Under Simply Smart’s parent helps we have topics such as, Charting Your Academic Course and Successful Home Schooling. In the midst of these school and education related  topics, there are also Parenting blogs. Perhaps you are a bit confused. What does parenting have to do with successful homeschooling? The answer is lots! 

Let’s look at a real scenario that happened in our home: your child is supposed to be working on a math assignment. She gets mad and throws her math book across the room. What do you do? Learning math has suddenly come to a screeching halt. However, that is the exact moment when a whole lot of other teaching needs to go on. If you lose your composure, the likelihood of things turning around is slim. That’s where good parenting comes in. 

Having good curriculum resources and teaching skills for subjects like math, reading, and science is useful. Still, they don’t hold a candle to being able to teach the truly important things that serve as a foundation for everything a child will do in their life. Regardless of whether you happen to be the one teaching your child math or not, you, the parent, are primarily responsible for teaching what really counts: self-regulation (managing emotions and impulses), proper behavior, manners, self-discipline, communication skills, good work habits, time management, motivation, social skills, emotional stability, critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability, resilience, faith,  spiritual sensitivity, flexibility, creativity, respect for authority, collaboration skills, cooperation, empathy, curiosity, as well as a number of other core values that should be instilled in children from a young age. 

That can be a daunting list. The importance of teaching academics pales in comparison to the importance of good parenting. Experience has taught me that when things run amok in the home, more often than not, it is the parent who needs to up their game, not the child.  

The strong, connected relationship you have with your child has an incredible bearing on your success as a “teacher.” The quality of communication and the level of trust and respect between parent and child is critical in creating a healthy learning environment. Being able to model positive behavior patterns and correct inappropriate behavior will enable you to change the atmosphere in your home when problems arise, which they will. And so…. parenting blogs, here we come!