Do You Need To Get Involved With Your Child's School?

Your child spends so much of their early life at school and their teachers shape them almost as much as you do, so you should be involved right? Sadly, a lot of parents don’t have the time to get as involved as they would like in their kid’s schooling. Or so they say. So many people are guilty of using that excuse, but being a part of their school life doesn’t have to involve giving up hours of your time every week. If parents evening is the only time that you ever visit your child’s school, there’s more you could be doing.

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Volunteer For Events

Not all parents can be expected to have hours to spare every single week. Everybody leads a busy life and that’s fine. But if you can’t be there regularly, you should volunteer for school events. School trips are a great opportunity to share a new experience with your children, as well as helping out the school and getting to know their teachers and some of the other parents. Schools also hold fundraisers and other charity events all year round. Doing a bit of baking for a sale or helping to collect donations is a brilliant way to get to know the school community and it sets a great example to your children. If they see you helping charitable causes, they will learn the importance of being good to others.

Ask Your Kids What They Want

Parents sometimes shy away from the school community because they don’t want to embarrass their kids. That’s a legitimate fear when they get a bit older but when they’re young, they might welcome your interest in their school. All kids are different and some will want to be left alone while others will want to share with you. The best thing to do is to ask them whether they want you to be more or less involved, and how they want you to do it. That way, you won’t be stepping on any toes.

Make Friends With Other Parents

You’re not going to be best friends with all of the parents at the school, but getting to know them a bit can be very beneficial. Whenever you experience a new problem with your kids, it’s incredibly daunting. The chances are, the other parents are all having exactly the same problem. If you can talk to them about it and swap tips with each other, your parenting life will be much easier.

PTA Meetings

If you really want to be a part of your child’s school, then join the Parent Teachers Association. It’s an organisation specifically created to maintain relationships between teachers, parents, and students. You don’t have to be an active member to benefit and you don’t have to attend meetings every week. But whenever you can spare the time, going to one of their meetings is the easiest way to find out what’s going on with your kid’s school. If you have a problem with something that is happening at the school, a PTA meeting is the best place to raise it.