• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Fatherhood Factor

For all the "dealings" of dads...

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Guest Post?
  • Review?
  • Stats
How Involved Should Fathers Get in Their Kids’ Education

How Involved Should Fathers Get in Their Kids’ Education

April 26, 2017 By Oscar Waterworth Leave a Comment

A century ago, the answer posed in the title of this article would have been easy to answer – either you didn’t have the money and education wasn’t an option or you sent your kid to a boarding school hundreds of miles away and you didn’t see them till they were grown, all educated and ready start families of their own.

Nowadays, things are far more complicated and one cannot help but feel that they are getting more and more complicated with each year that passes. For instance, when we were children, most of us didn’t get too much help with our school from our parents (or at least that was the case in the author’s household). Nowadays, parents are doing 90% of their children’s homework and wondering why they aren’t learning much.

Then again, we don’t want to look disinterested.

It is definitely getting really, really complicated. So, where do we stand at the moment? How involved should we as dads get?

Support Their Choices

People have achieved incredible things in whatever field you may think of.

For example, there must have been more than a few kids who loved spending time collecting bugs as children and whose parents might not have been too psyched about it. Those kids became world-renowned entomologists who contributed immensely to the world of science.

It is very likely that many of world’s wealthiest IT billionaires’ parents didn’t love it that their children played on their computers for hours on end.

No interest is dumb. No choice of education is stupid and leads nowhere. There may be fields and professions where success is harder to achieve, but who are we to say that our children will not be happy with limited means, doing what they really love?

Supporting their choice definitely beats the alternative – pushing them into something that will make them money, but make them miserable along the way.

Let Them Fail

We live in a world (especially in the Western Culture) where all failure is immediately seen as a weakness and something that makes a person seem less worthy. Winning is everything and there is nothing that should stand in the way of victory.

We have taken this to such an extreme that parents feel horrified when their children fail at something. Getting an F has become tantamount to burning down the school. We feel pressured by the people around us and our children feel pressured by everyone around them.

We do stupid things just to prevent our children from failing.

And there is no worse thing we can do. Failing is a part of life. It is part of learning. You have to fail in order to know what you are good at. You are not good at everything. Your children are not good at everything. Failure will help them grow and learn.

Do not prevent your children from failing during their education.

Be There for Them

Education used to be a thing that mothers take care of. The father was there to perhaps make the final call of what the child will pursue, but that was that.

The good thing is that things have changed and that fathers are finally more involved in their children’s education. Back when we were children, how many of us ran to our dads when we needed help in school?

It was always the mom.

Nowadays, your children are as likely to come running to you as they are to mom and this is a great thing. They will ask you to be there for them, to help them out, to hear them out. Maybe they are looking for a bit of guidance. Be there.

The great thing is that this is not easier than ever thanks to the internet and the various things that it enables you to do. It can be something as small as brushing up on your basic knowledge of physics if your kid needs a bit of help or it can be something as huge as getting them help to nail university admissions at the world’s best colleges.

Instead of a Closing Word

Never push. Pushing never gets you anything and it can only hinder your children’s education efforts.

Help. Advise. Guide.

But never push.

About Oscar Waterworth

Oscar Waterworth is a father of two and a freelancer from Sydney. He explored many parts of the world already, including Tahiti, Thailand, Spain, France, Italy, Romania, Greece etc. In the future, Oscar will continue his family travels and will become a contributing author of High Style Life blog.

Get Our Newsletter

Don’t you wish you knew the secret to Fatherhood? Us too...
Our content ranges from practical tips to product reviews.
Enter your information below to get our newsletter goodness!

Copyright © 2009–2023 FatherhoodFactor.com · Powered by: LaunchBlot Media, LLC

  • Facebook.
  • Twitter.
  • Instagram.
  • YouTube.
  • LinkedIn.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT