- Supervise their work,but don’t fall into the trap of doing
their homework. Checking (i.e., proofreading) a paper, for
example, is a positive way to help your child in school. But if
you simply put in corrections without your child learning from
her mistakes, you’re not helping her at all...except in the belief
that she is not responsible for her own work. - Praise them when they succeed,but don’t overpraise them
for mediocre work. Kids know when you’re being insincere
and, again, will quickly tune you out. - Convince them of reality.(This is for older students.)
Okay, I’ll admit it’s almost as much of a stretch as turning off
the TV, but learning and believing that the real world will not
care about their grades, but will measure them by what they
know and what they can do, is a lesson that will save many
tears (probably yours). It’s probably never too early to (care-
fully) let your boy or girl genius get the message that life is
not fair. - If you can afford it, get your kid(s) a computer and all
the software they can handle. There really is no avoiding it:
Your kids, whatever their ages, absolutely must be computer-
savvy in order to survive in and after school. - Turn off the TV already!
- Get wired.The Internet is the greatest invention of our age
and an unbelievable tool for students of any age. It is impossible
for a college student to succeed without the ability to surf online,
and nearly impossible for younger students. They’ve got to be
connected. - But turn off IM (Instant Messaging) while doing home-
work.They will attempt to convince you that they can write
a term paper, do their geometry homework, and IM their
friends at the same time. Parents who believe this have also
been persuaded that the best study area is in front of the TV.
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