JAMAICAN parents have been encouraged to plan for their children’s education, as part of efforts to not only improve access but also to ensure good learning outcomes.

“It is very important that we give them the tools (to access and perform well in school so it is) very important that we plan. Effective parenting begins with planning for children,” Marcia McCausland-Wilson, president of the National Parent-Teacher Association, told Career & Education.

The planning process, she said, should begin before the children are born.

“It makes sense for parents to plan for the children, knowing parenting is very expensive; to have a child today is very expensive,” she said.

A good chunk of that expense, McCausland-Wilson said, was accounted for by education.

“So we always have to be cognisant of that fact that we have to plan for them in terms of money,” she said.

It is against this background, McCausland-Wilson said, that the national PTA had begun to put in place certain measures to assist parents — measures she encouraged them to take advantage of.

From time to time, for example, she said the national PTA invites banking and financial institutions to PTA meetings for them to not only preach the value of savings but also to supply them with savings and investment options in the best interest of their children.

“And it (the savings) will be ready for you when your child gets to high school or college,” she said. “Some of them are pretty easy; you can start with $500 or $1,000.”

According to McCausland-Wilson, some parents may lose their jobs, given the tough economic situation with which the island — like most other countries in the world — is faced, causing some companies to lay off people.

Still, she said it s critical that forge ahead with saving for their children’s education, recognising their role as parents and their responsibility to their offspring.

“Our responsibility is to them (the children). Even though you may lose your job, you have to put yourself in the frame of mind to say, ‘I have these children (and I must save to help them’,” McCausland-Wilson told Career & Education.

She added that sometimes parents may have to take a different kind of job than they were trained for or involved in or otherwise monetise their hobbies to turn a profit for their children and their needs.

With the holiday season coming to a close, McCausland-Wilson noted that parents should be putting the final touches on their preparations to have their children back in school in a few short days — even amidst all the merry making.

“Giving them the necessary books and tools (is essential). Without the books, they really will not be able to keep up,” she said.

“That is a challenge, I know; and it has been a challenge for a long time. You go into classes and you see children sitting — nine or 10 of them — around one book to take down homework or do the work assigned by a teacher,” she added.

Noting that finding lunch money is another challenge parents face, McCausland-Wilson advised parents to cut back on their spending on items that are clearly less important than their children’s education.