Parents often expect high grades and good results from schoolchildren. Still, it is worth remembering that the long and complex process of gaining knowledge is the child’s responsibility and the parents themselves and requires their direct participation.
Methodologists tell about what to do to help your child love learning, do well, and get joy from the learning process.
Help with Difficult Homework.
Students of any age need to feel their parents’ support and know that they will help them if they don’t cope with something. It is essential to be patient, not shout at your child, and not swear in a difficult situation. Yes, some things seem obvious to us, but it is worth remembering that this is a new material he is just learning to work for a child.
In talking about failures or bad grades, it is very important to have competent criticism. It is not necessary to scold for rates; it is essential to analyze and discuss how to correct them and what you need to do to do this. It is important to avoid value judgments such as: “You didn’t prepare well!”, “You didn’t finish!”, “You disappointed me,” and so on.
It is better to replace such phrases with “Let’s think about why we got it wrong”, “Let’s figure out and analyze why it didn’t work,” “And how we can fix the situation”. These statements will help the child understand that he can count on the help and support of relatives, and, secondly, any mistake can be corrected, and there is no need to be afraid to make them.
If you constantly scold the child, he or she will accumulate stress. Therefore the desire to learn will disappear because pressure prevents children from believing in themselves and negatively affects motivation. Stick to a simple rule: no tension – there will be no aversion to learning.
Help Formulate Learning Goals.
Help your child have a positive and positive attitude towards learning and understand the necessity and importance of the knowledge he/she gets.
Help your child articulate goals: when a student has a goal, he understands better why he needs education and why he should spend so much time studying. Even a young schoolchild has an idea of careers, dreams of his future, and perhaps even imagines what he would like to become. Hence, it is essential to talk to your child about the necessity and value of the knowledge he receives. Perhaps your child is interested in writing essays, and then you can explain to him that he may become a writer, a paperhelp specialist, or a screenwriter in the future.
As your child gets older, it is especially important to discuss his goals and the importance of education in achieving them.
Motivate Your Child
It is important to get your child properly motivated to learn. Internal motivation can be both internal and external. Internal motivation comes with interest and understanding of future goals, while external stimulation depends on praise and encouragement from adults: it is essential for a schoolchild to feel that he is doing a good job and is doing well (even if not immediately).
A little schoolchild is dominated by external motivation, he/she looks at the teacher as an ideal, he/she wants to prove to his/her teacher and parents that he/she can do everything, cope with everything. If the child does not receive enough praise at the initial stage of schooling, or if parents only point out his or her mistakes and scold him or her for them, the child may lose faith in himself or herself and, at the same time, his or her motivation to learn.
It is important to explain to the schoolchild that anyone can make a mistake and that every mistake can be analyzed and corrected, thus creating a balance between the child’s mistakes and his or her successes.
Later, in adolescence, external motivation partially replaces internal. It is important to help the child formulate goals and show possible ways of further development at this stage. At the same time, as you grow up, the need for praise does not disappear, it also remains an external motivation and reinforces the internal one.
It is worth noting that motivation can also be negative. For example, suppose you use money or a promise to buy a new gadget as a motivation. In that case, the child will strive to get the prize in any way, often the easiest and not always the best (cheating, cheat sheets, searching for answers on the Internet), because the goal is a new gadget, not useful knowledge and skills. But suppose you instill in your child a love of learning, constantly talk about goals, and reward them by getting and understanding why they are needed. In that case, the motivation becomes positive, and the child’s desire to learn will only get stronger.
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Encourage a Hobby.
Anyone of any age needs to have a hobby, which they enjoy.
Observe your child and if you notice that he has a desire for a particular sport or creative activity, support him: enroll the child in a section, encourage him to develop in an area he is interested in.
Of course, it so happens that sometimes children quickly become disillusioned with a hobby, or they become uninterested. They may also want to do something else. This is absolutely normal, because the child learns the world, looking for something that he will really like. The main thing is not to leave your child alone at this stage and help him or her finds something he is passionate about—no need to insist on the activity that you choose. Give your child an opportunity to choose what is close to him. Only then will it achieve a high result and enjoy the lessons.
Do Not Overload a Child.
Of course, we all want our children to lead an active social life, be engaged in sports and art, master the school curriculum, read a lot, and study with private tutors. But life in such a rhythm can completely discourage schoolchildren from any kind of development.
If there are too many clubs and the schedule is too tight, then acquiring new knowledge and skills will become a routine and only cause boredom and a desire to distract and relax. In addition, it may also have a negative impact on the child’s motivation and health. Remember that everyone needs time to rest. Let your child sometimes just do nothing.
Create an Atmosphere at Home That is Conducive to Learning.
Provide leisure that will contribute to your child’s development, but it will be enjoyable, not forced learning. For example, go to an interactive museum, arrange an evening of board games or watch popular science shows together, find interesting chemical experiments and try to repeat them at home.
You can also make a tradition of family evening readings and choose a variety of literature, fiction, and popular science. Invite your child to participate in inventing and planning these activities. Show that learning something is fun and enjoyable.
Become an Example for Your Child.
You cannot instill in your child a love for what does not cause a passion for yourself. So try to show your child your interest in education: learn new things, read, develop, share the news, discuss what you’ve learned, talk about your discoveries and achievements in the work, and do not be stingy in expressing emotion. If a child sees your genuine interest in learning and development, he is sure to want to follow your example.
Teach Your Child to Learn.
One of the most important skills that will come in handy for a schoolboy in the future is finding and analyzing information independently. In other words, it is a learning skill. For a child to cram new things and develop consciously, you need to show him how to do this.
One way to develop reflection can be simply by keeping a diary. Ask your child what interesting or good things happened to him or her today, what he or she learned – and offer to write it down in a diary, let him or her do it regularly or at least from time to time. The ability to record information and analyze it will be very useful in learning.
Also, encourage your child to be independent. If the school has asked to prepare a project, offer the student to choose a topic independently, showing, if necessary, several possible options, listen to the child’s stories and ask him interesting questions, teach him to use search engines and translators, explain how to find the information he needs.
Be Interested in Your Child.
If necessary, learn with him or her.
Think of a time when you were in dialogue, telling something passionately, but he was not listening to you and was clearly not interested in your story or in meeting you at all. How did you feel? Chances are you felt a desire to leave or to stop his story because he is not interested in your interlocutor. It’s the same in a relationship with a child – if he doesn’t see your interest in his life or development, he won’t want to share the details of his life with you. If a child runs up to you and enthusiastically talks about the drawing he drew at school today, take time for this, react emotionally, ask him/her additional questions.
Sometimes it’s hard to make time for such seemingly “little things,” especially after a hard day at work, but it means the world to the little explorer. Keep track of your child’s hobbies, take an interest in them regularly, ask to teach you what he or she has learned on their own, ask your child’s opinion on what he or she is good at, talk to him or her about different topics. Feeling needed at home will make your child happier and more successful.
Learning is a time for your child to develop many new skills, such as assiduity and discipline, concentration, interaction with others, and more. All of these skills set the foundation for the future personality and influence its further development and success.
