Parenting 101, part five

Here’s another basic of being a good school parent: help your children start the day out right.

I am thinking of very concrete things:

Make sure your children get a good night’s rest

Feed your children a good breakfast

Get your children to school on time

Send your children to school in uniform

Help your child organize his assignments

Pack a hearty snack and lunch that will get him through the day.

It is amazing how much simple things like sleep and food impact your child’s day. And then in turn your child’s day impacts the other students in his class and his teacher as well. Children concentrate, think, and learn better when their bodily needs are well cared for. Children are free to focus on learning when they are not distracted by uniforms and disorganized assignments and tardiness.

One of the reasons you have your child at Regents Academy is your concern for his soul. You know that education is essentially a religious activity and that a Christian education is indispensable for a child to grow up in the care and admonition of the Lord. Prayer, the Bible, and godly teachers are all formative for your child’s soul, and these are what your children are surrounded by each day. But created in the image of God, we are souls AND bodies. We need to tend to our bodies as well as our souls, from childhood to adulthood.

So examine your family’s habits and your patterns. Life is busy, and details are often hard to see. But consider how vitally important it is for your children to sleep and eat well, and to begin each day ready for school.

Here at the end of another school year is the time to take stock and begin to plan now how you can improve next year.