From birth to 4 years old, parents teach their children to eat, crawl, talk, walk, and use the potty.  They teach not to bite, hit, fuss, pout and many other “don’t do thats’”!

Being effective in teaching these critical life skills, parents must be in-tuned and hands-on.  Observing the needs, behavior and motivation of their children during these early years is critical to your teaching.  Parents are constantly talking to and asking questions of their children even as they are learning to communicate. Because of the close interaction with their children at these young ages, parents are well informed to how their children are doing in developing critical skills and reaching major milestones.

Fast forward to when our children begin to enroll in pre-school and primary school. Parents tend to relinquish the role as a teacher to professional educators in their child’s school.  Teaching is outsourced to professionals and parents gravitate to a more passive role as it relates to educating their children.  Parents await feedback from their child’s teacher to recognize learning gifts and address learning challenges. Naturally, this positions the parent to be reactive rather proactive in their child’s learning process.

I recall always hearing the saying, “a parent never stops being a parent.”  Well, I would add, “a parent never stops being a teacher.” To raise a child to be a life-long learner, the child needs a life-long teacher… parents.

As parents embrace their role as their child’s first teacher and life-long teacher, productive partnerships between parents and professional educators become more constructive.  Committing to being a life-long teacher to your child, you are forging a relationship that reinforces the importance of education and the love of learning.

What do you think about parents embracing the role as a life-long teacher?