Co-operative: Home Options In Childhood Education

Parents as Teachers

An essay by Marian Buchanan, published online by C:HOICE, a co-op style group for homeschooling families. Copyright © 2000 by Marian Buchanan. All rights reserved.

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Parents as Teachers

by Marian Buchanan

The responsibilities of a parent are many:

• physical: from providing diaper changes, proper nutrition and a safe environment, to teaching self-care;
• emotional: from giving love, affection and encouragement, to teaching appropriate ways of expressing emotions;
• mental: from introducing this little newcomer to the world, answering questions and providing opportunities, to teaching thinking skills;
• spiritual: from nurturing creativity, nourishing spirit, and passing on values, to teaching how to explore these dimensions on one’s own.

The varied manifestations of responsibility all boil down to one principle: to support and guide the child’s growth.

To draw out a child’s potential in this way is to “lead” (ducere) that potential “out” (ex-), in other words, to educate.

The care and teachings that a parent provides aren’t just in the early years, but continue throughout childhood and beyond.

Thus, education isn’t something separate from parenting, it’s the definition of parenting.

This endeavour is complicated by the fact that every situation the child encounters, every interaction with others, also calls to the child’s raw potential, in ways that may be at odds with the parents’ efforts to provide the best environment as they see it.

Conscious parenting involves examining thoroughly and thoughtfully each situation that might affect your child’s wellbeing and development, and choosing the response or course of action that you believe is in the child’s best interests.

It may be a protective measure, designed to keep the child from harm, or it may be an enhancing measure, designed to nurture the child’s blossoming. It may be a combination of both.

In order to help a child blossom, a parent needs to give attention to all the dimensions of the child’s being: body, mind, heart and spirit.

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© 2000 by Marian Buchanan. May not be used without permission.