3- Involve both parents
Because early childhood educators tend to engage more with mothers than with fathers, the study of fathers' involvement in children's development has been neglected. However, enough research has been done to suggest that children receiving attention from both parents at an earlier age are more responsive to external stimuli. When they move beyond toddler level, children, according to one study, display a positive correlation between academic performance and high-level participation of the father in their learning processes. Even when this correlation does not necessarily exist, it is generally better for the child to receive encouragement from both parents about inculcating a better approach towards learning.

4- Connect learning to everyday life
Learning should not be perceived by the parent as something children do in an allotted time. It is actually part of every day life experiences, and that is how it should be perceived by parents as well. This will help them make every small experience a learning stimulus – especially by responding to the child’s natural questions. Learning experiences can include everything; be it measuring while cooking or reading license plates while driving or walking along the road. Keeping your children connected to what’s happening in the community and world around them is an important way to foster a learning environment as well. Start by asking questions. For instance, you could ask a 7 year old what they’ve heard about a recent event, and follow it up with a question on how they could help. In any case, listen to your child’s ideas, rather then feeding him/her with information all the time. This will help him/her become a caring and connected learner.

5- Create a print-rich environment
Like most parents teach their children how to speak by constantly talking to them when they are infants or encouraging their words when they are learning to speak or listening to what they have to say once they can talk – reading and writing skills can also be fostered to a great extent in the same way. Even though parents cannot read to the children at the same frequency as talking, providing children with multiple sources of written information, be it story books or magazines or the newspaper is a good way of inculcating reading habits. Reading these sources themselves and providing their children with opportunities to share what they have read can help reinforce reading as a valuable habit.

6- Be open to learning yourself
Parents should realise that they will always be role models for their children, and that if they are open to learning at any age in life themselves, they set a positive example for their children. Learning something new, whether a craft, language or skill, or even reading up on an unfamiliar topic is one of several ways a parent can learn something new. If you share the information with your child, or let him or her know that even you can struggle while learning would help reassure your child about his own learning processes. Parents should be open to the possibility of learning from their children as well, be it learning how to operate the computer or something new that their child learnt at school. It boosts a child’s confidence to reverse the role and be the teacher for a change.

Source:
Vivian Gadsden and Aisha Ray, “Fathers' Role in Children's Academic Achievement and Early Literacy” (Nov, 2003)
www.ericdigests.org
‘Supporting your Child: The Role of Parents’
www.pbs.org/parents
‘The Role of Parents in Literacy, Mary E. Barr, ASED 530 September 30, 1997’
www.buddies.org