7 Qualities Of A Good Home Teacher That Will Get You Closer To Your Child

Parents, on-top of those sleepless nights and working a day job trying to make rent and put food on the table, there is also caring for the kids. It is a bonus if you get to build a special relationship with your child. Here are qualities of a good home teacher that will get you closer to your child.

1. Give your kid a kiss or a hug. Be physically compassionate.

2. Listen more than you talk. You want to know more about your child.

3. Ask what happened and don’t judge. Know the logic and reasoning of your child and thought process.

4. Sweet Surprise. Slip in a little cute message like a heart.

5. Choose your words. Kids remember how you make them feel so choose wisely.

6. Never be too busy. Allocate time only for your child, no phone or TV.

7. Respect their space Allow them to feel how they feel - sad or angry - in that moment. Respect their time and feelings, don’t disregard them.

8. Tell them those 3 magic words. Saying “I love you” goes a long way in a child’s life. To know they are loved and security of the love of a parent.

9. Learn to apologise. This teaches the child that humans make errors and nobody is perfect, even parents. Children need to know humility and honesty of parents.

10. Love their dreams. Support and cheer them on towards their wants and desires. Help them manifest their dreams.

7 Good Things to do as a Teacher at Home

1. Trust - confidentiality

a) Read: Importance of Confidentiality with Children

2. Child’s happiness & wants

Ask and communicate with your child what he wants and what he needs. Find out through observation what he/she enjoys doing.

a) Is it playing with leggo or dolls?

b) Do they enjoy reading books or doing book activities?

c) Do they enjoy indoor or outdoor activities? Observe how long they can play in each setting.

d) What movies do they like to watch, action movies or cartoons?

3. Fun & Games

a) Make activities fun and lessen the critics. For example, if you want to teach the child how to kick a ball, don’t just show him in a text book. Let him watch football games and play with a football somewhere outdoor where it is spacious.

b) Sometimes studying can get boring. Try creating a melody and song for memorising information.

c) On the weekends or on your free time, try playing:

i. the conversational cards. Its a fun way to get to know one another. You can make a puchase at https://www.sukastudio.com/chatsinabox where there are 53 conversation starters and questions to play with your kids.

ii. Create cool t-shirts to proudly wear out with your kids from https://www.sukastudio.com/tshirts . Every T-Shirt comes with an erasable pen! Write, scribble and have fun with words on your very on writeable SUKA T-shirt.

4. Child view

Discuss the views between you and your child. Ask why he/she reacted the way they did. Explain why you think the way you do as well.

For example, if I want my child to come out of his/her shell and practice public speaking, I would:

1. Give him/her a stage and give it a try.

2. After he/she attempts a short speech in-front of an audience, I will ask how he/she felt and thought about it.

3. From there, we can discuss a way forward for improvement of the delivery and how to make them feel better about it.

5. Child voice

Never force a child to do anything they don’t want to do. It implies to them you don’t care about their feelings and thoughts, that their feelings and thought do not matter and inevitably growing up to feel helpless.

Instead, discuss and explain why they should do something that would benefit them or mean something to you.

Ask them for their thoughts on a topic wether it is about a person, an activity or a venue. Ask for them opinion. Give them a voice in things that involve them. This will build their confidence and trust.

6. Role Model

Children observe us more than we know and then mimic it. If they see hard working parents, they will most probably be hard working. If they see happy and cheerful way of being, they will most probably be positive people. Be aware of how you live and do things infront of your children especially at home.

Example of good ways to show your children at home:

i. Cleaning after themselves.

ii. Reading books.

iii. Doing work and showing good work ethics.

iv. Being compassionate and loving.

v. Being empathetic and kind to strangers like the waiters or the cleaners.

vi. Being disciplined and having a schedule to follow and respect.

vii. Showing generosity for example sharing things like food and money. Giving to charity is a good practice to show your child.

viii. Being thankful and grateful by talking about what they are grateful for including basic little things like getting to watch a movie with family or waking up to a beautiful sunrise.

7. Approval, Appreciation & Reward

“Good Job”

“Thank you”

“I am proud of you”

A hug, kiss, a present, a day out are all rewards. Rewards can be both tangible and intangible and need not require money.