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Estelle Erasmus
Estelle Erasmus
Education

7 Easy Ways to Enhance Your Child's Education

Our best parenting tips supported by research.

Image courtesy of Estelle Erasmus
Source: Image courtesy of Estelle Erasmus

I’m in the process of doing some at-home-ad hoc empirical studies with my daughter, which I will report back to you in a later column. In the meantime, I asked a few savvy women what is the most educational thing they did for their children, and found that the research supports the best choices we can make for our kids.

Reading is Fundamental: "The one most educational thing I do with my boys is make reading a way of life," says Tiffany. "Statistics constantly show that young male’s have lower literacy skills than their female counterparts.” I make sure to read with my daughter as well. In fact, reading to young children is a significant ingredient in their future reading success, and helps them develop their imagination. I started early reading to my daughter before she could even speak. The research shows that early on interaction, not just the sound of the words being read is the key to language development.

Practice Gratitude: “We look at photos of kids in under-developed parts of the world and talk about how their lives differ from ours,” says Jennifer. "How they may spend all day carrying water to and from a stream. How they are thrilled to have one bowl of rice. And how lucky we are to have more than enough to eat, too many toys to store." In fact, a 2014 study published in Emotion shows that saying “thank you” when someone helps you can help win you new friends. So it’s important to continue to teach our kids to mind their Ps & Qs and appreciate what they have.

Follow Their Creative Conversational Lead: “One day my son told me he was a land octopus,” says Elizabeth. "Instead of telling him he was silly, that didn’t exist and possibly shutting him down, I asked him what would have to change about an octopus for it to live on land. We started a whole dialogue that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.” I personally call these doing “yes and” type of conversations, and I have them with my daughter all the time. I used to take improv classes and you never shut down the person speaking you just said yes, and, and expanded on what they said, so I follow that tenet when I speak to my daughter. The research shows that we are on to something good. Thinking "outwards" rather than "inwards" primes children for creativity and allows them to consider different points of view and think beyond their "here and now" reality, says research from the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

Play Board Games: “By playing games with my kids," says Whitney, "I teach them how to win and lose gracefully, learn how to strategize and enjoy time without being plugged in.” I love playing board games with my daughter. In fact, the benefits go beyond fun and teamwork. Some studies, like the one reported in the journal Developmental Psychology point to the benefits to young children of playing games that require counting, like Chutes & Ladders, which require players to count out the spaces along which they move their tokens at each turn. Our personal favorite is Monopoly, where she can accrue properties, count out money, and read the chance cards. Also, playing with blocks and puzzles and board games build children’s spatial reasoning ability according to research published in Psychological Science.

Notice Nature: “One of the most important and educational things that I do with my kids is notice nature—admire and comment on the beautiful leaves and trees— when we’re on walks outside or while playing in the yard,” says Karsson. It’s true. Even spending time in nature can make children feel more spiritual according to a study published in the
Journal of the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture
. The children who played outside five to 10 hours per week said they felt a spiritual connection with the earth, and felt their role is to protect it. Nature deficit disorder is real, and can affect the health of our children. In fact, kids need to get outside much more in general. My daughter goes out for recess at least twice a day at her school. The World Health Organization recommends that children participate in a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. According to a recent study in JAMA, getting outdoor more often at school even helps reduce the rate of kids being diagnosed with nearsightedness.

Show that Kindness Counts: “We cut out little hearts and put them up in difference rooms of our house. They are "kindness hearts" little reminders to be kind to others and ourselves,” says Sarah. Children who make an effort to perform acts of kindness are happier and experience greater acceptance from their peers, suggests one study.
The study showed that when kids performed acts of kindness like sharing their lunch or giving their mom a hug when she felt stressed it made them happier. By simply asking students to think about how they can be kind to their peers, teachers can make eeryone in the class feel connected, and reduce the possibility of bullying (which usually comes into play by 4th or 5th grade).

Talk to Me Baby: “I’ve talked to my children from the time they were babies,” says Sharon. "Not only does it teach them to talk too, but it is the means for so much education and connection through everyday conversation." She's right.‬‬ In fact, a study published shows that baby brains start to form the groundwork of forming words well before they begin to speak.That’s why it’s important to talk to your kids when they are small, even if they don’t talk back…yet.

Whatever, you do, putting effort into your child reaps huge dividends. All the findings suggest there is a relationship between a child’s performance and the effort that the parents put in to support their education. In fact, the more effort you put into it, the harder the children work—no matter what their social or family background.

In other words, when it comes to parenting you have to be in it, to win it.

Follow Estelle on Facebook and Twitter for more information on parenting.

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About the Author
Estelle Erasmus

Estelle Erasmus is an author, widely-published journalist and writing coach. Find her on twitter at@EstelleSErasmus

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