Negosentro | Encouraging Your Child to Learn More Effectively | Parents often tell their children that their only duty is to learn, while they (the parents) have to work. However, the learning process adults speak of doesn’t come easy on children.
Your child requires parental guidance when it comes to improving the way he or she adopts new knowledge, both in life and at school.
Lead by example
You are never too old to learn new things and your CV probably states that you are a lifelong learner. Well, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and start leading by example. Pretend you have an important document you have to learn by heart, so your child will be motivated to learn a poem or do their homework.
Children like to copy their parents’ actions, so if they see that you are hard at work, they will develop a positive attitude toward learning early on. You can try out such “trickery” as early as possible, while the children are still in kindergarten.
Reading books in early childhood
Speaking of early childhood, this is the ideal period to instill in your child a love towards knowledge (and preferably science). They don’t have to learn anything when they are 6 years old but they can start reading books, were it only picture books.
In fact, reading is good for everything from the child’s reading skills to developing their vocabulary. Reading a book requires the child to stay focused for longer periods, which is, later on, transformed into the ability to stay focused on learning for hours on end (if necessary).
Teaching your child to take a break
The reason why children don’t like to learn or they learn ineffectively is because they imagine learning is hard. In their mind, they have to sit down and cram for a whole day before an exam. This is plain wrong, as learning for shorter periods but more often will produce better results.
Instruct your child to take a short break from learning every half an hour or 45 minutes, depending on their age. This way, they will constantly feel energized to sit down and learn or at least read a book. Forcing oneself to take a break is a skill that will come in handy in adulthood.
The advantages of preschool
Another great way to get your child to fall in love with learning is peer pressure, to put it in those words. Namely, when they attend preschool, they are surrounded by other children who are given simple tasks, such as memorizing a poem by heart.
Once your kid sees that other children are learning and having fun, they will want to do the same. Attending an early learning child care centre is also a great opportunity for your child to socialize. This is important, as they will learn alongside others all way to college.
Learning is fun
Having mentioned a daycare centre, children get to play there a lot. In fact, if you were to ask your 4-years-old what they learned today in preschool, they would reply that they just played all day long.
The curriculum is designed in such a way that learning is made fun, so children aren’t even aware they are learning the letters of the alphabet, to list one example.
Ideally, this is what the learning process should look like. Once children realize that learning is fun, they will be more motivated by the time they start school.
Let the child be in control
If you wish your child to learn more effectively, then you have to let them have a say. Getting bosses around is the surest way to kill the last atom of motivation in a child. As mentioned earlier, the learning experience should foremost be fun but this is impossible to achieve if the child feels pressured.
Ask your child what they would like to learn or what their favorite school subject is. When it comes to reading books, allow the young ones to choose the books they like. Children should even have a saying about the daycare centre you enroll them in.
It’s not about the results
In Finland, whose education system is ranked among the top in the world, the focus is not on the grades. In fact, the results of learning shouldn’t be a priority for children, as they unnecessarily put pressure on young learners.
When it comes to school tests, never ask your child which grade they got but how they did. By focusing on the learning process rather than the grades and performance, you are helping the child set priorities.
In addition, enquiring about what happened at school is a great way to demonstrate the importance of education. Children adopt the same priorities in life as their parents do.
Encouraging your child to learn effectively is important because learning is a complex process. When children grow fond of learning and see it as a game early on, they are more likely to become efficient learners when they grow up.
Mike is an Australian business consulting specialist. He’s working with companies that outsource their IT maintenance. He often writes about technology, business and marketing and is a regular contributor on several websites.
