Parents: Want to help your child succeed in school? Do this............

It is absolutely critical that parents offer their children structure. Structure is preached from the moment a newborn is brought home (Eat, Sleep, Poop every 3 hours). A lack of attention to structure can cause great problems for a newborn. Although parent responsibility changes as children grow, the structure must remain. What is dangerously seductive, is the fact that the consequences of no structure aren't life threatening as children transition into their teenage years. However, the damaging results of no structure place the academic future of children in peril. As I travel the country and speak to parents, I constantly remind them that they don't have to have an answer for every problem. With the advancements that have been made in technology and the emphasis on parent contact, parents only need to offer structure.

I read a study that measured the effectiveness of parental involvement as it relates to Math Homework. You can find the full article by clicking here. The study followed 79 students from low income families as well as their parents and teachers. We already know that the literature is clear that parental involvement increases ALL indicators of student performance and there is no substitution. What this study found is that there is a significant association between structure and student performance in math. Many of the parents in the study knew that their role was to offer structure as opposed to know exactly how to do the math homework. Most importantly, they believed that they were helping.

Lastly, I believe that parents should teach their children how to create structure and order in their life. There is a right and wrong way to conduct oneself as a student. It is critically important that this principle is adhered to as students transition to High School and beyond. For this purpose, I wrote, Make it Plain: Keys to Being a Successful High School Student. It is written to students and in about 120 pages, it breaks down the steps to academic success as a high school student. Without structure, success is left to chance. We can do better for our children.