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A child's education sets the foundation for their future life. Parents should actively participate in this education for a number of reasons. A child's education is all encompassing. It is not merely what they learn formally in school, but also every life experience that they learn from.

The Reader's Digest Word Finder (1999) lists training, instruction, information, knowledge, enlightenment, mental development, cultivation and culture as synonyms for education. Clearly education is more than learning how to read, write and do sums. Education is embodied within all aspects of daily life, especially where children are involved.

For the purpose of this article I am going to talk mainly of parent involvement in terms of formal education as being that given in school and informal education, everything else a child learns! I will assume that parents are active participants in their children's informal education, else they wouldn't really be parents. Everything a child does is a learning experience, as a parent wouldn't you want to be highly involved as much as possible?

Children are an open slate. In the first few informative years prior to formal education parents are primarily responsible for education. With the onset of formal education, some parents feel that their role as educators is somewhat finished and it is best now to leave it to the professionals. This is certainly not the case. A parent that participates in a child's formal education is able to haver greater results in informal education. However, in many instances, informal education may occur without intention or realization.

By actively participating in your child's formal education you become aware of what is actually being taught. Formal Education is extremely subjective. This is particularly true in respect to history. Every war, every story has more than one side, but rarely are both taught. The side taught to your child during their education might conflict to your own interpretation beliefs and emotions.

I am not saying that children should be isolated and only educated with opinions that match their parents. What I am saying is, that by actively participating in your child's education you will be able to ensure that your child receives a balance in the knowledge that they gain. A balance, which you, as the parent, are entitled to control in the early years of life

A parent who participates actively in their child's education has the opportunity for greater communication with their child. For some

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