If you want your child to succeed in school, there’s one thing that parents are being encouraged to do in the beginning of the year and that’s be as involved as possible. As a matter of fact, new research shows that family and school engagement has specific rewards for students. In other words, there are plenty of incentives for moms and dads to stay engaged with their children’s schools.

According to Science Daily, a new study reveals that both elementary and middle school children are less likely to have concentration problems or behavioral issues throughout the school year if their parents make an effort to be engaged with their school early on. While there is no doubt that parental involvement can be beneficial to both students and the school, families who are more helpful in and out of the classroom have even greater benefits.

A team of researchers at the University of Missouri found that families are often less engaged with a school when their child enters middle school compared to elementary school. But here’s the thing: both elementary and middle school children are less likely to have concentration problems and behavioral issues if their parents made a greater effort to be engaged earlier on.

Tyler Smith, a senior research associate in the College of Education simply says that parents who are more involved at the school get to see the benefits to their child grow over time. Smith said, “In addition to being less likely to have emotional or behavioral issues in class, we also found that students with engaged parents ended the year with better social skills and were able to focus on tasks easier.”

The researchers also noted that one of the reasons why there is less family engagement in the middle school years is because of the change in the student and teacher ratio. Plus, many parents often expect their children to become more independent in their studies and school work by the time they hit the sixth grade.

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However, there are still many ways that parents can stay involved, even during the middle school years. Needless to say, teachers always have a lot on their hands, regardless of what grade they teach. That’s why parents are often asked to get involved in a variety of different ways including school functions, volunteering at events or joining a parenting group. Also, parents should also keep in touch with a child’s teacher.