How to Encourage Your Child’s Studying
It is essential for students to be adamant about taking responsibility for furthering their education. It can be frustrating for parents to see their child express a lack of interest in schoolwork. To facilitate your student’s learning, parents can encourage their children to develop healthy, effective, and fun studying habits to better their outlook on school.
1. Identify the issue
Prior to setting a studying regime for your child, have a discussion that allows you to recognize what specific weaknesses your student may have. What factors are causing your child to avoid studying? Are they struggling with the material? Conversely, is the work not challenging enough, leading to boredom? There can be a multitude of answers to these questions, but it is crucial for a parent to first identify the issue that stems from the student’s difficulties in school.
2. Avoid continuous reminders and replace with words of encouragement
Parents always want what is best for their child, yet this may be misinterpreted by the student. Try to reword some phrases when speaking to your child. For example, instead of saying, “When I was your age, I did…” and creating a comparison in their mind, approach your child with encouraging words like “That is a good idea, but perhaps try this technique.” It is easy for students to build a hatred towards schoolwork if parents give discouraging remarks or constantly hold their students to unrealistic expectations. Instead, encourage your children to do the best that they can, and you will provide unconditional support.
3. Develop and follow a realistic study routine
Structure is a key indicator for child success in school. Having a set schedule that indicates when your child will complete their work will be both helpful in keeping them on track with school and it is motivating each time they finish an assignment. To also visually see the breakdown of how long it will take to complete their homework, it can make school significantly less overwhelming for students. It is also important to ensure flexibility in the initiate schedule and to account for disruptions that may arise, making it easy for a student to continue completing their assignments if other personal or academic issues arise.
4. Taking breaks for optimal attentiveness
It is not practical for anyone, especially a child, to be expected to work continuously for hours on end without a break in sight. That is why spacing out your child’s study time will lead to the highest degree of productivity, as opposed to loosing attention and yielding lower quality work. Try to implement either short, frequent breaks, or a few long breaks after sustained study periods; regardless of which methodology works for your child, they will greatly benefit from these pauses between studying.
5. Establishing an Adequate Study Area
It is critical for your child to be in a spot that allows for them to work on their assignments and allow for critical thinking. For some, setting up a quiet and comfortable space for your child to study at home is beneficial. If there are several distractions hindering your child’s productivity, this can serve as a major difference in your child’s studying. For others, they may excel from collaborative environments that lead to generating ideas and analytical thinking. Again, regardless of which study space works best for your child, it should be set up and maintained throughout the duration of the school year to ensure your child’s success in their academics.
6. Guarantee the accessibility to resources your child may need
If possible, it is important to provide your child with all the resources they may need to finish their assignments and excel in their academics. Whether it is additional tutoring classes or merely just school supplies, supplemental tools will be extremely beneficially for your student.
7. Seeking external services
If your child prefers to work in a group setting or you want to see if tutoring classes align with your student’s learning style, consider getting outside instruction. Your child may be more willing to listen to the advice and guidance of a tutor, and a tutor can present various techniques and skills that can excel your child’s performance in school.
If you think your child would benefit from having a tutor, call 224-935-2366 or email stella.sweiss@acf-us.org to learn more about our tutoring program.