How to Educate Your Child to Succeed: Tips From Teachers

Children can only spend so many of their waking hours in school, and that leaves much of their learning at home. Even some traditional schools have become wise to the role parents play in teaching children. Parents are children’s first and most influential teachers. In recognition of the fact that parental involvement is key to a child’s learning, a teacher’s guide on how to educate your child to succeed was published. 

Here are some of our favourites from the list that are sure to help your kids too!

How to educate your child to succeed

1. Read together

“Read to them, read with them, and have them read to you.”

—Katie Westfield, a ninth- and 10th-grade history teacher 

In looking at how to educate your child to succeed, encouraging good reading habits was the most popular response among the teachers surveyed.

2. Have dinner together

“I think family meals are a time to catch up on each other’s lives. When kids and parents can converse about what happened during the day, the good and the bad, I think parents are able to get the best insight into their children’s lives. Constant communication is one of the many keys to success throughout life.”

—A second-grade teacher

3. Be a good role model

“If you want them to read, be a reader first. If you want them to improve their writing skills, begin writing letters to your children. You want them to do well in math? Stop telling them you hate Math!”

—A fifth-grade teacher

4. Let kids experience life

“It’s not all about the books.”

—Anonymous

5. Ask them to put the screens down

“I wish more parents read to their kids and encouraged them to read. I also think parents should encourage their children to go on walks, to stare at the clouds, and to play outside. Teenagers today spend almost 11+ hours in front of screens. It scares me. It’s like they don’t know how to be alone, and I worry about what it will do to independent thinking.”

—An English teacher at a private school

6. Ensure diligence

“Make sure they did their homework!”

—A seventh-grade social studies teacher 

7. Be involved

“Inevitably, the parents who come to conferences are the parents of the kids who are doing well. Some parents don’t even realize their kid is failing. They don’t respond to voicemails, they don’t check their email, they don’t come to conferences. Don’t just ask your kid how he’s doing in school, because he’ll say he’s fine and has no homework. Ask the teacher.”

—Rebecca Rosen, a ninth-grade English teacher 

8. Work with teachers, not against them

“Make sure your child knows that you and the teacher are on the same page in terms of discipline, academic success, and social and emotional health. The child shouldn’t think that the parents will save them from the teacher when they don’t make wise choices.”

—Amanda Brooks, an educational director at a preschool

9. Encourage more diverse interaction

“Give your child exposure to different children so they learn how to play and collaborate appropriately with others. Less technology and more interaction.”

—Christina Canavan, a former fourth-grade special education teacher

10. Trust their teacher and the education system

“Ask questions about what is confusing in the work instead of saying, ‘That’s the new way and I can’t help you.’ Stay positive and be involved in the school.”

—A second-grade teacher 

11. Value education

“I wish parents modeled valuing education at home and took the onus as our partners in their child’s educational success. Many parents already do this, and their child is typically outperforming his or her peers as a result.”

—Jenni Mayberry, a seventh-grade special education teacher 

12. Have fun

“Spend time playing with them.” This is crucial in learning about how to educate your child to succeed! Don’t forget to have fun while at it, parents. 

—A secondary school instructor who teaches English abroad

13. Bring your child to school on time and pick them up on time

“Things come up and being late once or twice is fine, but when you’re late to school four out of five days a week, or don’t pick your child up on time, your child and their peers notice. It’s awkward for them.”

—A fourth-grade teacher 

14. Let them fail

“… and lock up their video games and screens.”

—Anonymous

15. Feed and nourish their health

“Less sugar and fat, more exercise.”

—A primary-school teacher 

16. See what your kids are learning about in class

“Now with everything these days being electronic, it is so easy to see what your kids are doing in school. If you have questions on the class or assignments, email us! Come to the teachers directly before getting upset and going to administration. Administration may seem like they are in charge, but really, the teachers direct their classes and know what is going on in them. Teachers are your best source for answers about the class and your student.”

—Rachel Marquez, a secondary school English teacher 

17. Take a step back

“Let them ask me when they forget or lose something. Or help them problem solve before emailing me.”

—A fifth-grade teacher

Armed with this teacher’s guide to success — and your love for your child — you are ready to propel your kid towards success in school and in life.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: Teaching toddlers to read: A comprehensive guide for parents