Fifteen Simple Things Parents Can Do To Help Children Learn

1. Say something complimentary and encouraging to each child every day. |
2. Create a warm, friendly home atmosphere where smiles come easily.  Laugh with your child every day. Help your child feel that he/she is fun to be around.
3. Insure that your child feels they are important and regarded as a worthy member of your family.
4. When your child fails in a situation - as we all do - help the child understand and recall the many ways he/she has been successful, and that failure will turn into success by trying again.
5. Treat each child as an individual; do not expect the same performance from every child.
6. Help your child understand that no matter what he/she does, you do not disapprove of him/her as a person. Disappointment should be directed at a behavior.
7. Be a model in those areas in which you wish to support growth and learning.
8. Conduct daily positive conversations with your child about school - ask about school - invite your child to teach you something that was learned in school that day. This confirms learning.
9. Determine your child's needs for attention and recognition and meet them in ways that are appropriate for that child; spend individual, personal time with each child every day addressing those needs.
10. Understand each child's specific and unique talents and encourage their development.
11. Set and state realistic expectations for your child. This should be done at a neutral time - to often children understand expectations only after they have just failed to meet them.
12. Talk to your child about what is right or wrong at times other than when he/she has done something wrong. This helps to educate the child's conscience as well as the mind.
13. Speak personally, maturely, correctly and often with each child so that language will develop effectively.
14. Develop and maintain the curiosity level of each child. This can best be done by encouraging questions and by responding fully to each child's Questions - particularly their "why?" questions.
15. Instill, in each child, the important and positive beliefs and values of the home. Discuss with each child what your family believes and values and why.

Doing these things regularly and consistently - many of them on a daily basis - will send to school a child that feels confident and worthy and ready to address each day's agenda at school.

JSuccess at home translates into success at schoolJ