The Practical Ways To Encourage Our Kids To Learn

When when we look at our children’s education and we feel we’ve got to take it into our own hands, the fact is that education comes from many unlikely sources, but we also need to remember that in order to teach them at home more effectively we must remember that our children need to develop the skills for learning more effectively. With this in mind let’s show you approaches that can be very effective.

Boy Standing Near Bookshelf Pixabay – CC0 Licence

Practice Makes Perfect

We live in an age where it appears we have to get everything right the first time. Our children can be discouraged if they don’t get something right away, but the fact is that in life we have to try and try again. We all need to learn how to practise learning something new. And this is something that we can transfer into real life. For example, if our children are playing video games and they’re not getting the hang of Madalin Stunt Cars 2 or Sonic Heroes, it’s not the end of the world. If something is difficult, it’s an opportunity to learn rather than it being a sign it is not for them. 

Encouraging Them To Push Themselves

Learning is about stretching ourselves. And we have to remember that being uncomfortable is a good thing. The most effective types of learners are those who are not afraid to push themselves. Because if your child never gets 100% right on tests, does it mean they are a failure? Of course not! The fact is that if someone knows how to push themselves, they aren’t afraid to say that they’re finding something difficult. People who constantly do well in tests may feel the expectation of having to perform each and every time, which is more stressful. It’s far better to encourage a mindset where your child is inquisitive. So if they find something difficult, rather than giving up on it, they will find strategies to learn better. 

Help Them Find Their Learning Style

Learning is not just about one type of practice. It’s about finding the right approach and discovering the strategies that work for them. We all have different styles of learning. What we need to do is help our children to explore the right strategies for them. Some children may benefit from learning things verbatim, but others are more auditory or visual. Whatever the approach, finding out how they work best is crucial because this will help them for the rest of their lives. 

Using the Right Language

Praise is important, but if we want our children to become more effective at learning, we’ve got to make sure we are praising the right things. This means giving them positive feedback for the effort, achievement, or progress rather than the ability. Giving them positive reinforcement on how they accomplished a great mark or grade is more important than telling them that they are “amazing” at spelling or maths, which is a more generic praise that doesn’t achieve anything. If we want to build up more resilient children in terms of their learning, there are many ways for us to do this.