We all agree that getting an education is necessary. It's been said a million times that a good education can ensure a bright future. That is why you send your young children to school for the next 15 years or so of their life. Despite your good intentions as parents, though, your children may not find going and staying in school as easy as you think. However, if you take the time, you can help them breeze through school and emerge with flying colors, just by instilling in them good study habits. Here's how to do it.
Nurture Love for Learning
As early as possible, help your child develop a love for learning. One way to do this is by giving him toys that require a lot of thinking. Do away with toys that only need new batteries to make them function. Instead, buy toys that are more of a challenge and, thus, more rewarding. Also, make it a point to make books and other informative reading materials abundant in your home. With this in mind, you cannot demand that your child read books while you sit in front of the TV, engrossed in the latest dilemma in Desperate Housewives. Set a good example by reading all these informative materials yourself.
Stick to a Schedule
Schedule a time after school that your child could spend studying. You might find that it works best to let your child take a break as soon as he arrives from school and do the studying after dinner. Or, you might believe in getting the work done right away so that your child can relax during dinner up to his bedtime. Whatever time you find that works best for your child, make sure that he sticks to the schedule. Allotting ten minutes or so a night to go over the lessons of the day will help ease the pressure and stress come exams time as your child won't have to study a large build-up of lessons.
Set Up for the Session
Before he sits down to begin studying, help your child make sure that everything he may need is at hand. Snacks should be fixed, visits to the bathroom must be done with, and all resources needed must be on hand before the study session begins. This will lessen the need for your child to be taken away from studying every 15 minutes or so and, thus, will eliminate distractions.
Maintain a Quiet Place
When studying,it's probably most important to look for a place that is plenty on peace and quiet and severely lacking in distractions. This automatically eliminates the living room if that is where appliances such as the computer, colored television and CD player reign supreme. The kitchen may also be a bad idea because all the food in the ref that are waiting to be consumed are as much distractions as a cool, blue ocean and sparkling white sand on a very hot day. Find a corner in your child's room instead that is well-ventilated and well-lighted. Again, this place should have everything that is normally needed when studying and must be neat and very well organized.
It's Worth Noting
Encourage your child to maintain neat and easily understandable notes. To do this, suggest that he take notes during class and then rewrite them at night. Rewriting will not only help him maintain neat and clear notes, it will also be a form of going over the day's lessons and will help him memorize important points. Along with keeping clear notes, also teach your child to organize all aids and resources that are assigned to him by his teachers. These should be kept in such a way that they can easily be found and retrieved when they are needed.
Doing Homework is Not Studying
Even though homework is a lot of work, it is still not the same as studying, and doing homework alone is definitely not enough. Thus, teach your child to go beyond doing homework. Make sure that, even when he doesn't have any homework, he spends time studying by going over past lessons and doing a bit of advanced reading.
Be Involved, But Not Too Much
Be nearby while your child studies. This doesn't mean you should be behind him, breathing down his neck as he tackles an algebra problem that has as much variables as the letters in the alphabet. Let him learn to be independent, but sit in the living room or somewhere near while you do some reading yourself or while you sort through the mail. The important thing is he knows where to find you in case he needs your help with studying. Also make it a point to check his work and to go over items that he might have answered incorrectly or that have him confused. If he does a job well done, let him know.
As your child's study habits improve steadily, he will come to realize that going to school prepared is as necessary as putting on sunscreen when going swimming, and that school can actually become a bit easier. Thus, even though he will spend a considerable portion of his life within the four walls of classrooms, he won't feel like it's all a survival-of-the-fittest situation and will come out of the experience equipped with the essentials in surviving real life.
