Idaho Parent Resource FAQ

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no television for children under two years old, and no more than one to two hours a day of television (and other media) for children over two years old. AAP also recommends a "media free zone" for children's bedrooms, keeping them free of TV, computers, and video games.

Stay involved. When the parent stays involved in their child's education, the student will stay involved in school. Asking questions is one simple way to do this. Try to ask questions that can't be answered with a simple yes, no, or fine. Questions like, "What was the best part of your day?" "What was the worst part of your day?" "What did your teacher say about your math homework?" or "How did soccer practice go?" encourage good conversations. In this way, kids see that their parents care about school and are there to support them.

Every school district publishes a handbook that shows graduation requirements for that district. In many cases, a digital version of the handbook is posted on the district's web site or individual school web sites.

To keep all the doors open, it's best to take as much math as possible. That's true whether your student plans to go into the job market, community college, technical college, or to a four-year college.

First, make sure you develop a positive family attitude toward math. You can nurture their curiosity and interest in learning new things. Adding age-appropriate puzzles, books, and other material can help give your home a math focus. Math can be difficult. Teach them they need to persevere when things are tough. By sticking with it, they'll learn confidence.