Helpful Tips on How to Get Involved in Your Child’s Education at Home

The National Council of La Raza is dedicated to promoting nurturing and meaningful relationships between parents and children. Recently, we have been looking at how our Parent Engagement programs achieve that goal. To highlight our commitment to a quality education, we provide below a helpful list of things you can do at home to get involved in your child’s education. These tips are taken from our Padres Comprometidos curriculum, which you can read more about here. Incorporating these ideas at home will help put you and your kids on the right path toward educational success:

Taking the time to regularly acknowledge the positive traits in your children promotes positive self-esteem.

• Award accolades to your children when appropriate.
• Reward your children for their accomplishments.
• Regularly verbally express your satisfaction to your children.

Keep track of your children’s progress at school.

• Ask them to share what they are learning in school.
• Ensure that they understand everything they are introduced to.
• Show interest in what your children learning by regularly asking questions geared around the topics.

Read with your children at home.

• Establish a routine family reading hour.
• If possible, the entire family should participate.

See that your children complete their homework.

• Furnish an independent area that is quiet and free of distractions where your children feel comfortable studying at home.
• Know when to intervene when your children are having difficulty completing their work.

Regularly have candid conversations about social ills, self-discovery, human development, and interaction with others.

• Explain the process of rapid physical changes that occur in adolescence.
• Students have a strong need to belong and feel accepted. Explain the differences between being accepted and succumbing to peer pressure, which can have negative consequences.
• When adolescents experience a multitude of changes, they can be vulnerable; parents should be mindful and sensitive to their feelings, especially during difficult conversations.

Introduce your children to goal setting and steps to success.

• Set clear expectations and ask children to help define the consequences for their actions. It is important to be consistent with rules and consequences.
• Have your children set up a calendar to keep track of chores.
• Share the family budget with your children; explain the monitoring process and the importance of keeping a budget.
• Discuss options for a brighter future, including obtaining a good education, attending college, increasing chances for success.