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Parents generally agree that education is important for their children’s success. It is more difficult to find agreement about how to teach children about the importance of education. What message do parents want to send to their children?

Here are five things parents should be teaching their children about education:

1. Education leads to better jobs and higher income.

Parents can use real life examples to demonstrate this concept. Parents can talk to their children about the people in their lives who have good jobs and solid incomes. Parents can point out that Uncle Joe, who has a nice home and a fancy car, also has an MBA. Parents should help children make this connection between education and success.

2. Education is worth the effort.

Acknowledge that it can be hard work to get an education. Parents can agree that being educated can be difficult, but can also talk about the benefits of the hard work. It is important for parents to help children see that the benefits of education make it worth the struggle.

3. Education makes life more interesting.

Parents should make learning a regular part of family life. Families can attend the local planetarium’s family night or sign up for a tree identification walk at the local park. This helps get children excited about learning.

4. Education is important to my parents.

Parents should demonstrate the importance of education through their example. Parents can role model the importance of education by furthering their own education. This is the most direct way to tell a child that it is important to be educated. When one parent enrolled in an online education such as KSU Online Masters in Music Education, it motivated her son to apply to college.

5. Education is accessible.

Parents should help children understand that they do have options for education. If money for education is a problem, parents should investigate scholarships and grants that may be available. If children are not interested in any programs in their geographic area, parents can help them find possible online programs.

When children learn that education is valuable and relevant, they will be more motivated to pursue education. Parents sometimes think their children will automatically understand the importance of education, but this is not always true. Positive messages about education often need to be purposefully taught. Parents should consider this as part of the many life lessons they must impart to their children as part of a happy and healthy childhood.

Earnest Parenting: help for parents who want their kids to pursue education.