The parent community looks at the school as a factory, they send raw material, and expect a great product rolled out! Reality of the matter is that the school is only an ecosystem and all the stakeholders have to work together to build a learning and caring environment. What parents / guardians do at home matters much more than what the children do at school. Teachers are expected to work hard and the children get away with all the mischief, and the parents play the blame game.
If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children the greatest of all blessings. ~ Brian Tracy
- What parents / guardians do at home matters much more than what the children do at school.
With three decades of parenting to back me and over twenty five years of work volunteering with the schools and leading young people, I emphatically state "Life is Parenting". We as mammals are born with empathy and nurture our young ones with kindness and care. The cycle of birth and rebirth as some would say, tempts me to say parenting is infinity... children for parents never grow up!
Life is the school, from which we will never graduate, and learning is the fun that makes life worth it. Parents must find time and be intrinsically involved and grow up with the children. Many of us in our quest for economic comfort, will say that today as both the mother and father have to be bread earners, they do their bit to give a better world to their children. I am sure the biggest investment you need to make is time, as this alone will fulfil all the emotional needs of a child and will even make up for the material shortfall. The first and the last teacher will be the parent alone.
Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that's not always a biological parent or family member. It may be a friend or neighbour. Often times it is a teacher. ~ Joe Manchin
Parenting (or child rearing) is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the aspects of raising a child aside from the biological relationship. The most common partaker in parenting is the biological parent(s) of the child in question, although others may be an older sibling, a grandparent, a legal guardian, aunt, uncle or other family member or a family friend. Governments and society take a role as well. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent blood relations. Others may be adopted, raised in foster care, or placed in an orphanage. Parenting skills vary, and a parent with good parenting skills may be referred to as a good parent.Views on the characteristics that make one a good parent vary from culture to culture. ~ Wikipedia
First time author Pat Kozyra and a seasoned professional with Tips and Tidbits, suggests that we must have routines and consistency for our children, for ourselves, and even for our pets. Routines and consistency are so important for helping a child cope up with getting ready for school, doing the assigned homework, and learning to be organised. If this means putting up a check-off list for your children and yourself, then by all means make the priority list. An example is putting your child in-charge of getting the school bag ready the night before so that he or she knows what is in it and what is not. Teachers get so tired of hearing, "My mother or my helper did't put in there, I guess" or "I forgot it at home" or "I don't know where it is." You must appreciate that your child should know what is where for school, and surely morning is not the time to struggle.
Ms Kozyra goes on to say that homework should always be done at a proper desk and lighting and proper writing instruments, away from the TV and the many electronic gadgets that have today invaded our lives. The noise level in the house should be monitored, and the homework should not be left until the child is too tired or ready for bed. That is just too late!
You want your child to read, you want the child to concentrate and you may even want the child to speak in English language, but do you? When I was young, my mother would sit down and be with us when we did our homework, she was our Wikipedia and Google, she was our anchor and our conscience keeper. With her knitting and crochet in one hand, and eyes set on us, we were given the luxury of the best mentorship. Lo and behold, find me a mother without a gadget (phone, iPad, etc.) when in company of the young ones, it will be a challenge. Not many Dads will read aloud to their children today, and we do not have the luxury of grandma tales too. Yet, we call ourselves good parents and find the schools let us down when we see our child lagging behind in the class. My father with the qualification of a 10th class pass was my best handwriting teacher, and my mother a post graduate in Sanskrit taught be how to speak correct, have the best etiquettes and above all be a team player. Most of our parents did not have the qualifications we have, but their knowledge and the fire in them to learn and be the best parents, made them our best teachers.
Do find time to simply be with your children, at peace and comfort give them your most precious gift of time. Am sure if your invest in your child you will be rewarded with peace and well being and will enjoy the never ending flow of parenting.
One final thought to share "A family that prays together, stays together".
~ Sandeep Dutt, author and social entrepreneur
The views expressed above are of Sandeep Dutt alone, and you are welcome to comment and share your thoughts with him by email to sandeep@ebdmail.com please. For more about the author please visit www.SandeepDutt.com
References:
Quotes from Wikipedia and others
Images from www.canstockphoto.com
Tips And Tidbits For Parents And Teachers - Pat Kozyra
Quotes from my mother and my growing up!