How to Affect Children's Education in a Single Parent Family

Encourage your child to read.

Single parent families have become more prevalent in the United States in the past 20 years, according to the 2005 Kids Count Data Book. Raising a child as a single parent is one of life's toughest challenges. You want to make sure your child is healthy and safe and successful in life. A 2004 study at Cornell University found that being a single parent by itself does not have a negative impact on a child's education. What matters is what you do with your child in the home. Take some time and ensure that you have a positive effect on your child's education.

Instructions

1. Speak to your child as much as possible. Be involved in your child's life. Use the limited time you have available with your child to talk and to bring up the many ways education is important in life.

2. Encourage your child to read and read to them often. Have books at home. Take your child to the library. Do this even in the summer; it is a simple way for a child to learn new vocabulary and become appreciative of the written word.

3. Speak to the teachers at your child's school. Stay involved in your child's education. Attend conferences whenever possible. Call the school with any questions or concerns about your child.

4. Encourage your child to join school clubs to learn new skills and gain self-confidence through a positive school experience that creates happy memories.

5. Join a support group for single parents to get ideas from other single parents on positive ways of affecting your child's education.

6. Encourage the child's other parent to be involved in the child's life, if it would be good for the child. Don't make the child feel guilty or torn when with the other parent if the other parent is a good role model or responsible person.

References

• Parent Further: Out-Of-School-Learning
• Cornell News: On Mother's Day, A Hopeful Finding for Single Mothers and their Children from a Cornell Researcher
• Single Parent Center: Single Parenting and the Child's Education
• National Center for Education Statistics: National Study Links Father's Involvement to Children Getting A's in School
• Family Resource.com: Why Reading is so Important for Children