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Top 5 Tips for a Successful School Year

published at CuriousParents.com - September 2005

1.Send a Welcome Letter to your new teacher expressing how you may be able to show your support to her and the class this coming year. Parents have acknowledged this experience to be rewarding and appreciated by teachers. Teachers found it humorous to learn they were already a celebrity in their student's home!

2.Have everyone in the family share his or her highs and lows after a school day. Make this a safe experience for your child keeping lines of communication open. Be sure to take mental notes of your "parenting homework" depending on what your child shares. For example: If Larry tells you his high for the day was the cafeteria food fight, remind yourself to take this up at another time! If you decide to begin your lecture directly after this type of response, you will not only create parent deafness, you will also be sending a message to your child that sharing his highs and lows could get him into trouble! Seek first to understand the child's choice of behavior in order at avoid shutting down communication lines.

3. Spend some time on a new way of looking at mistakes! Teach your children that they are wonderful opportunities to learn and do things differently next time. As a parent remind yourself that a mistake is a growth and an opportunity to redesign another choice. Always look for the good. Success comes from building on children's natural abilities and strengths. Children simply feel better when they do better.

4. Hand over age-appropriate responsibility! Responsibility is given not necessarily taught. With every privilege comes a piece of responsibility. Children earn privileges and show you if they are capable of handling the responsibility through their behavior and choices. Overly cautious parents remember "what you protect you make weak!" Keep in mind that by the time your child is a senior in high school you have an opportunity to be well on your way to working yourself out of your parenting job! Age appropriate responsibility can begin at age 2!

5. Begin having weekly family meetings. Family meetings can be a very successful method of enhancing family cooperation, closeness and communication. Families that commit to family meetings are creating teamwork, encouraging children to ask for what they want, while modeling negotiation, leadership and listening skills. It allows families to connect in this busy lifestyle we have created for our families and ourselves. It helps the family to run smoothly while all members learn to support each other. Your children will hold value to this unique experience from their childhood and will most likely implement this concept into their adult lives.

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