Who Can Help When You ...

If you are thinking to school your children yourself, the best thing to do is to undergo a self-assessment test. This is to know if you are skilled enough to serve as your child's teacher. Experts say that although all parents have innate ability to teach their kids, not all have the skill to do so.

But even if you don’t have the skill or the same level of ability that teachers in school have, it doesn’t mean that you cannot school your children yourself. You just need to be more patient and resourceful to ensure that you will be providing the academic needs of the child.

Alternative options

More than anybody, parents are expected to do teaching for their children. They are the ones who are supposed to monitor the academic status of the child and should also be there when help in terms of homework or projects are needed.

Sadly, many parents are not able to give this kind of help to their children because majority of them is working. Due to lack of time and hectic schedule providing for the family, they tend to neglect the needs of the children in terms of schooling such as tutoring the child in finishing his or her homework or understanding the lessons that have been recently taught in school.

Although this case could be inevitable, it doesn’t mean that there are no other people to take on that role of teaching the child when at home. For parents who are torn in between working and their role in helping their child in school, the best way to go about it is to think of options where to get help such as asking help from older siblings of the child. Many parents do not realize it but an older sibling helping a younger one in tasks like homework will strengthen their bond.

Convincing siblings to extend help

In the beginning, this set up might not work since older children are busier ay school and even with their social lives. In fact, it might be hard to convince the older one to render help, enough and elaborate explanation might convince him or her to do so. But this doesn’t mean that you cannot ask older siblings to so some tutoring.

For parents to convince older siblings to help in home schooling the younger ones at home, make the teaching session appear as the best "bonding moment" for both of them. At times, siblings may tend to fight with each other when they are at home. Despite that, they still love each other no matter what. For the older sibling to be convinced in providing homework help to the younger one, convince him or her that tutoring the younger child will serve as a way to lessen their fighting incidents. You can also tell him or her that the child will be endeared to him or her if the older one is willing to help in minor tasks such as helping the latter in his or her schoolwork.

If you decide to school your children yourself and you are trying to get some help from the child's siblings, you can also explain that they are helping not just the younger child but you as well. Older siblings are expected to understand that you are not giving him or her responsibility of teaching the younger child because you want to but because you cannot do it due to the fact that you are working for the entire family. If you explain very well how much you appreciate the help such as this coming from her or him, the older child will feel his or her worth to the family.