How to Get More Involved as a Parent

Being an involved parent can mean the difference between a child who is successful in life and one who is not. It can mean the difference between good grades and bad ones, self confidence or poor self esteem. Getting involved, however, can be somewhat overwhelming and sometimes difficult to fit into our work schedules. If you’re looking to do more then here are some suggestions on how to get more involved as a parent with your child.

Get involved with school

Getting involved with your child’s classroom and school activities is just one of the ways to be more involved. There are a number of different ways to go about being more involved.

•Volunteer your time in the classroom. Many teachers have a classroom full of children with little help and many subjects to cover. Most, if not all teachers will gladly welcome a helping hand in the classroom to help with reading, writing, or just do some extra work that they couldn’t get to yet. The great thing about volunteering to help in the classroom is that it says to your child that you care enough to take some time to come in and see how they spend their time during the day.

•Attend School programs. There are many opportunities with schools to attend various class or school programs. Schools or classes often have holiday programs or year end programs that parents can participate in by coming to watch or even helping out.

•Communicate with the teacher. Communicating with the teacher can keep you very informed as to what is going on in the classroom and what you can do at home to keep your child excited about learning and keeping them caught up with homework.

Get involved with extra-curricular activities or community programs

Every community offers community activities for young children, adolescents, and young adults to participate in. Look into what your community offers and get your child involved in some after school or seasonal activities. Another way to get involved with them is to also get them involved with extra-curricular activities that the school may offer. Most school’s need the help of parents to get extra-curricular activities off and running so if you have some extra after school time then volunteer to help. If you don’t have the time to help, then at least take the time to see what’s being offered so you can discuss with your child what kinds of things they might want to take.

Be active with your children

As hard as it is to come home from an eight hour work day and spend time with your kids, the more active you can be with them, the more involved you will be in all aspects of their life. While movie night can be fun for the family, so can taking everyone to the swimming pool. Don’t let your kids get too comfortable with sitting around the house watching TV or playing the computer. There are a million things to do as a family if you use your imagination; camping, swimming, biking, hiking, tennis, and the list could go on for days. The best way to be involved with your child’s life is to be active with them; not watching them. Reclaim your family time by doing things together.

Parent involvement takes a lot of planning, time, and hard work. Hopefully these suggestions on how to get more involved as a parent will spark some great ideas.