How to Motivate Your Child to Learn

Learning, and the motivation behind learning, is a core part of all our lives. We can’t change our ways and understand general thoughts and reasoning without learning about it first, and the learning never ends throughout our lives. For children, a large portion of their childhood is instilling skills and strategies that will help them to learn and retain good performance in school where they can. It doesn’t come naturally for every child, so it’s important to train your child in the right ways to help them feel motivated both at home and in school.

Motivating your child might seem difficult, especially if they’re very vocal about their distaste for learning each day, but it can be achieved in a number of ways. Here are some tips this private Quaker school in the UK has put together to help you inspire your child.

Continue to make learning a stimulating experience

Part of the reason your child might be reluctant to study is because of the environment that’s been made at home and in school. Standard learning at a desk, for a child, can admittedly be quite boring, so it’s all about making your child feel happy about learning in a variety of ways. Making learning opportunities fun and engaging is one way of doing this, by allocating time for your child to do arts and crafts, go on a trip to the museum or an activity centre, and even just a walk around the local area.

Develop a positive environment for reading

You know your child best and you might find your child prefers specific kinds of books and stories, which you should use to your advantage. It’s not just fictional novels to excite kids with; there’s picture stories, comics and other visual novels to keep children entertained and happy about reading. The best way to find out what your child likes is by taking them to the library and seeing what they find interesting.

Let your child take charge

For at least 6 hours of a child’s day, 5 times a week, they’re being told what to do by a teacher. It can be exhausting! And it doesn’t show children that they can be autonomous and decisive in their own actions while still learning. At home you should nurture this as much as possible and let your child decide what they want to do. Children will be receiving homework for instance, a perfect time to let your child choose how they finish their assignments. They may receive writing or art projects which can let them be more creative and allow them to decide what goes on the page.

Try a range of learning styles

Your child might be partially struggling in school due to the way they’re being taught – a common issue that children can face. The truth is there are a range of learning styles in which children can effectively develop their skills in a way that suits them, so experiment with different ways of teaching and engaging with your child. That way your child is experiencing a better quality of learning and building upon skills in a happier way.

Promote a happy environment for learning

A lot of a child’s curiosity and skills are found from the home, so it’s essential that your home is a welcoming environment to give your child a new way of building upon their skills. Game-based learning is popular among parents and kids as they’re learning while having fun and engaging with the activity. Have dedicated time for a child to do the things they want to do, and mix up their days with something new and exciting to pick up each week. Keeping a child stimulated is key to letting them feel motivated and confident to learn new things.