Parent-Child Bonding: From the Perspective of an After-School Education Specialist

Working with children is not an easy task. It takes tremendous amounts of patient and energy. A care giver is another role of a parent for most children. That means teachers, administrators, daycare providers and other after-school program specialist. The issue that is being stressed and focused upon is the bonding between parent(s) and their child(ren).

Children attend school for approximately 7 ½ hrs a day, a total of 37 ½ hrs a week. Then when school lets out most children attend an after-school program, whether it be daycare, YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, or other programs, they are normally there for about 4hrs at a max. Hey do the math and see that children are spending more time doing the week with educators and care givers than with parents. Some children still spend less time with parents do that some after-school programs host weekend activities. Out of those given hours how much is the child(ren) really spending with their parents.

Parents are missing out on a lot of growth with their children these days. They are more focused on have the extreme finest things than glorifying their child. Being a after school education specialist, everyday children are attaching there selves to the staff of the program I work for. Noticing that we as providers and educators try not to take away parenting from the parents, but when providers and educators are the ones that are given the most attention during the week, its kind of hard. They are receiving more verbal discipline, life advice and suggestion, emotional support and understanding, that of course providers and educators are trained in but the children aren’t always getting it from parents as often.