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.