Research Paper on Parent-Child Relationships: Shaping Future Lives

Introduction

The role of parents in child development keeps changing over time. In today's world, parents are busier than ever trying to secure the Childs future or improve their living standards. From an early age, most children are alienated from their parents, and they spend most of their time in the hands of caregivers or at school. Issues of concern include the normative changes in the child-parent relation, which gives way to later relationships in life. Parent-child relationships are central to the psychological development of a child where else suboptimal parenting is essential in the identification of psychological disorders (Stafford, Kuh, Gale, Mishra, & Richards, 2015). With an in-depth analysis of modern-day scenarios of parent involvement in a child's education, an exploration of the advantages that parent involvement has is done. Leading to a revelation of the ideal strategies for parent involvement and cases of what has been successful in child upbringing.

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Advantages of Parent Involvement

Essential in Bringing About Academic Achievement

Studies done have revealed that the performance of children at school is better when their parents are involved in their schoolwork. Stafford et al., (2015) explains that children whose parents are involved are highly thought off by their teachers. They also have a simpler learning life at school compared to those whose parents are not actively involved. Besides learning, the effects of parent involvement trickled down further to school-based activities. A parent who is highly active in school-based activities helps enhance a child's grade (Sapungan & Sapungan, 2014). Activities such as encouraging mastery orientation towards learning and enhancement of self-discipline are essential in ensuring success at school.

Better Attendance

Children who have their parents involved in school attend school more as compared to those whose parents are unconcerned. Stafford et al. (2015) explain that this may be based on the fact that parents show the value of school and thus are crucial in encouraging consistent attendance. Moreover, children receiving help from their parents are more academically confidence, and therefore they are motivated to attend school. Proper involvement helps in fostering the attitude towards school, leading to an increase in attendance rates (Sapungan & Sapungan, 2014).

Improved Personal Behavior

Behaviour related issues start appearing during teenage when a child's cognitive development makes them be more risk inclined (Sapungan & Sapungan, 2014). Proper involvement is essential as it can cut off the issues before they are out of control. Parent involvement has been shown to bring about low rates of drug abuse or delinquent acts compared to children who fail to receive parental guidance. Children are also better behaved and less aggressive when their parent is involved. Since the parents are instrumental in shaping children's social lives, the children can easily interact with others as compared to children who fail to get the proper guidance. They have superior social skills and thus, better academic outcomes (Ibabe, 2016).

Attainment of Ideal Mental Health

Children who have their parents involved tend to attain better mental health compared to the rest. The parent involvement fosters self-esteem and thus, advanced skills for emotional regulation. Compared to children who have little or no parental guidance, they can control the negativity that they face and going far beyond it.

Creation of Positive Relations

Creation of personal relationships takes time to build. However, children who have parents actively involved in their daily social and school life find it easy to create and retain positive relations. From proper guidance, they can identify toxicity and shun from it. With proper ties, it is possible to understand how the day was, note personal issues that may be affecting a child and get solutions to them. Through the enhanced positive relations, the teacher may identify the family dynamics, cultural backgrounds and family issues that a child may be facing (Sapungan & Sapungan, 2014).

Strategies for Parent Involvement

Creation of Positive Study Environments

Since most parents are tied up at work, striking a balance between work and the child will be an essential move in the creation of a positive environment. A parent is instrumental in coming up with ideas on how best to develop their child. The parent can thus focus on a child based on their personality, interest and level (Sapungan & Sapungan, 2014). Another strategy is setting up of polices. They include homework and study routine policies. The parent can create a studying time and area that helps to increase a child's attention and reduce distractions. Stafford et al., (2015) state that since the parents have a better understanding of their child. They suggested enrichment activities that enables the parents to build a strong relationship with their children. For instance, fun activities are based on the relationship that they have.

Enhancing Early and Regular Communication

Teachers carry the blame for the failure of children. It is, however, essential to note that they are mere partners in a child's education. Therefore, bridging the gap and the maintenance of an open-door policy is important to help the parents understand what the teacher aims to achieve (Stafford et al., 2015). Teacher parent communication is essential as a way of keeping track of progress. As a teacher, talking with parents will easily bring them onboard on the management of their children. An enhanced rapport of equality brings a comfortable atmosphere, placing the student at the centre of it all. Ibabe (2016) notes that when the parents understand that they are the priority, they will have a more positive approach towards providing solutions to better their children's lives.

Encourage Engagement in School Activities

Grusec, Danyliuk, Kil and O'Neill, (2017) show that volunteering and decision making go a long way in showing the level of parent involvements in a child school life. Simple activities like lemonade stand raising funds for school supplies will help enhance the volunteering image of the parent. When a parent comes into school to talk about careers and skills, it becomes possible to create an aura of active participation (Grusec et al., 2017). School decisions are superb when parents are actively involved. A parent-teachers group brings about open communication and a proper understanding between the parents and staff. Issues like class activities or field trips will bring onboard even inactive parents.

On a broader aspect, the school can provide opportunities for the parent to connect with it, either in skills or volunteer ship activities. The creation of a bond between the school where a child learns and the parent will ensure more parental involvement (Ibabe, 2016). Sharing of class goals and expectation will challenge the parents to do the same, thus enabling the parent to connect with the teacher in an enhanced way. When parental involvement proves too hard, addressing the challenges that hinder the engagement like conflicts or harsh atmosphere will make more parents involved (Grusec et al., 2017).

What Has Been Successful?

Children's Performance

The grades and discipline of parents who have been active in their children's education process tend to be better. Traditionally, children from wealthy families and those whose parents have higher education levels tend to be better. However, Fomichenko (2017) notes that children who have had their parents actively involved in their studies end up joining college and other institutions of higher learning. On the other hand, those with parents who are less concerned find it hard going to college, and if they do, they are less qualified in their specialties.

Childs' Discipline

Active parents involvement keeps the child on toes; they are aware that any mistake done will not go unnoticed (Ibabe, 2016). The parent uses different styles to discipline their children. However, active parental engagement will help broaden the discipline parent's perspective on discipline, therefore using different approaches to shape their child.

Conclusion

Parent's involvement in a child's education and child discipline goes a long way towards shaping the future of a child. Parents are aware that their actions play an important role as compared to what teacher do, they, therefore, ought to work harder to ensure that discipline is instilled and the best is brought forth from a child. A detailed analysis has shown that parents have a major role in determining the future of their child. The instances when parents are involved in their children well being and education advancement. The impact of parental involvement and the best strategies on how a parent can get involved bring different facets of what can be done to enhance a child's discipline and learning. From what has been successful, it is evident that the traditional model of successful education or financial background is not much essential in a child's success. However, an active parent's engagement brings a turnaround in a child's education.

References

Fomichenko, A. (2017). Teacher-Student Relationships as a Factor of Successful Learning Activity in Schoolchildren. Psychological Science and Education, 22(5), 39-47. doi: 10.17759/pse.2017220505

Grusec, J. E., Danyliuk, T., Kil, H., & O'Neill, D. (2017). Perspectives on parent discipline and child outcomes. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41(4), 465-471. doi: 10.1177/0165025416681538

Ibabe, I. (2016). Academic Failure and Child-to-Parent Violence: Family Protective Factors. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01538

Sapungan, G. M., & Sapungan, R. M. (2014). Parental involvement in child's education: Importance, barriers and benefits. Asian Journal of Management Sciences & Education, 3(2), 23-43. Doi: 10.1080/20004508.2017.1343606

Stafford, M., Kuh, D. L., Gale, C. R., Mishra, G., & Richards, M. (2015). Parent-child relationships and offspring's positive mental wellbeing from adolescence to an early older age. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(3), 326-337. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2015.1081971