It should come as no surprise that all parents want their kids to succeed at school. However, most parents fail to understand that a child’s academic success is a collective effort. Meaning, parents have to work as a team to understand a child’s psychology and adopt suitable learning techniques for the latter’s benefit.
Parental involvement in children’s education can translate into learning proficiency, student engagement, school completion, and academic success. With your support and regular practice, your child, too, will discover how joyful learning truly is.
On that note, here are some proven tricks you can use to motivate your child to learn:
How to Motivate Child for Learning
Get Involved
Sure, you have a house to clean, a regular job to go to, and mouths to feed – yeah, I get it, life is tough. But most other parents are as busy as you are. Still, they make time for school nights, school events, and parent-teacher conferences to stay updated on their wards’ activities.
Active participation boosts your child’s confidence and helps the teachers directly communicate your ward’s performance and drawbacks. So, participate in your children’s school activities, communicate with the teachers, and check the school calendar to prepare for upcoming events. That way, you are aware of the happenings in school, and it’ll become easier to communicate with your child and the teachers.
Inculcate the Habit of Reading
Let’s get one thing straight – if your child struggles with reading, s/he will find learning hard– it’s that simple.
Reading isn’t only crucial for building richer vocabulary, but it also improves information processing abilities and communication skills.
Help your child understand the significance of reading. Make it a routine to read to them and have them read to you. Don’t only sit with textbooks – get some interesting reads to create a fun reading atmosphere. Once children realize how enriching the experience is, they will indulge in more reading.
Don’t Be Hungry for Power
Most helicopter parents like complete control and make unrealistic study routines, and enroll their wards in numerous extracurricular activities without realizing that such kind of pressure only pushes children to withdraw from learning.
It’s undoubtedly important to guide children through their lessons and extracurricular activities but within a limit. Whether at home or school, children should be given control of their learning. For instance, allow your child to choose the assignments they want to do and the extracurricular activities they are passionate about, and you guide them from behind when required.
Set a Routine & Follow
It’s essential to get your child to follow a routine from an early on. Children who follow a pattern tend to perform better academically. So start with a proper sleep routine, including nap hours.
Since we are living amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, most children are learning online. Check with the teachers and divide time for each class along with lunch and short breaks. Once school hours end, plan various indoor or outdoor activities to relax.
During the study hour, sit with them and ask about their classes. Show interest to gain interest. Your routines can be different, but the main goal should be to make your children get into the habit of doing things, so they know what to expect.
Encourage Your Child to Express
Most parents are hard on their children, due to which they often avoid expressing themselves and disengage with learning.
Always encourage children to be vocal about their feelings. Create an environment that allows them to share their opinion and feeling without hesitation. Even if you disagree, make them feel that their opinions matter and you are ready to listen to them and help them out.
Focus on Their Strengths & Weaknesses
Instead of scolding your child for scoring a “C” on a math test, try to determine the challenges s/he has with the subject. Identify why they find the basics challenging to grasp and find ways to help them get better.
Also, don’t forget to highlight their strengths. For example, if s/he has done well in spell bee, appreciate their effort and reward them with something s/he loves.
Being a parent, don’t always look for results and push your child to the edge. Instead, focus on their learning experience and guide them to turn their weaknesses into strengths.
Experiment with Different Learning Styles
As not one size fit all, there’s no right or wrong way of learning. That’s why; it’s on parents to help children discover their preferred methods to indulge in quality learning.
There are seven primary learning styles – auditory, visual, physical, verbal, social, logical, and solitary. For example, children who learn best by seeing videos of how things work are visual learners.
For children, you can try game-based learning to improve their retention abilities and engage them with studies. Using the game-based learning method, you can simplify complex mathematical problems, introduce new concepts, and teach grammar rules to make learning less cumbersome.
Enforce Good Habits
Children cannot perform well if they are not well. Everything plays a crucial role in a child’s academic success, from eating healthy to maintaining a healthy sleep routine. Hence, to ensure your child does well in school, you must keep the habits in check.
- Choose a bedtime that gives your child sufficient rest.
- Provide healthy, well-balanced meals to make sure your child is well-fed and adequately hydrated.
- Teach your child to complete their homework on time, so there’s no need to extend their study hours.
- Prepare a proper homework routine to stay on par with the deadlines.
- Encourage your kids to exercise or indulge in different physical activities to improve blood circulation.
- Limit their screen time, especially playing video games on mobile phones. You can make bedroom gadget-free zones, so they go to bed on time and have a good rest without any distraction.
Observe Your Child
You have to work closely with your child to help them excel in school. Hence, keep an eye to see if they have everything to work on and excel. Understand the way they work and provide the resources they need to do well.
From assigning the best place in the house for studying to giving them your undivided attention, be their guide every step of the way. If your child performs well in a school-like environment, try to recreate the same at home.
Track their results in all subjects. Check early on if they require additional academic help so you can provide the necessary assistance at the right time for maximum results.
Tell Them Why It Matters
Interest rubs off, mainly when the subject is boring. However, children are likely to become more sincere and dedicated to it once they understand its significance.
Whether it’s math, science, or English, paint a picture and help them to see what awaits them. We live in a highly competitive world filled with high expectations and disappointments. High GECEs and SATs are prime requirements to get into better schools. Take this opportunity to share new information, fun facts, and real inspirational stories to encourage them to learn.
As a parent, don’t hesitate to indulge in some learning yourself. There’s only a certain amount that teachers can do. You have to fill the gaps and support your child with the knowledge they need to do well.
Final Note
Parents want to provide their children with the best to succeed and have a better life. But one of the main factors that can make it happen is you. So be there for your kids and make them feel welcome to reach out to you. Tell them why studying and good grades matter so you both can achieve a common goal: to become good learners and have flourishing careers.
