Get involved in your children's school: doing so has benefits for their social development

Some time ago we shared in a humorous way the types of parents before going back to school: the dramatic ones, the informants, those who don't know anything and public relations, among others. One of them, and never missing in each course, are the parents involved, who love to be involved in all of their children's school activities.

According to a recent study, some of us could take the example of such parents, since get involved in certain activities of our children's school, it brings great benefits for them. We tell you why.

Published in the magazine School Psychology, researchers from the University of Missouri analyzed the influence of parental involvement in their children's school activities, finding that this is beneficial for everyone, but especially for younger children.

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After conducting a survey of more than 3,170 students and 200 teachers, the study found that families participate more actively in schools When children attend primary school and gradually reduce their presence as children grow older and enter secondary school.

This part of the study is really nothing revealing, because It is normal for fathers and mothers to gradually move away, both because our children no longer need us as much as before, so that they begin to form their own path.

However, they found that maybe we should consider continuing to get involved when they start their secondary education, because according to the study, both primary and secondary school children, have lower concentration and behavior problems if their parents participated actively during the school year.

"In addition to being less likely to have emotional or behavioral problems in class, we found that students with parents involved ended the year with better social skills and focused more easily on their homework. This means that when parents get involved in school, the benefits in children increase over time."says Tyler Smith, one of the researchers.

As we mentioned at the beginning, the researchers explain that the presence of parents in schools is reduced when they enter secondary school, especially for their desire to respect the independence of children that is increasing. However, according to these investigations, we might consider starting to get more involved in our children's school activities.

Of course, it's not about being on them all the time or doing their homework, but about accompany them in a non-invasive way and at the same time allow us to keep abreast of what is happening. Let them know that we are there when they need it, but respecting the space they need to continue developing and beginning to exercise their independence.

For example, some ways to stay present in your school environment without being invasive nor interrupt this natural process of independence and growth of children, can be the following:

  • Maintaining frequent communication with their teachers to work together.
  • Do your best to attend most of the events that the school performs.
  • Offer to participate as volunteers in the activities organized by the school.
  • Participate in associations or parent groups.
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The most important of all this, and what the study points out, is that our children feel and know that we are on the lookout and close when they need us and so, they can perform and develop better in school.