Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by Marie Bautista
When you become a parent you want to do everything possible to make sure that your children have a happy, well rounded and loving childhood. You want to ensure that they are the best people that they possibly can be, so you do everything you can when they are children to develop them into that. Academic success is one of the things that we often believe are the best things for our children.
We read to them, we help them write, and we even purchase 4th grade writing prompts to help to round off their education at home. While academic potential isn’t the be all and end all for your children, it’s still an important factor if you want them to feel like they can go into the world and make it their oyster. The problem is that it’s not always easy to help a child to learn. In fact it can be downright difficult some days. Knowing how to help your child to learn can be hard, but you can take practical steps to make it easy. Education is not a privilege; it’s a right, and yet we treat it as a privilege.
Everybody has a right to an education, and you can make it so that your children have the best possible education out there because you are going to support them every step of the way and stop here are some of the ways that you can help your child to learn faster and achieve academic excellence as just one part of their amazing personalities.
- Read. There are so many studies over the years that have shown that one of the most effective ways to foster their academic growth is to read to them out loud. Whimsical characters, brightly coloured pictures, and fun words and word play make reading exciting for children. Not only can children develop their listening comprehension, it helps them to realize that reading is a very fun activity and not just something that has to be done because their teacher says so. This is so important because the love of learning really does create that motivation to keep going. The more you read to them when they are young, the better they will learn to read as they get older and they will fall in love with the world of books.
- Be interested in what they’re doing. Almost every child responds with I don’t know when asked how their day at school has been, but that’s because the right questions aren’t being asked. Supporting your children at home is a wonderful way to foster their learning, so if you know you have a budding artist at school, or a mathematician who absolutely loves numbers, you can incorporate that into your at home activities. Supporting their learning at home is a good way to foster it, and it doesn’t have to be boring and learning by rote. You could bake with your child and teach them how to measure and weight; And that science. You can teach them how to counsel money to go to the shops with and help you to purchase what you need, that’s math. The simple act of showing a good interest in what they are learning can really encourage them to learn new skills because all children want to do is impress their parents. Of course, they don’t realize that they are already impressive all by themselves, but if it’s going to encourage their academic success, then keep that going.
- Look for learning opportunities in everyday life. Learning has to be fun instead of being a chore. Going to fun escape rooms to help children with their problem solving skills may feel like a fun day out for them, but you know better. You know that that fun escape room is all about building skills in counting and comprehension, and it could also help them to learn how to work better as a team. You could take your children to planetariums and local museums, historic sites and more. How many ways that you could teach them about other cultures and other worlds, and you can be a part of fostering that amazing thirst for knowledge that your children will have one day. Even something as simple as learning how to pitch a tent or watching a bird build a nest can help to foster your child’s learning.
- Teach them how to study. It’s not actually easy for people to settle into studying. Children will usually start taking tests in grade school, but they most likely do not naturally know how to study effectively for these tests. Providing them with real life examples and study tips can really help them to succeed, you can draw on your own experiences to talk about how testing is a memory test rather than a knowledge test, and you can then work on taking down that anxiety and fear that surrounds exams.
- Keep them focused on learning and not on their grades. Grading is all about government intervention in the education system. Some children are fantastic learners that are packed with knowledge but they face tests with anxiety and are unable to test well. It’s so easy to hone in on the grades and expect that your children are going to be rubbish at life if they don’t pitch straight A’s, but that’s not the case. In fact, so many children get despondent about their learning because they are not hitting those high grades. Be the kind of parent that encourages them to be the best that they can be, because then your children will understand and learn that when they do test for school their best is good enough for you. Pressure on their grades being higher and higher is not going to help them and is not going to make them any better. It’s just going to create anxiety.
- Equip them with the right learning support. This can look like so many different things, from one additional learning support person with your child, to purchasing old tests that they will be facing during the academic year so that they can practice. Practice tests don’t have any pressure associated with them. They can help your child to develop confidence, strengthen their academic weaknesses and make them feel like they are able to cope with the actual testing situation because you’ve already practiced it. You have to remember that when there’s practice involved and it’s not new, it becomes easier for your child to relax in the actual situation.
- Help your child with a good routine. If you want your child to be more academic or at least be able to handle their current academic situation, they need to be well rested, hydrated and well fed. They also need to have adequate outdoor time. You may not be a big fan of homework for example so you could talk to school to make sure that your child has enough free time after school to be able to spend their energy elsewhere. You want to make sure that your child is better prepared to learn and to perform their very best. That doesn’t mean that they should be studying every hour of every day, but making sure they have a routine of effective study and healthy habits.
Ensuring that your children are happy academically is important, but it’s not as important as having a well rounded and sensible child. Take your time to figure out what makes your child tick and you will ensure that you have a happy kid. That’s the main thing!