4 Ways to help your child nurture good learning habits

Groans, grunts, excuses, and complaints - the classic symphony parents often hear when nudging their children to study. Have you ever asked yourself, “how do I motivate my child to study?” or even “what are some good learning habits to adopt?” Take heart. You’re not alone in your struggles.

We did a little reading and have gathered up with four ways to nurture good learning habits in your child. Have a look below to see if any of them work for you!

#1: Maintain a conducive learning environment

A conducive learning environment is essential to help your child concentrate on their studies as much as possible.

For starters, remove distractions from your child’s study area. This means any computer games, their mobile phone, the television, and any books that are not related to their studies. Encourage your child to maintain a neat and tidy study environment, with their study materials organised for easy access.

From here onwards, it’s all about adjusting to suit your child’s preference. Some students study better with absolute silence, while some prefer a little background noise. Some students like colour-coding their notes, others do not. In any case, try not to force your child to study in a setting that you as a parent think would be ideal for them. Observe what your child’s preferences are, what sort of environment serves them best, and try to provide that environment for them.

#2:Plan specific times to study

Study time is any time that your child is doing anything schoolwork-related. For example, completing their homework, tackling a group assignment, busy with any required readings, or revising for an exam.

Try to arrange for their study time to occur at the same time every day, so that your child can establish it as part of their daily routine. This study time could be any time in the day that suits their routine, such as two hours before or after dinner each day. Not only will they be mentally and emotionally prepared to study when the time comes around each day (hence being more productive), students who have a set study schedule tend to perform better than students who study sporadically and inconsistently.

This will also make it easier for you, as the parent, to plan your activities around your child’s schedule. Should there be the occasional disruption to their study time, such as a family or personal emergency, teach your child to learn to accommodate and be flexible, but to also get back on track as soon as possible.

#3:Set goals

Have your child plan for their study time in a manner that supports their overall academic goals. They should be clear in what they wish to accomplish during each study session. One example of an achievable goal would be to cover a certain set of topics over the course of the week, to ensure that they are all caught up with what is being covered in school.

Setting goals will also prevent students from slipping into procrastination, whereby they delay working on a particular assignment or reading due to the intimidating amount of work they perceive it to be. Having concrete goals will encourage them to ease into their study session and do more than they would originally have otherwise.

#4:Review academic goals regularly

Now that your child’s study goals are set, it’s important to review them every so often and adjust them when needed. An occasion may arise when your child encounters a particular topic or assignment more difficult and time-consuming than expected, for example, which may cause some anxiety as it might disrupt their set goals for the week.

If such a situation happens, review the situation with your child, and decide on what remedies to take next. It could be as simple as adding an extra 10 minutes for each day’s study time for that particular week, or reducing the amount of time originally planned for another easier topic.

The trick to learning good learning habits is consistency. With proper guidance and some diligence, your child will come to accept these methods as second nature. They might not exactly become enthusiastic about studying every time a study session comes around, but at least they’ll put in the effort regardless. And that’s what’s most important for their education.

Eager to help your child develop good learning habits and improve in their studies? Geniebook’s range of online learning products might be the answer. Have a look at what we offer, get to know our teachers, or sign up for a complimentary strengths analysis session below.