Spend more time with your child to help them develop

Talents come in many forms, the child could be a gifted athlete, singer, actor or they could have higher aptitude and interest in particular fields. All this should be identified earlier own in life before the child even joins primary school.

To do so, the parent must get involved in the child’s daily activities be it during games or tutoring because it is on the play ground or during other activities that the childResearch shows that, children who have involved parents are happier, healthier, more confident and even excel at their educational and extracurricular pursuits.

Parent involvement can also increase the children’s ability to learn or what is referred to as cognitive development.In fact, experts say, parent involvement has a direct positive influence on children’s overall academic achievement.

Parent involvement also keeps the children motivated and strengthens the parent-child bond, a vital aspect as they get older and are faced with outside influences form media and their peers especially in this age of digital media.

Without the proper bond, a child will not confide in their parent about the challenges they face and this leads them into unhealthy lifestyles like alcohol abuse, drugs and early and unprotected intercourse.

By getting involved in your child’s activities, you as a parent also develop a positive outlook on your own parenting skills, it increases your self confidence and esteem and you will most likely feel more satisfied with your child’s performance and development because you are involved.

The issue however is restricted time. Most parents are tied up with extremely tight work schedules and hardly have any time with their children. Nonetheless, with careful planning and dedication, you can make sometime for your child.

You could find a play ground near your home and take you child to it on a regular basis. While most neighborhoods in Tanzania do not have standard play grounds with swings and slides, almost all have playing fields.

As a parent, you can utilize the field by exercising with your child playing soccer or any other game that they like, the goal is to simply spend more time with your child. You may could also arrange weekend outings to the beach or visiting family and friends.

You might consider participating in your child’s school events be it games, debates or any other activity. Get you child to join a club they like based on their own interests like scouting or girl guides and then participate along with other parents at the various events the clubs set up.

Whatever you do, remember, you want your involvement to be a positive experience for both your child and yourself because if your child senses that you’re not happy with what you’ve chosen to become involved in, then they too will likely be unhappy as well.

Children of involved parents are less likely to get into mischief, have emotional problems, or have problems in school. All in all, your increased participation keeps you connected to your child, it’s a win-win situation for both of you.