There’s never a dull moment with a preschooler in the house. One moment you’re watching TV, then wham! You’re brought to reality by an out-of-the-blues question about where eggs come from. After racking your brain to determine whether the egg or the chicken came before and you’ve lined up your explanation, your toddler suggests playing unicorns. For your child, you’re their first window into the real world. A walking, breathing repository of love and knowledge, who knows best and all. In that spirit today, we’ll be discussing just how your involvement in your child’s learning can spur your little one to success.
- Builds unwavering self-esteem
It’s human nature to doubt ourselves, and that inner voice rings ever so louder when we’re young. For your toddler starting preschool, self-doubt may creep in as they see their peers achieve more, and you should be there to steady the ship when your child doesn’t feel quite up to the task.
That familiar presence of a parent or guardian is crucial to making your little one feel accepted, loved, and confident. In fact, for your child’s first preschool experience, experts recommend parents teaching at home. This gives your little one the chance to dip his or her toe in the water, so they feel comfortable with structured learning before they move into a formal establishment like an elementary school.
- Reduces absenteeism
In the United States, well over 8,000,000 students miss a month of school annually. Among first graders and kindergarten students, absenteeism stands at 10%. Well, a few days of missing school never hurt anyone right? Wrong. Absenteeism can lead to:
- Children getting held back & repeating classes
- Poor academic performances
- Emotional and social development impediments
- Kids eventually drop out of school when they can’t keep up
The great thing about a parent-child learning program at home is you can actively manage absenteeism and instill a culture of attendance and responsibility early on. When taught well, and emphasized just the right number of times, your child will develop the self-discipline to start school and stick with it. It all boils down to that all-important early childhood foundation.
- Toddlers’ social skills & adaptability improve
Most children that don’t attend any preschool or have never had any early years foundation stage (EYFS) preparation often struggle socially once they get into elementary school. A share of the blame goes to passive parental involvement that often leaves children to learn on the fly, which is the equivalent of learning how to swim by jumping in the deep end.
Active parental involvement during those priceless first few years, on the other hand, can help equip kids with the social upbringing necessary to make this transition seamless. One way that parents can improve their kids’ people skills is through an EQ-centric preschooling learning program with lots of opportunities for social interactions. It also helps to not only teach empathy but also put it into practice. Remember, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
- Parental guidance motivates academic performances
While we’re all about emotional intelligence, that doesn’t mean grades are any less important. Good test scores can help your toddler to:
- Earn valuable scholarships
- Secure a slot at a great university
- Live their dreams as the professionals they’ve always yearned to be
Parent-child learning can sow the seeds for better academic results in school, and a study by the US Department of Education bears testament to this.
The study focused on a group of 71 Title I elementary school students who didn’t do exceptionally well in academics. As teachers brought parents into the loop and the latter got more involved in the learning, the children noted tremendous improvement in their math and reading skills.
- Teacher morale goes up
As you take on more roles and even practice a few preschool activities at home like copy dancing, scavenger hunts, freehand painting, and many others, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for what teachers go through in their quest to impart knowledge to young minds.
With this greater understanding and acknowledgment of a teacher’s challenge from the parent’s side, teacher morale goes up. In turn, teachers and parents tend to communicate better and can coordinate learning even better. It’s a win-win for everyone involved, most importantly, your little one.
- It’s easier to spot talents & passions
When you’re more involved in your child’s learning, it becomes easy to take note of important skills they’ve picked up along the way that could be beneficial in the future. Anything they’re good at like sports, perhaps they seriously do have the voice of an angel, etc.; you’ll be able to identify these early on and nurture these talents or hobbies into something more.
Your child might just be the next Elon Musk, Tiger Woods, or Oprah Winfrey. Chipping into their learning with parent-child preschool programs might just be the missing piece of the puzzle.
- Parental involvement encourages risk-taking
Many a time, great opportunities lie right behind huge risks. Without taking risks, success will be hard to come by. Parents getting more involved in their child’s learning is key to helping little ones face and overcome their fears when the urge to tuck tail and run is strong. You can teach your kid to dust herself up in the event of failure so she can have another go. After all, nothing good in life comes without persistence.
Positive risk-taking is an important skill that will serve them well into the future, helping them to make new friends and try out new experiences. Hone your child’s risk-taking abilities through a parental-child preschool program at home, and via simple activities such as hide and seek.
Take a more active role in your child’s learning with Vaekke
Your child has much to gain when you take up an active parental role in their learning, as we’ve uncovered today. If you’d like to assume more responsibility, Vaekke offers an excellent, ISO-certified, gadget-free, and EQ-centric home based preschool learning program at home. From playdough & strategic nursery rhymes to math games, balloon walking, and more, it’s packed with a rich array of excellent parent child learning activities that are fun for the both of you. More importantly, it ensures all-around IQ and EQ development, enabling your child to thrive within and without the classroom. Schedule your Vaekke demo today.