Mistakes Sunday School Teachers Make and How to Avoid them (Part 5)

Teachers will tell you over and over the importance of getting to know parents. They can make or break your relationship with their child, because it is their responsibility to get their child to Sunday school each week! Contacting parents early on in the sessions opens the door to good communication throughout
the year. This good communication will encourage parents to make sure their child are in attendance each week. Supportive parents are also a great resource to help in the teaching and implementation of different ideas presented during Sunday school.

Teachers often forget the role that parents play in the development of their children’s spiritual lives. Ultimately, parents are the most important role model and influencer on their children lives. It is doubly important then for you, as a teacher and supplement to the education the children receive at home, to create and maintain a good relationship with those parents.

To create a good relationship with parents, there are several things you can do. During the first few weeks of the session, make a personal phone call home to talk to the parents about their child. Praise something unique that their child has done, such as, “Sally behaved so well in class last week, she got a reward!” or “John was extremely helpful in setting up the classroom for the day’s activity. I couldn’t have done it without him!” This will help parents to feel that their child is engaged, happy, and important to the overall classroom.

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Editors note

Sunday school lessons for 3-11 year olds
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Also, newsletters are a great way to stay in contact with parents. Send home a short newsletter once a month telling parents what events have just passed and what events are coming up. Let them know the lesson plans you have and the Bible passages that go along with the lessons, so that interested parents can read through the passages with their children before or just after the session. This is a good way for you to get extra help driving the ideas home to the children. Repetition is key to understanding, and if you can aid parents in repeating the lessons you have just imparted, the children will come back the
next session with a deeper understanding of the previous week’s lesson.
Schedule a meeting with all parents at the beginning of the sessions. When you have everyone together, tell them about yourself, your experience working with Sunday school or any other teaching setting, and tell them about your plans and goals for the year. Ask for their help and opinions. Parents know their children best, so take their advice and concerns seriously. Ask parents to contact you if something major changes in their home life that might affect their children. Often, you will notice a change in children, but without an involved parent to let you know the situation, you will not know the reason behind the change in behavior. Creating a relationship where parents feel comfortable sharing that information will help you and them, because it will better equip you to handle any changes in their child.

When dealing with parents, it also helps to have a documented log of any problems you have experienced with a child. If you jot down days and events when things have gone wrong, it will give you a better view of the entirety of a problem.

When you have to contact a parent about bad behavior, or perhaps when you meet with them for periodic conferences, you will have a record of any issues you have dealt with regarding their child. Parents often do not believe that their children are causing problems, so if you can show them a detailed account of each incident, they will be much more likely to believe you and give support in disciplining their child. This usually will not be a problem because of the environment of Sunday school, but you will always have problem children that you must handle. It is always easier to deal with these children with the help of their parents. Otherwise, the parents are likely to withdraw their child from your sessions or tell them that they need to continue going but provide no other support, leading the child to believe the sessions are worthless, and continuing the cycle of disruptive behavior.

Easter lesson for Sunday school