Are Parents Good Teachers

This is an issue that can be quite debated. Teachers specialize in the field of teaching; hence they are expected to have the skills making them apt for dealing with kids. Parents on the other hand, may or may not have the patience to deal with a child when teaching.

Are parents good teachers? Well, the answer to this also to some extent depends on the kind of parenting given at home. If the parent child relationship is already on a severed tangent, there is no chance that the parent can try to act as a teacher.

A number of things like the parent’s method of teaching and their behavior while doing so matter. Patience with the child is one thing often parents are unable to yield. Dealing with the kid for everything including studies can make the parent irritated and run out of patience. Where do you think tuitions came from? Extra classes are now a trend to keep the child performing well in class.

We are not saying that parents can’t make good teachers. The trick lies in knowing your child and also keeping your cool while teaching. Often how the parent teaches the child also depends with the child’s age. A parent will have to be repetitive with a younger child as it takes time for them to grasp a concept. A child of an older age will ask questions when in doubt which makes it easier for the parents.

Another aspect of the debate whether ‘are parents good teachers’ is that a lot parents find it hard to believe that their kid might be slow on the uptake or does not know something. Understand that explaining things and demonstrations or illustrations can better your child’s understanding. In class, a teacher has to deal with a number of kids. Hence, giving every child personal attention becomes difficult. What do you know; the kid might be shy about asking something.

This is one place where you as a parent can really ease things out for your child. An added effort to help the child with lessons or exams and regular class work and home work will keep him or her performance in class balanced. You will not only be helping them, but also enforce that staying ahead is class needs constant effort.

A negative point to the topic of ‘are parents good teachers’ is that, when you have to explain a number of times you may end up using a physical retort on the child. Like a quick tap every now and then or push to the head can put off a child from learning from you. Though you may insist on teaching, it’s a psychological concept that the child will not absorb your teaching. Hence, if you feel that the child needs a little reprimand, give a verbal one but do not use any physical abuse to drive home a point.

Becoming a parent-teacher is not a tough task provided you develop a few skills. It is psychologically proven that parents who take an initiative to teach their children contribute in a big way to their success and performance. Are parents good teachers? Yes. Parents who make good teachers are ideally well versed with the content for learning and also have a patient way with children.

Mentoring is a big role of teaching your own child, a perfect opportunity for you to couple text book learning with your thoughts and what’s right and what’s wrong. It can even be a rapport building session and with recession prevalent the last few years, parents have taken to teaching themselves for their child’s education. Another good point about being a teacher to your child is that, you not only teach but play a number of other roles like communicator, friend, role model, and counselor.

If you don’t think you can teach your child yourself, look for extra help classes given by a good teacher. Often a child needs a gentle push and tuitions to do that by re-teaching what is taught in class. If you as parent yourself debating over are parents good teachers, understand that there is no absolute answer but were you to adopt a few teaching traits, you too can be a good teacher for your child.

Picture- jonny2love