The principles of family education put forward by Yan Zhitui are: early childhood education, dignity, kindness, universal love, impartiality, dealing with the world and attaching importance to edification.

In terms of educational methods, Yan Zhitui advocates the combination of caring and educating children, and attaches importance to the exemplary role of parents.

In educational thought, Yan Zhitui advocated lifelong learning, which not only emphasized children's early education, but also put forward the idea of late learning, which still has a strong guiding significance today.

In terms of learning content, Yan Zhitui opposed the scholar-officials who were ignorant all day, advocated "practical learning", and advocated that intellectuals should get in touch with social real life, learn practical knowledge and learn agricultural production knowledge.