Tips To Motivate Your Child’s At Home-Learning

Adhira International School’s approach for parents in assisting their children in homework would depend upon a lot of factors including, but not limited to, the child's age.

And more often than not, it's not just the actual work that is required to be performed that is the crux of the matter, but a host of behavioural, cognitive and environmental issues that come into play.

It's not unnatural for children, having spent a full day at school (and in the Indian context, maybe some post school tuitions / extra classes or extracurricular activities) , to resist or procrastinate about sitting down and doing the homework in the evening.

Here the role of the parents in enforcing positive discipline becomes critical. One suggested approach is to have the children do their work at a common place, at a scheduled time under the watchful eyes of the parents nearby. Seeing other siblings doing their work diligently may act as a sort of positive reinforcement for the potentially reluctant child. Care should be taken to ensure that the children have the required study materials and that the children should not distract one another while working. All forms of distraction such as television or cell phones should be minimized during this time. Having the right environment is crucial.

The parent, without excessive hand holding, should ask the child to discuss the various assignments - possibly making a to-do list to be checked off once each assignment item is completed. Seeing the activities in the to-do list getting completed would add to the child's satisfaction of accomplishing something - and will also boost his or her confidence. As each work item gets completed, the parents should acknowledge and appreciate the work done.

However, at each stage the clear message should be to do the work diligently without taking short cuts. For this to happen, periodic supervision would be required. Never should the parent condone poor quality, tardy or sloppy work or taking short cuts, even though it may mean having to rework. This should be recognised as part of the discipline of working, a value that must be inculcated and stay on for life.

The parent should not micro-manage the child's homework activity, and while setting up a timer, should allow the child to plan his or her work independently. The parent should notice how time is being utilised and encourage the child to manage time efficiently.

One critically important parenting aspect would be to encourage the child to think for himself / herself and solve the problems INDEPENDENTLY. Adhira International School Punawale believes that this would build creativity, independent thinking and resourcefulness, the importance of this aspect cannot be overstressed in the Indian context where the emphasis is mostly on rote learning and conformity. If old enough to research for themselves, the children should be encouraged to locate resources in the internet or elsewhere, and they should be encouraged to explain their thinking - this will add to their confidence, achieve a sense of control and also possibly improve communication skills. The parents should also discuss completed assignments and discuss / help with mistakes made, if any.

And once the work is completed satisfactorily, the child needs to be appreciated for a job well done. The child would feel encouraged and supported, and the pride in one's own work would encourage them to do a good job every time they sit down for homework.