Importance of Parental Involvement in a Student’s Life

Parental involvement is crucial for students from the very early stages of their learning process. It is critical to a child’s academic success, emotional well-being, and holistic development. Students get more motivation from their parents than anyone else, and therefore, it is essential that parents actively associate and participate in their child’s life. It fosters mental, emotional, social, and moral growth in students. There are many ways parents can show their involvement in their child’s academic life and let them know that they can seek their parents in case of any doubts or challenges. Let us learn more about how parental involvement boosts academic success for students.

What do you mean by parental involvement?

Education is the fundamental right of every child, and parents play an integral role in opening the gates of education to their children. It is said that parents are the first teachers of every child from the primary learning stage, which is later left to the responsibility of schools and their teachers. However, admitting students to boarding schools does not signify the end of parental involvement in a student’s life. Parental involvement refers to parents’ proactive participation and engagement in their children’s education, growth, and overall well-being. Parents must take an interest in their child’s academics. 

In recent years, residential schools in India have realised the importance of parental involvement in a student’s life. They try to build more activities to allow parents to participate in their student’s academic life. This way, parental involvement extends beyond the home environment and includes activities and efforts that parents put into supporting their children’s educational and extracurricular experiences at school. It is one of the most crucial factors in students’ exam success and holistic development.

A few examples of parental involvement in schools are attending and participating in school events, offering a sound and healthy study environment at home, attending parent-teacher meetings, and encouraging students to participate in extracurricular events.

What is the role of parents in students’ lives?

Parents play a vital role in transforming their children into independent individuals. Children are attached to their parents and seek validation and support from them. Even if you are a working parent, you must spend adequate time with your children for their proper holistic development. The role of parents in a student’s life cannot be undermined. Let us learn more about it.

1. Providing emotional support– It is the responsibility of parents to spend time with their children to know if they are going through any problems at school or in life and provide emotional support to them. Students may feel low and aimless sometimes, and offering reassurance, encouragement, and motivation fosters their emotional well-being and confidence. Providing comfort to students during difficult times such as exams helps boost their morale.

2. Offering academic support– Although schools have teachers who help students grow and solve their queries, self-studies at home also lead to doubts. Students may come across challenges in doing their homework or doing projects. Parents can play an active role in monitoring their children’s homework, improving their study habits, and disciplining them to follow their timetable regularly.

3. Cultural development– A great deal of cultural education is imparted by parents to their children. For the family ancestry to survive, parents must involve their children in family traditions by telling them stories, celebrating festivals, and educating them about the importance of familial bonds. It helps students build a refined self-identity.

4. Ethical development– Ethics in education is integral to the school curriculum, where students learn righteous and moral codes of conduct. Students practise these at all places. A student’s character development begins at home; therefore, parents must teach socially acceptable values and prevent their children from going down any wrong path.

5. Act as a role model– It is very often that parents are the role models for their children, and every child learns to imitate and become like the parent when they grow up. Parents must strive to serve as positive role models for their children where they demonstrate qualities of empathy, respect, responsibility, and a strong work ethic. Teach your children how to tackle challenges, make ethical decisions, and constructively handle stress by narrating or demonstrating past incidents in present situations.

How important is parental involvement in a student’s life?

Students nurtured and supported by their parents in their academic and personal lives tend to give better exam results. Let us learn how parental involvement in a student’s life increases educational growth.

1. Foster’s academic achievement– Parental support in homework, projects, presentations and other educational activities is a guiding light for students and enables them to perform better. It keeps away motivation and stress as students feel more confident and energetic when they see their parents actively taking an interest in their academic lives.

2. Creates interest in learning– Students are bound to feel tired of their studies, unmotivated over time, and even feel like skipping their classes. Parental support helps students become career-oriented and refresh their minds to study with more focus and dedication. It is the responsibility of parents to encourage their children to attend their schools regularly and try to learn something new each day.

3. Adapting to a different learning environment– In the case of changing boarding schools for various reasons, students are bound to feel anxious and strange to teachers’ curriculum and teaching methods. Students’ transition from primary to middle school and then to high school is also burdening for many students. Parents are responsible for motivating their students and nurturing self-confidence so that students adapt to the changing environment seamlessly.

4. Increases motivation– When students find their parents take an active and consistent interest in their career dreams, academics and extracurricular endeavours, they get motivated to succeed. It boosts their confidence and will to achieve their goals and rise high.

5. Improves behaviour– Parents are students’ primary teachers and promote ethical behaviour, values and soft skills in students. Schools also instruct students about moral behaviour, which they practise among their peers and at home. Parents must keep track of their child’s behaviour and modify it using the right methods. Do not scold your child for immoral behaviour; instead, reinforce the benefits of moral behaviour and ensure that they adapt to it.

How can parents support students at home?

Parents can nurture their children and improve their academic performance and holistic development. These are a few tips for parental involvement that can yield excellent results for your child.

1. Provide all educational material and resources to facilitate your child’s learning process.

2. Create a positive and comfortable learning environment away from distractions that may hamper your child while studying.

3. Please help your child set a realistic timetable and encourage them to understand the importance of time management for students. Ensure that your ward adheres to the routine.

4. Have revision sessions with your child where you can ask them questions or take tests to assess their learning.

5. Assist your child in their homework and projects. Motivate them to be more creative and tackle the challenges they face while learning.

6. Promote healthy lifestyle and living to prevent health issues. Do yoga with your child and teach them about the importance of yoga. It helps foster mindfulness and relax the mind, body, and soul.

7. Try to teach a positive attitude in your child towards learning. Allow them to experiment with new things and utilise various technologies used for learning.

8. Avoid pressuring your child and burdening them with your expectations. It promotes stress and anxiety in students, leading to poor academic performance and impacting their holistic growth.

9. Support the participation of students in extracurricular and sports activities. If possible, parents must actively participate to nurture their bonds with their children.

10. Communicate with the teachers and attend parent-teacher meetings to know more about your child’s performance. It also helps parents stay updated about their child’s challenges in school and helps them resolve them.

These are a few ways parental involvement can nurture students’ personal, professional, and academic growth and motivate them to excel.

SKV is a girls’ boarding school in India where students from class VI and above are given access to progressive education based on the CBSE curriculum. Our teachers and staff are well-experienced in helping your child with their learning process and transforming them into independent and learned individuals.