Train up a child…

“To Teach is to Touch a Life Forever”

How we all depend on our teachers! The bumper sticker that says, “Teaching is the profession that makes all other professions possible” is certainly true. As school starts, every parent of a student is probably wondering, “Will my child have a good teacher?”

What most people don’t stop and think about is the fact that parents are teachers, too! From the time that first cry is heard at birth, parents become teachers whether they want to be or not. It is not a question of whether a parent is a teacher. Rather it is a question as to the kind of teacher that parent is.

There are those parent-teachers who simply cannot face the responsibility and choose to abandon their God-given gift and opportunity to touch a life in a positive way forever. Some parent-teachers blindly jump in and meander through their new responsibility hoping all will turn out well. There are parent-teachers who try to shove their responsibilities to someone else. Many children are now being raised by grandparents instead of parents. But blest are the parent-teachers who do all they can to become better teachers, so they do not leave matters to chance or to someone else. They take advantage of training available. They see that their children get a variety of experiences. They read about rearing children. In short, they work hard to be good teachers of the children they brought into the world.

Missouri started a program called Parents as Teachers that has become popular nationwide. Parents may work in the program to get training that will help both the children and themselves. Services provided by Parents as Teachers (PAT) include personal visits, parent group meetings, screenings, and networking with other agencies. The personal visits may be waived if some do not feel comfortable having someone visit the home. The screenings assess the child’s overall development as well as checking hearing and vision. Parent meetings are held one time each month. PAT works with women who are pregnant until the child reaches age 5. Studies show that children involved in this program have greatly benefited. Information about the PAT program may usually be obtained by contacting the local school.

“As the twig is bent, so grows the tree”. In the first few years of a child’s life, children learn more and at a faster pace than any other time. As a parent, you are your child’s first and foremost teacher. Parents are the ones who most touch the lives of their children forever.