Mon, Feb 09, 2009 The Straits Times By Sandra Davie

8 things you can do to help your child sail though school Don't fast-track your child Choose best school, not top school Read stories, play word games Focus on effort, not grades Use tuition intelligently Get involved at school Switch off the television set Get them involved in sports

Get involved at school Kids do better if parents take an interest in their school. -ST MYTH: 'My child's success at school all comes down to him working hard, not my attendance at parents' events.‘ REALITY: Behind every successful child is a super-involved parent.

Get involved at school Three decades of research overseas and locally have shown that the more parents are involved in their children's education, the better their children perform in school.

Get involved at school Children with more involved parents enjoy school more and have better school attendance. They are also more emotionally and socially well-adjusted and better able to handle stress. A National Institute of Education (NIE) study here of 150 high-income couples published in 2001 found that it is not money, but active engagement in their children's education, that made a difference in how well their children performed in school.

Get involved at school NIE Assistant Professor Lana Khong Yiu Lan found that children of parents who do not leave everything to tutors, or who give up their jobs for their offspring's sake, often do well in examinations. She concluded that the most important ingredients for good school performance are family involvement, sacrifice and awareness of educational matters, and that the less well-off who put in the same effort should not feel deprived in any way.

Get involved at school All parents should also invest in spending quality and quantity time with their children, building good relationships with them. This will go a long way in helping their children. 'In the end, doing well in school and in life is not about money,' she said. Much research has also been done on the importance of the role of fathers. Again, research has shown that children with involved fathers are better academic achievers. They are more likely to get As, and have better numeracy and verbal skills.

What Parents Can Do? And one of the best things any parent can do is to become a volunteer in school. A mother's or father's presence in school conveys an important message to the child about the value placed on schooling. It also gives parents a good understanding of what the school community is like, the specific context that their child operates in every day, and the challenges teachers face.

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