schools Can Encourage Parental Involvement In Many Ways

The best chance of fostering substantial parental involvement exists when schools actively seek out ways to get parents involved and provide training programmes to teach parents how to become involved in their children’s education.

Parental Involvement Lifts Teacher Morale

Schools and teachers benefit from parental involvement because involved parents gain a better understanding of the difficulties teachers face in the classroom. Participation of parents is beneficial for both students and teachers.

Teacher morale has been lifted.

Communicating between the home and school helps teachers get to know their students better, which in turn improves their ability to teach them.

It is also helpful for teachers and parents to talk out their differences and clear up any misunderstandings or distrust.

Looking for a primary school program? Dr. Study offers an online and in-person program that helps kids learn English, Maths, Science and Humanities. 

Parental Involvement Benefits Children And Parents

Parents who are involved in their children’s education gain a sense of fulfilment from seeing their efforts bear fruit in the form of improved academic performance and brighter futures for their kids.

They are more at ease with their child’s schooling because they know more about the programmes and lessons their kid will be learning.

By putting in more time with their kids, they find they have better communication with them. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that parental involvement in their child’s educational process increases the likelihood that the parent will make an effort to further his or her own education.

Time Constraints Are The Greatest Barrier To Parental Involvement

Most parents blame a lack of time as the reason they are unable to be actively involved in their children’s schools. However, school personnel often give a lack of time as an excuse for not proactively seeking parents’ support.

Therefore, it is necessary to either find ways to work around the schedules of both teachers and parents in order to free up some of their time in order to effectively address the issue of increased parent involvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

How can you, as a parent, ensure your child does well academically? What can you say to motivate them to keep trying even when things seem hopeless? This article analyses the most recent and relevant research on how to increase parental involvement in their children’s education and offers four recommendations for schools and teachers based on that analysis. Make the most of your time at home with the kids, reassure them that they can accomplish anything, and reassure them that you have their backs every step of the way. These recommendations can help you better engage with parents using data.

Parents should spend as much time as possible reading aloud, singing, and talking to their kids. They should take an interest in their child’s education and encourage their extended family to do the same. They need to designate a “specific learning space” and check their child’s homework each night to make sure it’s finished. Last but not least, parents should establish a “trigger” that signals to their children when “school time” actually begins, so that they can begin behaving appropriately. Your child will feel much more at ease and confident in your care if you are consistent and prepared.

Make a weekly schedule and list of objectives, incorporate a variety of activities, have water and healthy snacks available, and break up the monotony of studying for tests and writing papers to maximise the quality of your time spent teaching at home. Parents are responsible for making sure their children have access to age-appropriate materials whether they choose a traditional homeschooling approach or a distance learning one. Students are further pushed towards academic autonomy through the use of inquiry-based instruction, which requires them to formulate their own questions and conduct their own research. Providing a child with a stimulus, allowing them time to explore the idea on their own, and then deconstructing and investigating it with them is the most effective method of teaching. If you’re a parent, you might find it useful to schedule a special time for your child to “present” the results of their investigation.

Try reading a recipe, measuring and timing ingredients, planting a vegetable garden, creating a robot, a dollhouse, a marble run, collages, and more out of used materials, hosting a teddy bear tea party, making greeting cards or starting a blog, and asking insightful questions and modelling the same behaviour as ways to keep your child engaged and entertained. There is a direct correlation between the quality of a child’s response and the amount of time you wait before asking a question. Set an example of patience by introducing the question with an emphasis on its significance and a reminder that they are expected to respond. If your child is stumped, try posing a different question or approaching the issue from a different direction. Giving your child a second pause after they’ve answered will give them more time to think of something to add to their first response. You should teach your child to value in-depth thought over rapid speech by giving them pace lessons.

The term “scaffolding the learning” refers to a method of teaching in which the student is given a series of hints, cues, learning tools, and questions to help them “get there” on their own. Academic achievement increases with parental involvement, according to studies. Evidence suggests that students’ school attitudes, classroom behaviours, and sense of self-worth all benefit from parental involvement and support in their education. From kindergarten through high school, parents should continue to be involved in their children’s education. Research shows that parent involvement is equally important for students in elementary, middle, and high school.

Content Summary

• It is well established that parents who are actively involved in their children’s education have children who are more successful in school.
• In addition to assigning homework each night, make sure your child has a dedicated study space and time.
• Remember that you are your child’s parent, not his or her teacher.
• You can improve the quality of your time spent teaching your child at home and increase the likelihood that your child will want to continue doing so by doing things like: Making a weekly schedule and list of objectives.
• It’s beneficial to couple mental and physical development in the classroom.
• Waiting the appropriate amount of time before asking your child (or anyone else!)
• If your child doesn’t know the answer to a question, try asking a different one.
• This article looks at how both mothers and fathers can make a difference in their children’s education.
• Parental involvement in their children’s education is important at every age.
• However, studies show that the involvement of parents of elementary, middle, and high school students is just as crucial.
• There is a statistically significant gap between the levels of parental involvement in their children’s schools between parents from disadvantaged backgrounds (such as minorities or low-income households) and those from more advantaged backgrounds.
• But let’s say we give them the tools and support they need to succeed.
• Encourage parental participation in the academic lives of children who are not performing to standard.
• The best chance of fostering substantial parental involvement exists when schools actively seek out ways to get parents involved and provide training programmes to teach parents how to become involved in their children’s education.
• Most parents blame a lack of time as the reason they are unable to be actively involved in their children’s schools.

Author

Dr. Olga Abeysekera

Dr Olga Abeysekera, founder of Dr Study Tutoring and the Dr Progress Group Pty Ltd, is passionate about transforming education through innovative and personalised tutoring. With a PhD in Management from Monash University and a background in both academic research and private tutoring, she has a deep commitment to helping students excel.
Her holistic approach at Dr Study Tutoring emphasises not only academic success but also the development of lifelong skills, ensuring that each student receives the best education and support possible. Dr Olga’s dedication to continuous improvement drives her mission to inspire a love for learning that lasts a lifetime.

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