10 Ways To Motivate Children Academically
Do you feel that your child is facing academic difficulties and does not appear to be motivated to put in more effort? The first thing that you should do is determine if there is an obstacle in his way. Academic disengagement can be caused by a variety of factors, including learning difficulties, social challenges, lack of attention or emotional concerns.
A child’s first teachers are his or her parents, and home is their first classroom. Parents have an important role in shaping a child’s social, emotional, and physical development so that he or she can succeed in school and beyond. As a parent, here are 10 ways for academically motivating your child.
1. Develop a Reading Environment
It is believed that reading is the secret to achieving success in life. We would say that reading is, at the very least, a prerequisite for academic achievement. Children who like reading develop an interest in learning. Reading not only expands a child’s vocabulary, but it also trains their brain how to process concepts and formal communication.
Reading skills improve students’ ability to understand many subjects, even technical subjects like math and science. Let children pick their own books to read, join them while reading, and develop exciting reading activities for them.
2. Get Involved With Your Child
As a parent, your involvement in your child’s academic life is essential for their commitment to work. Help them with the homework or assignments and make yourself available to answer their questions. This is especially effective with young children. Make it a habit to discuss their classwork, what they learnt today and engage them academically.
Teenagers might get annoyed if you ask too many questions, so make sure you’re also sharing details about your day. A conversation is always preferable than an interrogation. Similarly, it’s important to be engaged yet give older children a little more space. If you constantly remind your grown-up child about his/her work, they may develop resistance and become less motivated to complete it- not to mention the strain it would put on your relationship.
3. Focus on Performance
Instead of immediately asking your child how he performed in his test when he gets home from school, have him explain to you what he learnt today. Rather than focusing on how your child performs, concentrate on what he is learning.
While performance is essential, concentrating on his learning experience will convey to your kid that actual learning is more important than test results. He’ll realize that you are concerned more about him than his grades, and by concentrating on his learning experience that day, you’ll give him the chance to put his lesson into his own words and reinforce what he’s learned.
4. Allow Them To Make Mistakes
Nobody can achieve an ‘A’ score on every test or perfect marks in every assignment. While it’s important to encourage children and push them to do their best, keep in mind that failures are inevitable. The only way for children to learn how to be properly prepared is to see what occurs when they are unprepared.
So,this is what you should do: Let your child make mistakes. Let them study at their own pace. This may seem scary from the perspective of a parent. However, failure or making a mistake is another stepping stone in the learning process.You can teach your children to embrace their mistakes as a means of self-improvement. When you will be positive, then only your child would also feel positive and motivated.
5. Appreciate Efforts Over Results
The value that you want your kid to develop is respecting hard work. Appreciate and reward kids for continuing work even when things got tough, for making a consistent effort, and for trying things they were not really sure they could do effectively. All of this can help teach them the pleasure of challenging themselves.
Instead of rewarding results, reward effort. If you simply praise them for the good grades that come easily, they might feel that they shouldn’t have exerted themselves. Recognize and appreciate your child’s accomplishments, no matter how small they may be. Finishing a tough assignment deserves a special reward; completing a math exam may call for a trip to the ice cream shop. When it comes to motivating your child to study, always employ positive reinforcement.
6. Share Your Enthusiasm For Learning
When it comes to learning new things, enthusiasm is contagious. If your child sees that you are genuinely interested in learning, they are likely to be interested in studying as well. Help him realize that learning is a journey of fascinating new discoveries, whether it’s history, science, reading, writing, or even mathematics.
Take advantage of every opportunity to learn something new with him, without being overwhelming. Your child will begin to share your enthusiasm for learning new things as he observes the delight and excitement that learning brings to your life.
7. Introduce Different Learning Styles
Every child has learning styles and preferences that are best suited to their way of learning. Some kids have a dominant single learning style, while others like to learn in a variety of ways. There is no such thing as a “right” or “wrong” learning style. By helping your child identify his preferred learning style, you can use techniques to enhance your child’s rate and quality of learning.
Visual, Auditory, Verbal, Physical, Logical (mathematical), Social, and Solitary are the seven basic learning styles. Children who are visual learners, for example, learn best by seeing how things really work. Children who are auditory learners, on the other hand, learn best by listening to things being explained to them. It’s beneficial for young kids to experiment with and use different learning styles to discover what is best for them.
8. Utilize Game-Based Learning
Game-based learning can be extremely beneficial for a variety of reasons. Using games as an educational tool not only leads to deeper learning and the development of cognitive abilities, but it also motivates children to study. The mind of a child enjoys the pleasure of learning a new concept when they are fully involved in a game.
Parents may use game-based learning to introduce new ideas, language, concepts, and knowledge to their children in a way that stimulates them to learn. Entertaining games have the extra benefit of motivating children to engage in the learning process and learn more.
9. Help Your Child To Stay Organised
Organizing your child’s papers, books, and assignments will go a long way towards motivating him to study. Disorganization is common among elementary school students, but it may also contribute to feelings of being overburdened.
Children who are overloaded spend more time and energy being frustrated and worried rather than studying. Be patient, but consistent in helping your kid to arrange his school materials and tasks. As a result of being well- organised, he will feel more in control, less overwhelmed, and more motivated to study.
10. Focus On The Strengths
When your child is struggling academically, it might be tough to focus on his or her strengths. Regardless, concentrating on your child’s strengths is important for his/her emotional and intellectual development. Another kind of positive reinforcement that can inspire your child to keep studying is to focus on his strengths.
Focusing on your child’s shortcomings, on the other hand, can only lead to discouragement, sadness, and a lack of motivation to learn. Has your child scored low marks in mathematics test ? So,in addition to providing him some additional mathematics help, make sure to compliment him on how well he is doing in science classes.
Being a parent is a never-ending responsibility. To keep your children motivated in life in every aspect, you must be there with them especially when they are exploring the world. Encourage your child to ask questions, and make connections wherever possible. Help him with classifying, and critically analyzing what he sees and experiences.
Making every day a learning day can help your child to develop the inner motivation to study in school, at home, or wherever he is. It may seem that turning every day into a learning day is a bit too much, but it isn’t if you go about it the correct way.