teach a child

Meaning

This phrase refers to the act of educating a young person, whether by imparting academic knowledge, practical life skills, or moral values. It is used in discussions about parenting, schooling, and child development.

Examples

• It takes a lot of patience to teach a child how to ride a bicycle.

  It takes a lot of patience to teach a child how to ride a bicycle.

• One of the most important roles of a parent is to teach a child right from wrong.

  One of the most important roles of a parent is to teach a child right from wrong.

• Schools do more than just teach a child math and science; they teach social skills too.

  Schools do more than just teach a child math and science; they teach social skills too.

• If you teach a child to love reading early on, they will benefit for the rest of their life.

  If you teach a child to love reading early on, they will benefit for the rest of their life.

• She decided to become an elementary school teacher because she loves to teach a child new things.

  She decided to become an elementary school teacher because she loves to teach a child new things.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Parents must learn a child how to behave.

  ✓ Parents must teach a child how to behave.

  'Learn' means to gain knowledge, while 'teach' means to give knowledge. This is a very common L1 interference error.

• ✗ It is hard to teach to a child how to share.

  ✓ It is hard to teach a child how to share.

  The verb 'teach' is transitive and takes the person being taught as a direct object. Do not use the preposition 'to' before the child.

Related Expressions

Practice

• It can be challenging to ___ how to manage their emotions when they are upset.

  💡 Educate or guide a young person.

  Show answer

  teach a child

• If you want to ___ how to swim, it is best to start with basic water safety.

  💡 Instruct a young boy or girl in a skill.

  Show answer

  teach a child