01 Mar 5 Common Mistakes Parents Make With Their Child’s Education
In today’s world, education is a tricky subject. With so many educational options available for children, it isn’t always easy for a parent to make educational decisions. There are many different types of education your child needs. Learning begins at home, and what you do at home has a major impact on how your child performs in the classroom. It also impacts what they learn from the in-between-teaching moments and life lessons, which affects the eventual outcome of your child’s chosen academic path.
Most parents have the best of intentions; however, sometimes it is easy to get blinded by your love and desire for your child’s success. Here are five common mistakes parents make with their child’s education.
Making Everything Easy and Pain-Free
No one wants their child to suffer, and this is not to say that you should harm them in any way. However, what is common in today’s modern family is the fact that many parents want to make life extremely easy for their child so that they don’t have to experience any discomfort. Some parents come from less-than-ideal backgrounds, which is why it is easy to fall into the trap of protecting your children from having to endure any type of difficulties.
Since life can have disappointments and setbacks, making life too easy for your child may cause them to never know what it takes to make it through challenging moments until they find themselves in the real world without the safety net of parents and teachers.
Again, this doesn’t mean that you should go around inflicting pain on them, rather, allowing your child to fall and learn what it means to get back up after falling will empower them and help them to build a more resilient character. Instead of caving and getting hard on themselves when they get a bad mark in school, give them the opportunity to learn what it takes to turn a bad mark into a good one and how it feels to overcome and learn from their experience.
Creating Jam-Packed Schedules
So many kids have crazier schedules than most adults. Well-intentioned parents want their kids to excel at many different things; however, what is this teaching your child about life? While it is great to build talents and skill, sometimes parents need to let their children breathe and actually live life for a moment.
Have you ever met a busy person? They are often too busy to talk, too busy to be in the moment, and all they can talk about is their busy schedule. It is so hard to pin them down and actually connect with them. Do you want your kids so busy that they miss out on being a kid? Most likely not. However, many parents make the mistake of making their kids busy and competitive while forgetting that their children need to slow down and just be kids.
Sending Them to the Best Schools
There is nothing wrong with wanting the best education or a private school education for your child, but it can be easy to focus on big-name schools and less on what is best for your child. As a parent, it can be tempting to get caught up in what you think is best while rarely taking the time to understand what is best for your child and your family.
Not all private school education is equal, so if this is the route you want to go, then take the time to find the right fit instead of focusing on big, well-known schools. You want your child to excel and have the best educational experience possible, and that may not be at the prestigious school that you wanted for them.
Pressuring Them With High Academic Expectations
This point goes somewhat hand in hand with the previous two sections, only with this point: Parents often make the mistake of putting education so high that their child may feel like that is all their parents care about. While education is important, it is also important that their other skills and experiences are built up and valued as well. Along with this, their need to build relationships and connect with others is so important for their development. Your child may feel suffocated by extremely high academic expectations, overbooked schedules, and pressure to be number one at the number one school. It can get to a point where they can have a hard time knowing who they are underneath all of the stuff that many well-intentioned parents pile on their child.
Going Against Your Child’s Teacher
While not all teachers are perfect, many teachers today are more often than not “the bad guy” when a child is struggling with maintaining high marks, not turning in homework on time, or not behaving well in the classroom. Most parents grew up in a time when the opposite was the case. Your parents most likely didn’t side with you because they knew that this would only further reinforce your bad behavior, and it wouldn’t have taught you a lot about being accountable for your own decisions and their consequences.
This goes back to allowing your child to feel some pain as a result of their choices and leading them to success by helping them to see what they can do turns the situation around and changes their behavior before it becomes a problem. You don’t necessarily have to agree with everything your child’s teacher says; however, going against them and making them the villain will only reinforce a victim mentality in your child.
Whether you choose a private school education or a public one for your child, there are many ways you can help set up your child for success in academics and life. Take the time to ensure that your child has a more well-rounded and balanced life and encourage them in positive ways to be who they are. There isn’t a manual on parenting, so if you’ve already made some of these mistakes, remember that it is never too late to change your approach.