Children whose parents are more involved with their schoolwork, according to the University of Illinois extension. Benefits of being involved in the education of your child include higher grades and test scores, long-term academic achievement and positive attitudes and behavior. If you want your child to become a caring successful adult, show an interest in his formal education.
Step 1
Encourage your child to read. Your child's ability to read is an important determining factor in her success in school. The U.S. Department of Education recommends encouraging reading from a young age, providing plenty of age-appropriate reading materials, role modeling reading and intervening early if your child has a reading problem. To encourage reading from a young age read aloud to your child from the time she is a baby. You will need to adjust the amount of time you spend reading to the attention span of your child. As your child gets older, her attention span will get longer and the amount of time spent reading can increase. Encourage your child to ask questions about the story, make predictions about what will happen next and help you read simple words and phrases from books she enjoys.
Step 2
Play with numbers. Encourage math skills in fun ways using everyday materials. Count, sort and measure household objects or snacks to encourage math skills, advises the Scholastic website. Some creative ideas for encouraging counting and sorting include having your child set the table, asking him to help you create a pattern for a quilt or asking him to measure how many footsteps it takes to get from one point to another.
Step 3
Talk with your child and teach her how to listen. According to the U.S. Department of Education, children who have not been taught to listen often have trouble following directions and paying attention in class. Turn off the radio when in the car and use this time to initiate conversation between you and your child. Take advantage of other times in your day-to-day activities to talk with your child as well. These times may include while you are grocery shopping, fixing dinner, watching television together or when reading to your child. To encourage good communication and listening skills model behaviors, such as making eye contact and giving verbal feedback by repeating and summarizing what your child has told you. Also, make it clear that even if she finds what an adult is saying boring, she still needs to listen.
Step 4
Support your child's teacher and school. Show your child that you support his learning and his learning environment by not voicing your dissatisfaction with the school or teacher in front of your child. The Scholastic website recommends dealing with rules you believe to be unfair or wrong with the teacher or school administrators, rather than making it a big issue in front of your child.
Step 5
Help your child with homework. Encourage responsibility by showing your child that homework is important and that it must be completed and turned in on time. To help your child with homework set up a dedicated area in your home for homework to be done, set a regular time for homework, remove distractions such as the television and phone calls, and do not demand perfection, advises the U.S. Department of Education.
