Help Your Child to Succeed: The Essential Guide for Parents
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The following is a questionnaire from the book by Bill Lucas and Alistair Smith (pictured left) which is accessible, practical and packed with great ideas that will make helping children a pleasure and not a chore. |
1) Learn about Learning...
What do you think about learning? | Yourself | Your partner |
 | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Did you enjoy primary school? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Did you enjoy secondary school? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Do you enjoy learning new things? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Do you ever worry you will look foolish? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Do you know what distracts you? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Is learning important in your life? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Would you make a good teacher? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Do you know how you learn best? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
How do you prefer to learn? | Yourself | You partner |
| Yes | No | Yes | No |
| By doing practical things? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| On your own? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| In a group? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| By talking? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| By watching? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| By listening? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| By copying an 'expert'? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| By thinking things through for yourself? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| With a friend or coach? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Which of these learning methods do you prefer? | Yourself | Your partner |
| Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Books? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Videos? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| TV programmes? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| CD/computers? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Internet? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Discuss your answers with your partner or a friend:
- Are they similar or different?
- If your school days were not happy, how do you think this might influence you when thinking about your child’s school?
- Do you think you learn in similar ways to your children?
- Is there any aspect of you as a learner which concerns you? If so, share it!
2) How Positive is Your Parenting?
Score 2 marks for each Always and take off 1 mark for each Never.
Questions 1, 4, 7 are 'positivity' questions
Questions 2, 5, 8 are 'persistence' questions
Questions 3, 6, 9 are 'problem-solving' questions
| | Always | Never |
| | +2 Marks | -1 Mark |
| 1. | You’re about to go out for the evening when your baby is sick over your new clothes. You smile and say, "We’ll laugh about this in years to come!".
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 2. | Your child has a favourite bedtime book. He asks you to read it again. You do so.
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 3. | Your child doesn’t believe your explanation of why birds don’t fall off branches. You try a more creative approach.
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 4. | Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, you slip on some lego bricks and crack your head on a dumper truck. Your first thought is how to improve toy storage.
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 5. | Your child joins a swimming club. You agree to take her there every weekday at 6.00 am and to competitions all day Saturday.
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 6. | Your child gets upset as he struggles with a jigsaw. You avoid interfering because you want him to learn to do it for himself.
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 7. | Your child comes last in a school sports race. You spend the evening persuading he/she that they are brilliant at football.
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 8. | You want to go home to watch a major event on TV. Your child wants you to carry on pushing him on the swings in the park. You willingly agree to forgo your own pleasure.
| [ ] | [ ] |
| 9. | You’re relaxing on a Sunday evening. Your son and his friends are enjoying a karaoke session when the machine’s batteries run out. You all pool your ideas as to which shops might still be open.
| [ ] | [ ] |
How did you do?
Score 9 - 18 = You are a superstar; a model of positivity!
Score 0 - 9 = Some work is needed!
Less than 0 = Go and lie down in a darkened room!
3) How Confident are you about your own skills?
| Yourself | Your partner |
| Yes | No | Yes | No |
Do you find it difficult to make time to read?
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Are you worried that you don’t have the right books in your home?
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Do you worry when you don’t know what a word means?
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Are you embarrassed when you spell words wrongly?
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Do you find maths hard?
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Did you find learning English and maths hard when you were young?
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Do you worry that the way your child is taught English (literacy) and maths (numeracy) at school is different from the way you were taught it?
| [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
No right or wrong answers...
Take heart if you've answered 'yes' to any of these questions - you are normal!
There is no such thing, for example, as having the 'right' books at home: 'reading friendly' homes have fiction, non-fiction, recipe books, DIY guides and so on, as well as magazines and newspapers!!
Pause for Thought: Reading Matters
Have you ever thought of reading together as a family? Why not make one night a week reading night, sharing a chapter or two each time? You could discuss your reading at family mealtimes. It is also good to encourage your child to lend books to friends and borrow some in return.
