Parents and guardians play a vital role in their child’s development, in more ways than you may imagine. From an early age, the parent-child relationship influences kids–for better or for worse–across school, home, and other environments. 

Research shows that when there is a better parent-child relationship, students are more likely to actively engage themselves in learning.1 It’s unknown exactly why, but one thought is that positive relationships promote better mental health, which then positively impacts students’ desire and commitment to learn. Students aren’t only more interested in learning when they have a positive parent-child relationship, they also perform better too, particularly in high school.2 

Beyond academics, parent-child relationships impact self-esteem, mental health, and other key areas of a child’s well-being. When there is a positive parent-child relationship, there are typically positive outcomes. Developing safe, stable, and nurturing relationships are good for both parents and children and reduce a child’s exposure to abuse and neglect.3  Unhealthy parent-child relationships may increase depressive symptoms in children.4 Whereas healthy relationships with connectedness and control are associated with less depressive symptoms in adolescents. It’s important for parents to take care of their mental health, as this could directly impact their children. If a parent has poor mental health, it’s likely that this will affect their children’s mental and physical health.5

To promote positive parent-child relationships, parents should consider actively educating themselves about how to successfully guide their children through common challenges. One option is online courses, such as Parent Wise. 

What is Parent Wise?

At 3rd Millennium Classrooms, we developed Parent Wise, a multi-part course designed for parents to help teens navigate difficult issues and better manage their behavior and emotions. After completing the evidence-based, personalized course, participants will be able to:

  • Identify ways parents can positively influence teens
  • Identify the types of struggles and peer pressure teens face, including cyberbullying and sexting
  • Understand how drugs (including nicotine and cannabis) have changed over the last 20 years
  • Recognize, interrupt, and replace anger with an appropriate anger management tool
  • Recognize the risks and consequences of their actions
  • And more!

The course also includes a handful of helpful features, such as an interactive symptom check that provides insight into issues your teen may be dealing with, downloadable PDFs with additional information for parent intervention, interactive skills training activities and videos, and more. For more than two decades, we’ve offered educational courses, such as Parent Wise, which has reached hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

References

  1. Shao, Y., & Kang, S. (2022). The link between parent–child relationship and learning engagement among adolescents: The chain mediating roles of learning motivation and academic self-efficacy. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.854549 
  2. López Turley, R. N., Desmond, M., & Bruch, S. K. (2010). Unanticipated educational consequences of a positive parent-child relationship. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(5), 1377–1390. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00771.x 
  3. Children Benefit When Parents Have Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ssnrs-for-parents.pdf
  4. Crandall, A. A., Powell, E. A., Bradford, G. C., Magnusson, B. M., Hanson, C. L., Barnes, M. D., Novilla, M. L., & Bean, R. A. (2019). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a framework for understanding adolescent depressive symptoms over time. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(2), 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01577-4 
  5. Mental health of children and parents – a strong connection. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/features/mental-health-children-and-parents.html#:~:text=The%20mental%20health%20of%20children,support%20their%20children’s%20mental%20health.