How Busy Parents Can Help Their Children Learn and Develop

Reprinted from Early Childhood Digest, North Dakota Parent Assistance and Supportive Schools, September 1999

This article, from a digest produced by the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education, is based on information from the School Transition Study, sponsored by the MacArthur Network on Successful Pathways through Middle Childhood and conducted, in part, by the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP).

Parents can help their school-age children learn and develop, but parents are often very busy. They may be working two jobs or trying to find a job, going to school, or taking care of other family members.

No matter how busy parents are, there are things that they can do to help their children. Parents of first- and second-graders in the “School Transition Study” research project have discovered creative ways to stay involved in their children’s learning and development. Researchers conducting the survey learned important and useful tips to share with busy parents everywhere.

Use Your Time Well

Organize your time. One single parent of four who is going back to school tries hard to organize her class schedule so that she has time with her children. She is able to be home with them in the afternoons on most school days. In another family where the mother and father both worked full time, they are able to organize their work schedules so that one of the parents is always at home with the children. One day a week after school, the children walk to their mother’s workplace where they wait a short time with her until the father picks them up.

Do a few things at once. One father arranges to do quiet household chores right beside his daughter who does her homework at the kitchen table. Then the father is there to answer questions. Another mother has her daughter start her homework in the family’s car while they are waiting for her older brother to get out of school. The car is a quiet place where they can talk together.

Make daily routines a time for learning. When one mother walks her girls to school, she uses the time to talk about the unsafe parts of the neighborhood and how the girls can protect themselves. Children are learning all the time, but when you talk to them like this, it can help even more with their learning.

Find other people to help. One single parent who cannot be home in the afternoon or evening has the babysitter help the children with homework. Another single parent who works two jobs during the summer arranges for her son to get taken to his neighborhood summer program every morning by his grandfather, who lives nearby. When the program is over, the mother’s friend takes the child to football practice and then back home, where the mother serves everyone a late dinner. As a busy parent, you can’t do everything yourself. One important thing you can do is be the manager, and make arrangements for other people to help.

Balance Work Schedules and Family

Do some school things at the beginning of the day. One single father in our study who works a late shift uses the morning when he is home to check over homework with his son. Then he takes him to school. Sometimes he will sit in the classroom and watch or chat with the teacher before he goes to work.

Practice the big family meal. Another mother who also works late has her high school-aged daughter make a simple dinner for the younger children. Then the mother cooks a big hot breakfast every morning when she is home, before the children go to school.

Do things differently on the weekend. One mother leaves for her job every morning before the children are up. But on Sundays, she wakes them up early, so she can share time with them before she goes to work. A special thing for this family is eating lunch later at the restaurant where the mother works.

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