Most parents hope that their child will excel at school, but many of us may well have been disappointed with end-of-term report cards. Children’s school performance however are often linked and are a product of the home life. Providing children with a stable and safe environment for learning goes a long way in nurturing their academic and emotional intelligence.
While teachers play an in important role in the classroom, parents play an equally vital role at home. Here is what you can do to improve the environment at home:
- Designate a special study area
Rooms are normally designated for things we consider to be of importance in the house, such as cooking, sleeping and showering. By allocating a study area to your child, you are showing them that studying is also equally important.
- Respect study time
Most households however are not spacious and may just have enough rooms for all the occupants in the house. By identifying a specific time for study, parents can provide their child with a quiet space in the house to study.
- Avoid unnecessary disturbance
Once you have agreed on a structured time for studying, it would be rather unhelpful if you or any other person in the house constantly disturbed the child. It might be arguments or talking too loudly, going in and out of the room being used or asking the child to finish a chore they left unfinished. Frequent disturbances in the routine can break their focus, frustrate them and they might give up on studying altogether. Some moments of quiet will enable them to concentrate on their work.
- Recognise their strengths and weaknesses
All children have certain weaknesses at school. Some perform better in certain subjects than others. Some are more academic and others more creative or sportive. By recognising your child’s strengths, you can help nurture their skills further. Even more importantly, by accepting their weaknesses, you can identify more effective methods of tutoring conducive to your child’s abilities.
- Give out encouragement and praise
While it may be easy to feel exasperated with their results, encouraging them to perform better might prove to be more useful than a scolding at home. Encouragement and praise should be given out constantly in order to boost their self-esteem. By being more confident, they might be encouraged to keep trying until they succeed.
In making your home a safer place for learning, you are helping to give your child the best chances in life to succeed.
