How can work-at-home dads get their kids more involved in school activities?
Children are constantly looking for ways to have fun. It is true in school, at home, and outside of the classroom. Children are drawn to activities that they enjoy so much more than work or chores.
Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for kids to participate in extracurriculars during the school year if their parents want them involved. There’s debate about whether children should be engaged at home or school with homework and other assignments.
Still, one thing is certain: It doesn’t matter where you do your work because being a part of something will help improve grades, social skills, mental health, and emotional well-being.
Home-based dads who want to help their kids participate in activities that aren’t sports-related will find plenty of options. Home-based parents must take the time to look into what types of opportunities are available and which they think would make a good fit for their child. Some children might enjoy joining an art club, while others might find a robotics group or a book club more interesting.
Help them with homework, or read with them every night
Offer help but don’t do the school activities without your kids participating.
When a child is first learning how to read, she needs assistance from parents and other adults. This type of involvement will help her learn without any negative feelings associated with school or homework. If you wait until your child is independent in reading before you stop supporting, he may resent doing work, and it could damage his grades.
Parents need to let the child do their schoolwork because, through independent learning, they get a sense of accomplishment and will want to learn more. In addition, it also boosts confidence in their skills.
We all want our children to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and decision-makers. It is something they will only learn from us by experiencing some of these things at home. The school would never teach a kid how to brush his teeth or do household chores. Our job as parents is to make sure we’re teaching them all of these skills through doing them together in the home and without judgment or micromanaging on our ends. Parents should remind themselves that praise and encouragement go a lot further than nagging.
Find out what extracurricular activities are offered at the local schools that interest your child, then encourage them to participate in one of these activities.
There’s a chance that children who enjoy the arts, music, or drama will want to join a school club or activity in one of these subject areas. If your child is musically inclined and wants to play an instrument, there are potential opportunities for lessons and performances at schools in your area. Some children may prefer to participate in a local play or musical production each spring at their school.
The younger a child is, the more likely he will need his parent’s assistance finding out what is available. In high school, kids are old enough to explore some of these activities on their own and may even have already chosen a few favorite extracurriculars they’d like to pursue after school ends for the day.
Most extracurriculars will educate children on life skills they can’t learn at school, such as being social, overcoming obstacles, modeling, overcoming obstacles, and working with others, all of which are important for a happy, healthy college experience.
Extracurricular activities help provide a competitive edge, building confidence and giving children a chance to have fun while learning new skills. Correcting your child’s posture is just one example of how extracurriculars can benefit them.
Offer rewards
The policy of rewards for children to do school activities has been around for quite some time, with varying levels of effectiveness or efficiency. The reward itself is the main factor in whether it leads to increased engagement.
For example, you can give a child who likes gold stars approval to watch TV if they complete their homework before dinner. This type of reward may lead to increased engagement in school activities as long as the child wants those new benefits from watching TV, not just those new incentives from finishing their work early.
Rewards work because they tap into the same neurological processes as punishment. And so rewards are much more likely to be effective when people use them for constructive purposes, such as encouraging desirable behaviors. Punishments also trigger these reward circuits, but typically only in response to negative behavior that is undesired according to social norms.
Create a routine for the morning and evening to ensure you have time for school activities when possible
It is perhaps one of the most highly recommended tips on how to get kids involved in school activities. By creating a routine, you can better predict when your children will have time for extracurriculars.
Every member of the house must know what is expected of them each day, with routines working best when parents and children participate in creating them. A routine can provide a grounding element in the day, especially for kids who struggle with transitions. In addition to providing a sense of stability, routines also help students develop skills that they will need in the classroom.
The brain likes repetition, and it responds to order by doing its best work. Routines offer predictability which leads to new choices among familiar options – something the brain is happy with. The same principle applies to kids. Think about how much easier it is for adults when they go on vacation or use their weekends for new activities – anything that’ll add some novelty to their days makes them happier.
First thing each day, engage your child in an activity that requires a lot of focus, such as reading a book or playing a game together. It will help get their brain going for the rest of the day and prepare it for learning.
Before going to bed at night, try having your child reflect on what they learned at school.
As more fathers work from home and take on a larger role in the family unit, there is an increased need for structure to be introduced into their children’s lives. There are many ways to do this, including volunteering at school events or becoming more involved with after-school activities. It will help kids become better adjusted and self-sufficient adults who have a strong sense of social responsibility.
