You, the parent, are your child’s first teacher. Your child learns from listening to what you say and watching what you do. Here are some measures that you may take daily that will assist in building a strong relationship with your child and shaping a healthy and happy environment.

You can help your child build confidence and a sense of worth by showing affection, and by monitoring his or her whereabouts as well as what he or she is watching, reading or listening to. This helps ensure their safety and shows you care.

You can reward your child with praise and attention for good behavior, set a routine that is consistently followed, and follow through with consequences — consistency is reassuring and a part of discipline.

It is also important to teach your child by actions, not words, and to challenge your child by giving him or her more responsibilities and the opportunities to try new things and solve problems.

Ask questions and avoid being judgmental. When doing so, give them your full attention and really listen.

Another way to shape a healthy environment is simple: Ensure your child gets enough sleep, at least 60 minutes of physical activity, and three healthy meals every day. Also, be sure your child has his or her needed vaccines and dental and health check-ups.

It is also important to read together daily and to take care of yourself — you must be at your best to provide the best for your child.

It has been proven that the more engaged a parent is in their child’s education, the better the child learns. Besides the interactions between you and your child at home, being involved in school life also has a tremendous impact on their learning process.

Very simple steps that can be taken are attending parent information sessions and school events, and also to volunteer in your child’s classroom, enabling you to understand what your he or she is learning. This shows them that you value their education.

We know demands on parents are enormous and continue to grow as the needs of children and the complexity of our society increase, however, with the majority of a student’s time being spent outside of school, parents are primarily responsible for their child’s learning.

To help parents, the Public Schools of Robeson County offers a series of Parent Night activities. These monthly activities are designed to help parents ensure educational success for all students, and will be held at Southeastern Agricultural Center. The Public Schools of Robeson County will offer dinner from 6:15 to 6:55 p.m. to parents registering and attending each activity. The educational presentations will be from 7 to 8 each night.

Johnny Hunt is the superintendent of the Public Schools of Robeson County.