What can you do to help your child succeed at school?

Parents play a crucial role in the education of their children, particularly in the early years of development. A close, open relationship between home and school will have a positive impact on the development of your child. Teachers have noticed that the greater the involvement of parents in their child’s education, the better the child’s attitude and achievement at school. This level of involvement is increasingly difficult for working parents, but it is still possible. Here are some tips for remaining involved in your child’s education and helping them improve their Literacy and Numeracy:
• Read to your child every day and let them read to you every day once they can do this.
• Talk to your child about their day so that you know what kind of work they are doing.
• Look for opportunities to read and play with numbers in your community. For example, read signs, brochures, news headlines. Even young children can recognise branding and certain words that they see often. Add up numbers on number plates to improve your child’s mental maths.
• Show an interest in your child’s homework. Make sure you understand exactly what your child needs to do. Offer support, but never do your child’s work for them.
• Get some activity books for your child to use at home. But remember that when asking your child to do extra work (such as Smart-Kids), make sure it is fun and enjoyable and never expect them to work for longer than 20 minutes at a time.
• Reward your child for good work. All children thrive on positive reinforcement and recognition for their efforts. In doing this you are building your child’s self-esteem and confidence. A positive reward system is far more effective than using negative punishment to discourage unwanted behaviour. You can reward your child for:
* Neat work
* Achieving a high standard of work
* Effort and determination
* Time management
* Successfully completing set pages in the Smart-Kids workbooks
* Sticking to your morning or evening routines

There are many effective forms of rewarding children. Stickers and stars can be an effective way of rewarding young children. Download some of our Smart-Kids reward charts from www.smart-kids.co.za or make your own.