Motivation is one of the most important weapons to achieve personal success. Therefore, it is essential to motivate our children to perform better in school from an early age. Below are 7 ways to motivate the little ones. That children are motivated is essential for them to do their best in school and enjoy the learning process reading comprehension. As parents, creating an environment to educate them in effort and dedication is very important, since a motivated child will try harder, have a positive attitude to learning, and will face and approach problems in different ways. Therefore, parents have to direct efforts to motivate their children.
How to motivate children
Below are 7 simple useful tips to promote motivation in children:
- Have the right expectations
Children are very aware of how parents perceive them and often adjust their expectations based on what parents think. Therefore, if you expect your child to succeed, it is very possible that his motivation and chances of success will be much greater. If your expectations are low, it is very likely that he will not achieve the expected results.
- It is important to set appropriate expectations for each child. To do this, follow these two steps:
Talk to your child: Talk openly with your child about the fields of study he or she likes most and excels at the most. Offer your opinion on what you have also observed. In general, if you both agree in an area, it is possible that you set the highest expectations for yourself. - Reevaluate when necessary: As your child grows, interests and aptitudes will change, so it’s important to readjust expectations from time to time.
- Help your child set goals
It is important to teach your child to set their own goals, which will help them be more motivated and achieve their goals.
- Write down goals: Achieving goals will be easier and more motivating if they are written down on paper. It can be very useful to place these notes in a visible place in the house so that your child remembers them every day.
- Goals should be specific: for example, rather than setting the goal ‘you will do better in math next semester’, it will be much more effective if it is more specific: ‘you will review math problems for 20 minutes every day’.
- The goals must be measurable: the goals must be quantifiable to assess whether progress is being made in meeting them.
- Find ways to show your child that school is important
If we show our children our own interest and enthusiasm for education, they will adopt the same attitude. There are several ways to encourage this interest:
- Establish a relationship with your child’s teacher: Share with the teacher the expectations you have for your child and ask for their opinion.
- Support your child’s school programs: Attending school events, plays, etc., shows your child the importance you place on school and its activities.
- Create a suitable environment for doing homework: Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place at home to do homework and study. Give him help and collaboration with tasks, but never do them for him.
- Know your child’s tasks: what they are studying in each subject, the assignments and exams they must do, etc.
- Have a positive attitude towards school
If your child sees that you perceive schoolwork in a positive and interesting way, he will perceive it the same way. Support your child’s learning style. Each child has a favorite way of studying and learning, which is more natural and motivating. Help them discover it and encourage them to use it in the best possible way. In general, there are three types of students:
- Auditory student: one who learns more easily through activities in which he or she has to listen. Advise him, for example, to record the syllabi and then review them while listening to them or, if he has to read a novel, to look for the audiobook version.
- Visual learner: You will retain information more through visual activities, such as reading a book or analyzing a graph. Recommend that he use different colors for his notes and that he make flashcards with the syllabus and hang them in the room.
- Kinesiological student: you will be more motivated to learn through practical exercises than theoretical ones. These are usually very active and participatory children. To foster this quality, encourage him to do practical projects such as participating in science fairs.
- Use language that encourages them
Encouraging children is much more motivating than praising them. The difference between these two forms of motivation is that encouraging involves the child evaluating himself in a positive way; With words of encouragement we recognize his efforts.
Praise refers more specifically to triumphs and is usually used when children have acted in the expected way, while encouragement can be offered regardless of the child’s performance and results, it is more about encouraging them to do it next time. better.
- Learning at home and in the community
Your children should perceive learning as a fun act and not just as the obligatory and tiresome task of sitting behind a desk. Motivated students see learning everywhere and understand that there are some fun activities that also provide knowledge.
There are various ideas to encourage this vision in your child: when he reads a classic of children’s literature, you can go to see the film version, you can study the different cultures that he does not attend on a regular basis (if he likes soccer, take him to the ballet, for example), or visit museums on topics he is studying.
- Foster strength in your child
Strong children are more likely to be motivated, therefore, it is important to promote strength in your child. If a child is not strong internally, her motivation decreases greatly and he sees few ways to move forward in the midst of adversity. Strength means that they are prepared for adversity and that they face them and have the ability to solve many problems, they will take advantage of their strengths and realize that we all make mistakes and that they are opportunities to learn.
To foster strength in your child, follow these steps:
- Identify with your child by seeing the situation from their point of view before reacting.
- Offer him reasonable options to choose between two things.
- Change the way you approach a certain situation when it doesn’t work. For example, if your child isn’t paying attention, instead of continuing to yell, try something very different like whispering.
- Nurture your child’s talents and interests. For example, if your child does not have positive results in school, but he really likes theater classes and it is what encourages him the most, do not deprive him of these activities because he does not get good grades. He celebrates his talents and does not prohibit them.
In this way, as parents, you have a key role in motivating your children to have higher academic performance and, therefore, your support and attitude will also be of great relevance in their future.