National Parents as Teachers Day
National Parents as Teachers Day celebrates the crucial role parents play in their children's education. This day reminds everyone that parents are the first and most important teachers.
Position parenting resources, educational products, and family-focused services as tools that empower parents to be effective first teachers.
- Share parent success stories: how everyday moments teach critical skills
- Promote educational tools/apps/books that support parent-led learning at home
- Partner with schools to highlight parent involvement programs and resources
- Create 'parent-teacher tips' content series celebrating parental impact on child development
National Parents as Teachers Day started in the early 1980s. Educators in Missouri noticed children were starting kindergarten with different levels of readiness.
This observation led to the creation of the Parents as Teachers program, which aimed to support parents in their role as their children’s first teachers.
In 1981, Missouri launched a pilot project to help first-time parents. The program was funded by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and The Danforth Foundation.
Its success led to statewide implementation in 1985, and the program eventually spread across all 50 states and several countries by the early 1990s.
The Parents as Teachers National Center declared the first National Parents as Teachers Day in 2001.
The day honors the vital role parents play in their children’s education and highlights the importance of parental involvement in early childhood development, providing parents with resources to help their children succeed.