Parents, whether working or stay-at-home, are always busy with many tasks, both in the office like sending reports, attending client meetings and travel; and at home, cooking meals, doing the laundry, picking up groceries, washing the car and cleaning the house. We acknowledge the effort and sacrifices that parents make, but sometimes these loads of daily routines eat up so much of our time, which tends to hinder us from paying attention to help or even just check how our kids are doing in school and what challenges they may be having. Leaving them all alone managing their homework and keeping up with lessons may impact their academic performance and affect them psychologically.   

Preschool years

People say you should start things right to end things right. The period from three to six years old is quite intense because this is the time when cognitive, emotional, physical and social realms develop, and the parent’s role is to help build the child’s self-esteem. The child may feel overwhelmed as he encounter new things in a new environment — learning the alphabet, singing songs, learning about poems and colors in school — so parents should be there, physically, to help them.

  • Hold your child’s hand as he learns to connect lines through the alphabet on a workbook.
  • Check if your child chooses the color yellow for the sun and blue for the skies.
  • Recite a poem or sing songs with your child at home to make him feel prepared to perform in school the next day.

Primary and Middle Schools

This is the time when kids would play a lot, both at home and school. This is also the time when they could get a higher chance of getting hooked on online games and social media, or experience peer pressure. So before your kids totally deviate from school duties and functions, take preventive actions to balance play and learning.

  • Start small talks with your child by asking how things are going in school, like who’s the best or funny teacher, who’s running in the student government or who’s the most talkative classmate.   
  • Check if there are any lesson he finds hard to understand and ask, but do not impose, if he needs or would opt to take tutorial help. Making him gauge his learning capabilities will help build intellectual independence in him.
  • Compromise. They need to finish their assignments or projects first before they should be allowed to play, go out or use social media.

College

When your child enters college, expect transitions like leaving home and taking off campus housing options, increased financial expenditures and college course switching. Parents may now find it hard to see their child regularly, and speak with him personally, but may utilize the power of social media in order to have steady communication and to guide their child.

Parents must set aside ample time and attention to check on their children’s school activities and concerns, and this should be done regularly from the first day they attended preschool up to the last days of their college years.