The foundation of education starts not at school, but rather at home. Family, especially parents, are the role models from which children would derive their core values, inspiration and motivation. As such, parents play a vital role in shaping the outlook of a child’s academic journey. Practices at home can have a vital influence on the child’s learning habits, how they handle their failures and successes, which would have a massive impact on their academic achievements.
If you’re thinking of boosting your child’s performance in school without depending solely on their basic class activities, here are some suggestions to help maximise the support your child receives:
While you may not necessarily have the tools or understanding of the current educational demands in schools, there are ways in which you can still be actively involved in your child’s learning development. Every child is special and how they learn best is different as well. By involving yourself in your child’s development, you would be able to find out how best your child learns and which tools or services out there would give your child the best chance at succeeding.
Schedule learning time at home/ homework
Consistency, discipline and routine is very important for a child’s cognitive development. In the long run, whether to help them succeed in school or in life, these are the 3 core disciplines that would allow any child to maximise their potential. Just like reminding your child to brush their teeth at least twice a day would minimize the number of cavities in their mouths and keep their teeth healthy, giving them schedules helps to build consistency and routine.
24 hours a day is very long if you do not have a plan, and more often than not, would end up being wasted away, so helping your child schedule and break down their time to bite-sizes would help them to place focus on their given tasks at each allotted time, including play.
As parents, your child would look up to you as a role model, and the best way to lead your child is by action. What goes on at home would set your child’s perception on what is normal, as such getting involved by setting a routine for yourself would go a long way to motivate your child to do the same.
Moreover, you would know your child’s activities and commitment best, and would be in the best position to help your child plan his/her time and enforce this positive behavior with rewards or praises.
Having a child is an enriching journey, not only for the child itself but for you as well. Be the best you can for your child!
Assisting your child with his/her academics
For parents who are comfortable helping with your child’s homework or tasks, assisting them with their daily homework/learning would be very helpful to strengthen your child’s learning development.
Schools, for the most part, serve to equip your child with new knowledge. However, after your child has learned something, they would have to find a way to remember them. Schools do that by assigning homework, exercises and exams to help your child review what they have learned, as well as ensure that they have learned the right thing. Unfortunately, teachers may not always have the available time or resources to review with each and every child after they have marked them. This is where you, as a parent, can step in to assist your child in keeping afloat on their academics.
Be involved in your child’s homework, exams or tasks. That’s not to say that you must watch over your child as he/she works on it or keep track on all the homework, exercises or tests returned to them. Rather, it can be as simple as keeping an open communication channel by encouraging your child to approach you or contact you if they ever require assistance or clarification.
Never berate them for a task poorly done, provide guidance to help them do better next time.
Homework never has to be a dreading task – constantly encourage your child and remind him/her that he/she is not alone. Overtime, your child will develop self-confidence, strong self-esteem and a positive attitude towards challenges.
Provide sufficient support to help your child succeed
These days, you would be hard-pressed to find a family where there is only 1 bread winner. Due to the cost of living and constantly evolving job market, not every couple would feel comfortable putting all their eggs into one basket. As such, the amount of time that can be spent on monitoring your child’s progress can be limited.
In such instances, you can get support from external parties in the progress of your child’s development. Whether it be hired help, tuition, enrichment classes, childcare centres these are the available services that could aid in your child’s development.
Actively communicate with your child to ensure that your child is comfortable, in a conducive environment and receiving sufficient support from these services.
Check out our site to find out more on how we can support your child.
Allow room for mistakes
Mistakes does not signal an end, they are opportunities for a child to learn. Different children learn differently, and not all children are prodigies, as such, you should never hold your child to high expectations without allowing any room for mistakes and failures.
Putting pressure on your child might end up being counter-productive and cause them to develop negative associations to learning especially if your child is unable to meet your expectations. Nobody is perfect but everyone has the potential to succeed. Instead, work with your child to find the best way to help them succeed.
Create a learning zone
Even as adults, we have been there. Even with the best of intentions to stay on task, we still catch ourselves watching Netflix or liking people’s Instagram photos while we are supposed to work. Given that everything is made so accessible through our phones and internet connection, distractions are becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Distractions cause a massive loss of productivity as your focus is divided.
To help your child minimize the amount of distractions available, you can create a space at home where it is exclusively for your child to study. I know, space constraints are a thing and not everyone has the luxury of having a spare room to convert to a study room. That is reality. So instead of getting that fancy study room, you can instead utilize an arbitrary space in your house that has the least number of items that are distracting to your child. For some, it might be their dining table, for others, it may be in the room you share with your spouse. Perhaps shifting all the distracting elements and concentrating them elsewhere might be the way to go.
If it is impossible for you to create a space for your child, then there are other alternative spaces outside that may provide them a conducive environment, such as the library or even their school campus. However, for such scenarios, it is vital that you are aware of the tasks needed to be completed and ensure to check that it is done, otherwise this would be counterproductive.
Check out this article, some pointers may be useful in helping reduce distractions at home.
Allow your child sufficient rest and play
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
– The Shining, Stephen King
Stress plays a major role in impeding progress. Between tackling difficult or confusing concepts and processing large volumes of new information, it can get quite overwhelming for your child. So instead of continuously cramming and working, don’t forget to allow your child to get good amounts of R&R. Whether it be sports, gaming, reading, or shopping, it is important to give your child an outlet for them to unwind so that they can last another mile.
This is also a good way to reward your child for a good day of hard work. Play and relaxation is 10 times more satisfying when you work for it. Play is a good way to motivate your child to put in that extra effort, and develop positive association towards work.
However, play should never be used a means to punish them. For example, if your child misbehaves and refuses to do homework for the day, taking away play may not be helpful towards your child in the long run. Instead, try to find out the root cause for his/her unwillingness to work, and re-evaluate your child’s schedule. On some occasions, it can genuinely your child’s cry for help due to exhaustion.
Nutrition and good Health
Last but not the least, a proper diet can affect your child’s performance in school. Providing them healthy food that could help develop their brain and improve their memory. Having a well-balanced meal also helps them to get through their day-to-day activities in school.
Boosting your children’s academic performance can a bit challenging at times. Points discussed above can be very helpful if you can practice it right. Know that you are not alone in your child’s development and there are a lot of useful articles, book and professionals available to help you and your child succeed. Embarking on the learning journey and your child’s development can be a very rewarding and unique experience, not just for your child but for you too. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and any other advice for fellow parents out there!
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References:
Chen, G. (2018, February 16). 9 Smart Tips for Boosting Your Child’s Academic Success.