Do you feel like your children's study skills just aren't what they should be? Lots of parents feel this way at some point in time. It can be hard to keep kids motivated in school, and sometimes their study habits suffer. Here are some common ways to do your part in making sure your kids have the best chances for success, by helping to create good conditions for their homework and study time.
1. Limit Group Studying
For some projects, group studying can be fine, and a little bit of
collaboration between students isn't a bad thing. It might even help
your child to have access to someone else in their grade who can help
them out with some tough subjects. But, too much group studying often
just turns into socializing and if that's all your kid is doing, he or
she isn't doing enough, Make sure your younger students get their own
study time and learn the discipline of approaching tough problems by
themselves.
2. Create Good Study Conditions
Make sure your kid has a nice, quiet place to study. Discourage him
from playing an iPod or other tunes at the desk. Select some good,
bright lighting for the study space. And above all, get your kids to put
this provided space to use regularly, rather than going somewhere where
distractions are too frequent to really focus on much of anything.
3. Look at Study Timelines
It also helps to set time standards for studying. Your son might be
one of those who flies through homework just to get through it and go do
something else. You might be able to figure out when too little time is
being spent on homework, and encourage good attention to detail rather
than just "getting by."
4. Provide Incentives
Some parents don't feel like good grades entitle their kids to the
newest video games or other big buys - and that's okay! Yes, studying
hard should be its own reward, but at the very least, good verbal
coaching and positive reinforcement goes a long way, and incentives
don't have to be huge. Extra privileges or small toys or rewards can
help your kid strive to reach a bar that's set appropriately high.
5. Stay Involved
Almost any teacher out there will tell you that parent involvement is a major part of the "magic elixir" for student success. That means looking into what your children are assigned at school, asking them what's most challenging, and looking at how they are solving problems. Like a lot of parents these days, you might find out that your kids are really tackling tricky homework assignments, and you might even end up being stumped a few times yourself!
All of the above can help you make your home a better place for studying and encourage your kids to excel in their academic careers.