Parents should try to see things from a kid’s point of view
Print Edition
MY parents always kept an interested eye on my schoolwork: they bought me the stationary I needed, provided me with the desk I didn’t want to complete my homework, and they checked on me now and again each evening to ensure that I wasn’t blasting my music too loud… or, asleep on the job. The same routine happened night after night after night, and like it or otherwise, it helped get me where I am today.
Now, as a teacher and a father to children who seem to have the weight of the world on their still growing shoulders, I have often asked myself what can I do to help them achieve what I would like them to achieve and what they want to achieve. I always used to pester, grumble and expect more, because, let’s not lie — it is becoming an increasingly difficult world for these delightful, yet small people to grow up in. I often had to stop my attitude with my son, metaphorically slap my wrist and remind me, “He’s only 8!” and this is the simple thing I suggest we all do — as genuinely concerned teachers and parents — remember that they are still children; not fully ready, not yet adults.
So if you wish for my advice, try and see things from our children’s point of view. Change the approach from one of expectation and pressure, to one of support and understanding — remembering that you too were their age once. Most importantly — be there for them. Not in their face and boiling away with pressure, but in the background — ready to support when they need you most. Have fun with the books they read — maybe see where the coolest place is you can get them to read? Hey, maybe even do it yourself. At Harrow School, here in Shanghai, we tried turning reading on its head to relate to our students more, and boy were we proud of the results!
My mother and father didn’t manage to get to university or do a post-graduate degree … but I swear I’m still learning from them.
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