Introduction
Primarily, under normal sociological grounds, parents are protectors of their own children. No single parent will even imagine of not supporting his or her children socially or educationally. For years now, parents have realized how significant players they are, in determining the educational standards and progresses of their children.
In some countries like United Kingdom, educational forums and conferences mainly discuss the benefits of creating strong partnership between parents and schools, and parental impact in child education. Undeniably, parents play a major role in determining the educational standards of their own children.
Therefore, parents being the major decision makers, their actions determine whether children receive sound education or otherwise.
Any parent has to view education as a commodity of exchange and hence, do the necessary to ensure children prepare well for preschool education. Thus, under this notion, parents behave just like the normal consumers of goods and services.
It is the responsibility of parents to ensure whether children wear uniforms, attend good schools, do their homework and participate in any activity paramount to their education. (Hughes, Wikeley & Nash, 1994, pp. 2-8).
Even from the periods of under-civilizations, home has been the first educational units where parents assume teaching roles to their children.
Nonetheless, education starts with children learning small things first at home and later, complicated ones at school. At home, parents educate their children on the social norms, societal expectations and living skills so important in determining children’s future education.
Clearly, proper education to children starts when children learn societal rules, conducts and survival tactics, either from their parents or from society members. Interestingly, the only way young children learn is through imitation.
Children imitate what the surrounding elderly people do and always keep parents as role models. For example, children learn simple skills like stances, beliefs, life values and oral communication chiefly, through direct instruction.
Various research carried out by educational experts indicate that, the parental care and discipline from parents affect the general behavior of young children. In addition to this, the socioeconomic background of families determines the type of education young children receives. (Bornstein, 2002, pp. 3-17).
Thus, parental roles determine the educational values of young children. The paper will examine the role of parents in the education of young children.
Parents as Basic Need Providers
At early ages of development, children require some basic needs to make their physical growth smooth. These needs prepare the child psychologically in their future preschool education. For example, children need warmth, food and shelter for survival. It is therefore, the conscientiousness of parents to provide these basic needs to their children.
However, if parents are not in a position to provide these basic needs, the physical development of young children deteriorates. Poor physical development of children can be associated with the inability of children to prepare well in attending preschool education.
Young children need the physical presence of their parents and could require other basic needs to develop their emotional, social and intellectual capabilities. No child will be comfortable in a preschool or primary school while wearing tattered clothes or suffering from diet deficiency diseases.
Secondly, children need protection from their parents. Over the recent years, irresponsible people have abducted young children, abused or killed some. A few children even die when crossing highways while in homes, so many accidents occur daily.
These situations affect the physical fitness of children and some even die. For example, many children injure themselves at home due to safety conditions. Young children find themselves immersed in big water containers, swimming pools while others can fall from balconies.
In many occasions, naked electric wires and appliances, furniture, cabinets and tools injure children on a daily basis. It is therefore the responsibility of parents to ensure that these properties do not cause harm to their young children always eager to experiment.
Largely, young children would want to experience love and affection from their parents. Not all parents express in the same way emotional and love support to their young children.
While other some parents may use direct oral words to chastise, praise, lecture or discussions, other parents may opt to give gifts or treats to show love, scorn bad behavior or punish their young children.
Nevertheless, there are families that do not show love support to their children due to bankruptcy, illness, single parenthood and other family challenges. Under these scenarios, young children feel uncomfortable thus affecting preschool preparations. (Hetherington, Kelly, 2002, pp. 21-57).
It is the duty of parents to train their children on what it takes to achieve highness both in academic and non-academic activities. Young children require esteem, which will motivate them into success and achieving high grades. There are two methods, which parents can use to promote esteem in siblings.
Many parents would compare their children’s performance with those of friends, relatives and families to ignite their potential while other may give gifts to their children after meeting the laid targets. However, some children might find it negative when parents compare them with others.
Therefore, parents should exercise maximum care, as this is one of the ways towards self-actualization. Additionally, parents should ensure their children become responsible people solving their personal problems and make individual pronouncements.
The Role of Parents in Determining the Right Preschool
The choice of a preschool is paramount to children’s successive educational careers. Preschools develop the educational foundations of a child. Since preschool nurseries are dissimilar in terms of the services they offer, it is therefore the conscientiousness of every parent to choose the right school for their children.
In doing so, child interest comes first. For example, parents need to consider the type of school preschool program offered, its location, fees, and the teaching language. Moreover, parents should also consider other factors before reaching a conclusion to take a child into nursery or kindergarten preschools.
The first thing parents should first investigate is whether the school has a registration certificate issued by either the government or municipal councils. This is important especially in knowing the health, safety, and academic standards of a particular kindergarten or nursery preschool.
Additionally, parents have the mandate to check whether building offer good environment for learning. Some schools may have very open swimming pools that threaten the life of children. With all these safety measures met, the parent can go head and register a child in that preschool. (Kerr, Lopez, Olson & Samerof, 2004, pp.369-383).
There are some preschools having cumbersome or lenient entrance prerequisites. Some preschools may still have fixed goals for every child. Parents should be in a position to see whether their children have what it takes to meet those targets. In case the child does not attain these prerequisites, they can look for any other option better for the child.
Another role that parents should play is to ask whether teachers qualify to handle such young children. If that is the case, the teachers should be certificate or diploma holders with prior experience in teaching young children. Some preschools have so many children as compared to the ratio of teachers.
In such schools, teachers are unable to handle every child hence, poor educational foundation of young children. Parents should also ensure whether the school schedule could accommodate them. In case a parent is attending workplace, they should know when to take and pick children from school.
However, some schools do offer transport services thus, parents should consider this as a solutions should they be unable to send or pick their children from school.
The importance of ensuring whether schools meet these conditions is to provide an ample environment for children develop positive attitude to learning environments. (Ablard & Parker, 1997, pp. 651-667).
Learning of Young Children
Assuming that parents have provided all basic needs to their children, the next step is now taking them into preschool to learn. In schools, children should be in a position to address any issue affecting them. This is a surety that indeed, they are ready to learn.
If children can pay attention, and maintain good health, then they are ready to learn. On the other hand, if young children differentiate colors, identify numerical numbers, and recite alphabetical numbers without looking at them, these children are ready for school and they can easily adopt the kindergarten or preschool curriculum. (Kagan, 1992, pp. 45-49).
Maturity is one thing that determines how children can achieve school skills faster. Educational experts argue that, if a child is mature, abilities to work in groups, communicate and solve problems heighten. Sometimes children of this kind may skip some classes because their parents prepared them adequately.
It is now the role of teachers to offer incisive knowledge through learning. Parents and teachers should ensure that, children take a balanced diet to avoid diseases resulting from malnutrition.
This is because; if a child becomes ill, the possibility of attending school and learn is minimal and at long run, others would have gone ahead in terms of curriculum coverage.
Parents should not leave children to watch any program in the television. Instead, there might be some educative programs, which both parents and children can watch. This is also the best time for working parents to enjoy with their children as they learn from them progressively.
Nevertheless, educating young parents is not a prerogative of parents alone. Children learn from the surrounding as well, bearing in mind that, these children will grow up to be societal members.
Teachers also spend most of their time with children and learn a lot from them. What the parents do to their children when they are young is how they will grow to be. Modeling of children starts when they are young and continues even up to maturity age.
In conclusion, parents should provide basic needs to their children as the first preparation to education. Other support is psychological aimed at igniting the cognition of young children.
Moreover, parents should learn ways of imparting esteem, attention and motivation into their children so that, when they enter preschools, they are already mature and ready to learn.
Parents are major players in preparing children for sound education. If they fail in providing parental support, a child’s transition from informal education at home into formal education at school will be in jeopardy.
Reference List
Ablard, K., & Parker, W. (1997).Parent’s achievement goals and perfectionism in their academically talented children. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 26, 651-667.
Bornstein, M. (2002). Handbook of parenting: Practical issues in Parenting. (2nd ed.). Mahwah: Erlbaum Publishers.
Hetherington, E., & Kelly, J. (2002). For better or for worse: Divorce reconsidered. New York: Norton Publishers.
Hughes, M., Wikeley, F. & Nash, T. (1994). Parents and Their Children’s Schools. Blackwell.
Kagan, S. L. (1992). Readiness past, present, and future: Shaping the agenda. Young Children, 48(1), 48-53.
Kerr, D., Lopez, L., Olson, L., & Sameroff, J. (2004). Parental discipline and externalizing behavior problems in early childhood: The roles of moral regulation and child gender. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32, 369-383.