A Parent's Guide for Helping Children to Succeed in School

1. Remember that parents can't teach for teachers
and teachers can't parent for parents. Remember that teachers can't learn for kids and kids can't teach for their teachers.

2. Show the same amount of love for your children regardless of their success in school.

3. Expect your children to do their share of the chores at home.

4. Spend some time each day talking with excitement about your work and your day. They will want to imitate you and will soon begin to talk about school and their day.

5. Take turns reading to each other each day.

6. Have your children teach you something they
have learned at school. Do this once per week.

7. Encourage your children to do things that "charge their batteries." Encourage them to try many different activities as a way of discovering interests and talents. Remind them that they will build their careers around their talents, not around their weaknesses.

8. Provide a time and place for homework. Expect
that they will study. Allow them to either study
by writing the assignments or think hard about
them for a reasonable amount of time.
a. If they decide to study by thinking instead of
writing or reading, have them think of a plan for explaining it to the teacher.
b. Support the teacher to handle this.
1. Don't fight with children over the homework.
2. Don't fight with the teachers over the grade or consequence.
3. Tell your children that you will love them regardless of their grades or the number of years it takes to complete each grade.

9. Don't pay your children for good grades and don't punish for bad grades. Be excited about the good grades and sad for the children about
their bad grades.

10. Have your children bring home papers.
a. Look at the right answers instead of the wrong ones.
b. Don't correct the wrong answers-leave this for the teacher.
c. Have your children explain the reasons for the answers being right. If they don't know, give them three choices:
1. You cheated?
2. You tried hard?
3. You are getting smarter in that subject?

11. Expect this program to take about one year before you see good results. Remember that children who have a hard time at school need to get away from it for a while each day. More homework and problems at home about school won't help.
a. Don't complain to teachers that they should give this child more homework.
b. Use this program instead and you will see amazing results in one year.
c. Fight with your children and their teacher about homework and the problem will still be there in years to come

Credits: Jim Fay