Do you feel as though your child is being held back from achieving their full potential in school? If so then you need to take steps to try and support them. If you don’t know how to go about doing this then here you will find out what steps you can take to help them today.
Teach them About Failure
Any skill requires you to be incompetent for a period of time. You need to keep going until you can get to the point where you are competent. What’s more is that if you encourage your child to increase their rate of failure, you can help them to learn and you can also give them the resilience they need to push through. It’s understandable that you don’t want your child to fail, and that is why you need to set them up by teaching them different ways to deal with a negative outcome. Teaching them chess is a very good thing to do, as it teaches them how to solve problems and it also aids them with strategic planning. It requires a great deal of discipline and it also teaches them how to concentrate. Many board games also include some element of chance, and it’s not always down to strategy. If you can use these to your advantage then you should be able to help your child. Explain early on in your child’s life that every single child has different talents and that not everyone can get a trophy for their efforts.
Make Learning a Fun Activity
If you can make learning fun for your child then this can stop them from experiencing a mental block when you suggest it. Research has shown time and time again that if you are in a good mood then this can make you way more receptive to learning. You may also be more willing to push through even the most difficult of tasks. If you can encourage your child to love learning then the rest will come easier. The key is for you to encourage them to have a positive mindset so that they become pre-programmed to succeed.
Allow them to Follow their Passion
In a world of specialization, it’s important to know that you cannot be good at everything. If you try then this will only result in you struggling later on. If your child is showing an interest in something then make sure you encourage them to pursue it. As a parent, there is a tendency for you to worry about the things that your child isn’t very good at. If English is their passion then great, push them in this department rather than pushing them to become better at math. You might even want to sign them up to a book club or something else similar, as this is a great way for you to make the most out of their natural talent.
Make Subjects Feel Rele
It is sometimes very difficult for a child to focus and enjoy a subject if they cannot see how it is going to benefit their lives or help them in the future. Specific subjects often are branded into things that adults find applicable. If you want to help your child then make sure that you encourage them to see things positively and that you teach them all the ways that they can benefit by simply applying themselves. If you can do this then you are bound to get the result you want out of your child’s education. You might also want to create resources at home if you want to support your child’s education. Depending on how much educational experience you have, you can also sell lesson plans online, if you can come up with some in an easy-to-use format. This is a great way to help other people in the same position as you.
Involve Games
Another thing you need to do is try and involve games as much as possible. If you can turn learning into a game then even children who are hard-wired to play will respond well. This is a very good way for you to increase the general engagement of your child and it can also help them to apply themselves much more. Some weeks you may find that your child turns up to school tired and disconnected, and if this is the case, then they probably won’t want to spend their time learning. If you can teach them how to play games however then this can benefit them. Scrabble is one of the best games to play if you want to help your child with their literacy. It’s not all about board games though. Over the last few decades, it seems that computer games have exploded and they are a great way for you to make your child more intelligent. Brain training games are popular but there isn’t much evidence to say that they will have a positive impact on you as a player.
Motivate your Children
The threat of taking something away from your child is often a good way to motivate them, but the problem with this is that it does not mimic life later on. If a child learns that the outcome of a situation is determined by their action then you will soon find that it is possible for you to nurture a strong sense of motivation. They can then take this with them to adulthood and beyond. One example here would be to tell your child that if they do not put their clothes in the laundry bag, then they won’t get washed. After a period of time, your child may realize that they can’t wear their favorite t-shirt anymore, as it’s dirty. The natural consequence of them not putting their laundry in the bag is that they can no longer wear their favorite clothes. Little lessons like this can help your child to understand that the actions that they choose do have consequences and although they might not always be felt right away, you do need to take steps to avoid them.
