You are your child's teacher

Many parents feel inadequate when considering their responsibility to teach their children. Yet educators all speak of the fact that nothing they teach children in a classroom has nearly the effect of a parent's teaching in the home.

If you are a parent, you are a teacher too. Think of all the things you've already taught your child: how to brush their teeth, wear their shoes, put on their cloth, your values and beliefs, what to do or not to do in a given situation, etc. You communicated so many "firsts" to your child - whether you realise it or not. We teach our children both the positive and the negative things about life: such as whom to trust and whom to hate, how to share and how to get their own way, how to help others and how to hurt them (which is not advisable to do so).

Certainly, there are also many people and things to that contribute to our children's development. But as parents, we are the primary teachers of what this business of living is all about. Don't leave it all to the school teachers to teach.

Your decision to think about what you say and do each day makes it easy to see why your children say and do what they do each day. I can see it in my own children's behaviour.

adapted from "Giving your child the excellence edge"

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