I just finished doing a talk at one of my local libraries, called Tons of Tips to Help Your Child Learn Better!

My favorite tip is the simplest: HELP THEM.

It’s pretty amazing how parents hesitate to just sit down next to their child and offer some basic assistance. It’s usually for one of two reasons:

1. Parents fear that education, especially “special education,” is something only certified teachers or other specialists can do correctly. Parents worry about confusing their child or teaching something  ”the wrong way.”
2. Parents fear that offering help will “spoil” their child, foster laziness, or rob their child of some of the learning experience inherent in the lesson.

I encourage parents to work with their children. Teaching, frankly, isn’t all that mysterious a process. For one person to instruct another is a very basic, very natural human endeavor; we teach one another things all the time!

Besides, the “experts” don’t always get it right, either. At my talk I handed out this article, about Learning Styles, a cherished and very firmly entrenched notion among educators…which was never grounded in research and is now is turning out to be unfounded.

And there are more and more excellent websites out there, which parents and kids can use together to figure things out. Khan Academy is amazing for all kinds of math help, and I’m collecting a list on my website, on the Learning page, of other good websites (and please offer any other good ones you’ve found!)

I think that even if  a parent does wind up getting some fact or procedure wrong and creates some temporary confusion, that parent has taught some even more important lessons: We’re here to help one another. I care about you. I’m trying because I love you. 

One mom has a son who loves to read on his Kindle, especially because of the built-in dictionary and text-to-speech features.

Is that cheating? the mom wondered. Shouldn’t he be looking words up in a “real” dictionary, and sounding them out himself?

No, it’s definitely NOT cheating! Anything that gets your child reading more, and with greater comprehension and enjoyment, is WONDERFUL!

I also tell parents that when their child asks them what a word means, just tell them. Don’t say Look it up in the dictionary (though you should make sure your child knows how to use a dictionary for times you aren’t around).

It breaks concentration to have to go find a  dictionary, and many kids (and adults) don’t bother; they just skip the unknown word. Too many unknown words? The passage becomes confusing. And boring. And they stop reading and go find something easier and more enjoyable to do, like watch TV or go on Facebook.

[photo of the London Eye]

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    Last reviewed: 22 Sep 2011