Education is an important key to unlocking your children’s potential, and is one of the most important things an individual needs. You naturally want the best for your children, and education counts as a top priority. After all, with education, your children will be able to fulfill their dreams and become what they desire.
As much as we would like to help our children in their schoolwork all the time, we know we have to let them learn on their own. As a parent, what you can do is to help them develop good study habits and keep them focused on their education, but here lies the challenge.
Your attention please
The one main factor that affects a child’s focus, or anyone’s focus for that matter, is the presence of distractions. Distractions need to be identified and eliminated for children to be able to concentrate on the task at hand. Whether it’s doing an assignment for History class, or sharpening up their reading comprehension skills, your children can quickly lose focus once the phone rings or the television turns on. Help your children concentrate on their studies by teaching them to ignore or cancel out distractions.
You can also establish a system that communicates the message that your children should continue with their work after an initial distraction. This could be as simple as a hand signal that means “no more talking”. A simple hand on the shoulder when a child begins to get distracted can become a reminder that he or she needs to stay focused on the current task at hand. This is a system so simple that even your children can create signals of their own to communicate with you.
Make a list, check it twice
Creating a to-do list with your children teaches them the skill of planning. People who plan out their activities can more efficiently prepare for them than people who do not. Although having a list of things to do may intimidate some kids, making this list together and talking them through it helps. This list can be as short as a daily to-do list or something more comprehensive for the entire week. Once your children finish a certain task, let them cross these out from the list. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of satisfaction after a long to-do list has been completed. Starting this habit young will help your children tackle more demanding tasks in a carefully organized and planned manner as they grow older.
Easy does it
Everyone likes a good resting period. Even older individuals are recommended to take breaks while studying and doing academic work. The brain needs a little time to recuperate when doing intensive tasks, such as improving math study skills. This is especially true for children. Let your children take a breather of, say, 10-15 minutes depending on their age. Let them grab a glass of water and rest a while before returning to their work, but don’t let them get too distracted. Remind them that they still have work to do. Taking breaks is effective for committing things to long term memory, even in adult learners.
These are just some of the ways you can keep your children focused while studying. Teaching them to develop discipline and good study habits early on will surely help them as they grow older, even after they’ve graduated from college.
