Effect of Parental Behavior on Children’s Learning Outcomes

Parents are, without a shadow of doubt, the best teachers in the world. Children grow up in close vicinity of their parents. Therefore, their behaviour reflect on the kids in a major way. If you read a book in your free time, your child would tend to do the same. If you watch television, so would he.

Is your behaviour contradictory to what you teach your kid? Your child would definitely catch up more on your daily attitude towards life than your lessons. Would you want your kid to be boisterous? No, right? Then you might want to rethink your behaviour instead of rigorously teaching him to be organized.  So you should keep a tab on your activities to monitor the same for your child.

The Working Parents

Nowadays, both parents are generally employed and have to spend a good eight to nine hours away from home. They usually leave their child at the care of paid help. As I stated earlier, children learn from what they see. Now, a paid help would definitely not attend to this crisis. A family would, even if it is a lot less than what is bargained for. If you are facing a situation like this, then here is what you can do:

• When you come home, do not, immediately, get back to pent up work from office. Give some time to your little one.
• Talk to him, ask him about what he did all day
• Try to understand his problems
• Treat him like a grown-up; every kid loves that
• Try to attend his science fairs, recitals, basketball games and whatever activities he participates in
• Help him with his studies
• Escape into some exotic location with him on weekends
• After-dinner conversation is a must
• Snuggle into the couch with a good book or an inspiring movie
• Take him out for dinner

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The Stay-at-Home Parents

If you are a stay-at-home parent, then you probably are the luckiest person in this world. You get to spend most of your time with your loved little one. Children take up on the tiniest of behavioral aspects of parents and idolize them. Be careful of what you are exposing them to. Are your ways of living right for a kid to follow? Analyze your behavior. Make a record of how you spend your time. You should:

• Encourage your child to try new ventures
• Appreciate them for their endeavors
• Instil the fundamental virtues of life
• Help them develop good habits
• Involve them in your activities, from baking to community service

Always remember, your child would acquire your attitude of living. If you are cruel to animals, he would be too. If you participate in a dispute, so would he. So carve out your steps carefully. You should also remember that your child’s interests may be different than yours. Guide them and let them explore their abilities as much as you can.

Researches and Findings

A study conducted by the researchers of the University of Leicester and the University of Leeds revealed that the efforts parents put in are absolutely crucial to the development of a child. According to the researcher and professor, De Fraja of the University of Leicester, “We found that children work harder whose parents put more effort into their education.” Another research was conducted using data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) on Mathematics and English skills of sixteen year old children. It was found that students having a high parental involvement in their lives scored better marks than those whose parents show no involvement.

It has also been found in a study that debt accrued by parents have a negative impact on a child’s well-being since this elevates economic distress. Even unpaid credit card bills can aggravate the situation tremendously.

 

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The Role of Educational Level

Parental education levels affect a child’s educational aspirations and outcomes. If the parents have a limited education, it would directly affect their children because the ways of teaching will be limited and creativity, shortened. In that case, you could take up certain crash courses or any such pursuits to benefit your child in every way possible.

Growing up is a struggle. With your child, you grow too. The quality of family interactions could make or break a child’s future. If you are ambitious, your child would tend to follow on your footsteps. According to the Eccle’s expectancy value model, if a child’s aspirations for a successful future are delayed, then the actual educational and occupational successes are distinctly affected.

The Role of Socioeconomic Status

Last but not the least, your family’s socioeconomic status (SES) is directly connected to your child’s development. Sometimes the effects could be long term. Low SES generally results in:

• Low IQ
• Reduced communication and social skills
• Reduced self-esteem

Therefore, they diminish aspirations. So, you should try to make your life better to give your child the education that he deserves. Do not forget to re-evaluate every step before taking action because your decisions could change your kid’s life.

As established, it is important for parents to actively take part in children’s learning process since this affects educational outcomes significantly. So, do you practice what you preach?