Parents roles towards their children during the mid-term break: 20 March-01 April 2024

1. Talk to them About Why Education is Important

Talking to your child is actually not the first thing you should do if you are trying to communicate the
importance of education.

If you first model the desired behavior and then expose them to resources that send a message about the
importance of education, you will have cultivated their sense of education’s importance so that your
conversation with them will be easier for you and more meaningful to them.

When you think the time is right, tell them about your own experiences.

Make connections to your past and current educational pursuits and explain how your dedication and hard work
have helped you achieve your goals and find fulfillment.

Authenticity is key here. Be as honest as is appropriate about the struggles along the way.

Kids know when a story is real or when it is watered down for them. Maybe you didn’t pursue a degree right
out of high school and so it was much harder to do so later in life with adult responsibilities.

Or maybe you are highly educated and can speak to the sacrifices you made in your earlier years in order to get
to where you are now.

The point is to express how important education is to you while modeling that behavior and connecting with
your child throughout the process.

This is an opportunity to build a stronger connection with them so they will continue to want to talk to you
about other topics in the future.

Be prepared to share a message that you are willing to repeat. These stories will become the ones that you
repeat over the years to guide them in the right direction.

In turn, they will become the stories that your kids remember.

When there is another opportunity, have a conversation about the activities and resources you have been
exposing them to.

Let’s say you decided to send them to a robotics class. Periodically, check-in with them to see how they are
doing. Have short conversations with them about how they like it and how it’s going. Engage with them.

Ask clarifying questions. Later, sit down when the time is right and see if they can explain to you what they
have been learning about. As they talk, just listen. Don’t guide them or probe them. Let them express
themselves.

Are they building more complicated structures? Do they have a better understanding of which blocks to use and
when?

Have they become more patient and more focused? Use their success as a mirror to show them the progress
they have made. That can go much further than words that don’t have experiences behind them as support.

As they are speaking you may be able to tell how much they are learning. If they are taking well to the activity
this could be a milestone for both of you.

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Use their own words to show them that they are learning on their own. Help them develop a belief in
themselves.

Show them that they are achieving and growing. Success will generate chances for more success.

2. Importance of Education for Children

Education is important to children because education helps children learn how to think critically, it enhances
their creativity and imagination, it will expose them to new ideas, and it helps the child find the path to a career
that they wish to pursue as an adult.

Make sure you know these reasons and know why you believe they are important.

Know that this is a long term goal and probably not something your child will fully understand even after a few
discussions with them.

Consequently, instead of pushing for understanding right away, it will be better to expose them to an
environment that values learning so they experience its importance for themselves.

3. Model the Desired Behavior

As the parent, you are the child’s greatest teacher and role model. Kids know when their parents really value
something because they see them doing it frequently.

So, when you want to explain to a child why education is important the first thing you should do is make
sure they see you modeling the behavior.

This will make a conversation much easier to have later because they will see you putting in the time and effort
to improve yourself.

There are many ways you can show them how much you care about your own intellectual growth.

Perhaps you spend one hour every night at home with devices off while everyone is reading in the living room
together.

4. Expose them to Activities and Resources that Communicate the Importance of Education

This strategy may take some time to get right, so be prepared to be patient. Think about what your child’s
interests are and what they are good at.

Keep these ideas in mind as you have a conversation with them about some new activities they may want to try.

This conversation may go on for a few sessions as they think it over. That’s OK.

Try having them give you a list of 3-5 things that they want to learn about. After they do, ask yourself which of
these choices align with their skills and guide them towards those interests.

This is key to being an aware parent because you don’t want to guide your child into an activity that is
completely out of their comfort zone or not in line with their skill set.

Are they creative and love to write about topics that interest them? Help them find out.

Whatever the activity, help them discuss the necessary skills they need to complete these activities so they
understand the requirements of the commitment they are making.
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Your guidance will be important in helping them make the right choice. If you are unsure, then frame your
conversation as an experiment to figure out what they enjoy doing.

Try one thing at a time, but keep an ongoing list of what they like, what they don’t, and where they show
potential to be good. Solicit their opinion and consider your judgment as you guide them to a decision.

5. Develop an Atmosphere of Learning

Use your resources and creativity to create an environment in your home where learning is valued and required.
Give them expectations for learning that they must meet.

Establish routines so they can meet your expectations, and set up a schedule around those routines.

When they get home every day what do they do? Do they have activities, that could be reduced or eliminated
like TV or devices?

Filling that time with the pursuit of their interests and practicing the skills associated with those interests will
help them make progress toward their goals.

6. Give Them Opportunities to Show What They Learned

Kids love to be recognized by their parents. As they settle into their new routines be sure to check in on them
and “catch them doing the right thing”.

Let them know how proud of them you are that they are working on learning something new.

I consistently praise my kids when they make a kind gesture or help out and the same for making progress in an
activity or their school work.

Give them the opportunity to explain to you what they are doing, how they are doing it, the mistakes they have
made along the way, and what they have learned from those mistakes.

A good education is all about learning from your experiences and getting better as you go.

By giving your child the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and then explaining how they have, you are
showing them that it’s OK to experiment and you support their learning.

Over time the child will process their learning and develop a deeper understanding of their new interest.

“The true worth of an experimenter consists in his pursuing not only what he seeks in his experiment, but
also what he did not seek.”

– Claude Bernard

7. Limit Device Use

Devices can take away from a child’s ability to learn and to practice delayed gratification. Some apps promote a
short attention span which reduces a child’s ability to be successful academically and socially.

Consider that both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates strictly regulated the use of devices in their homes with their kids.

Often in life, it is beneficial to follow those who know the most about a topic, and few knew more than these
guys.
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Instead of tech, they emphasized reading books. They had home libraries with hundreds of books in them that
their kids could ready anytime they wanted to.

Emphasizing a low tech environment in your home could translate into a high imagination environment. Some
helpful limits on devices include:

 Restrict cell phone until at least age 14

 Limit or eliminate device use during the week (including TV)
 Restrict use in bedrooms
 Set a time well before bed (at least 1 hour before) to turn off devices
 Restrict devices at the table or during discussions
8. Moving Forward
Helping your child understand the importance of education is more challenging than it sounds.

As adults, it seems like common sense, but kids may not see it that way. That’s OK. That’s what they have their
parents for.

We have to help them live and breathe the reason so it becomes intuitive.

Develop a plan so that the events in their life are communicating the importance of education to them.

Embed education deep within your family culture. Work with them to pursue their interests so their creative
energies are used on something constructive that helps them build their capacity to learn and their appreciation
for learning.

Keep them around other kids whose parents are dedicated to promoting education as much as you are.

Most importantly, connect with them and let them know you care about who they will become.

9. How do you identify your child’s interests?

Observe them when they are being themselves and ask yourself these questions:

 What do they spend the most time doing?

 What are they willing to work hard at?
 What brings out their creativity?
 What do they choose to do most of the time?
 What keeps them focused?
 What do you hear them talking about?
Use the answers to these questions to help identify their interests so you can guide them to constructive hobbies
that will cultivate their skillset and ignite their passion.

Then, use the steps in the above article to create a plan that will help them learn and grow as they pursue their
new interest.

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