5 Good Study Habits to Help Your Child Succeed in School

Photo credit: UNESCO EFA Report

As a parent, you may ask, What is the secret behind having good grades According to Jane D. Hull, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents. There is a feeling of content that comes with having ones child do excellently well in school, it does not only increase ones confidence as a parent but also helps the child’s self concept. Getting your child ahead in class is a pleasant thing, but such comes with consistent and well coordinated efforts, time and resources from dedicated parents. This is also a pointer to the fact that the family is the most important social system, by implication a child is a reflection of his immediate family.

Have you been wondering how to get your child started and/or motivated to a journey of All-As ? Are you determined to help your child succeed in school to attain impressive academic achievement and self esteem.

For these reasons, we have compiled a list of 5 good study habits to help set your kids on the right track. This can be the tipping point in making good students into great students with a remarkable academic performance at school.

• Having High Academic Expectations

One of the very strategic ways to inspiring your children to attain academic success is by helping them set high academic expectations for themselves. Making them challenge themselves and raising the bars of academic expectations and aspirations – not settling for the good but the best. It is believed that having high aspirations and expectations of your child has the biggest impact on their grades. Parental expectations comprise how important school is, students attitude towards teachers, and making them understand the value of education.

• Designate a Study Area: create a unique and congenial study space at home, and make it more appealing and even colourful such that students can be enthused to use it. Create a study hour everyday, perhaps 1 or 2 hours at the early hours of the day. This implies that you have to allow your child go to bed early enough, so he/she could wake up much earlier to observe the study routine. The study programme at home should further be incentivized so that the child could develop a good study culture. You can both go through the syllabus together for key subjects he/she is struggling with to proffer support and/or guidance, you may even refer the child to to other relevant sources of information. This is not to say that you will starve your child of other interesting activities, ensure you provide a blend.

• Regular Communication  one of the very important things parent hardly ever have time to do these days -mostly due to tight work schedule- is having regular but relevant conversation with their wards about their school life. it is essential to develop and maintain regular communication with your children about their school life. This helps parents tackle any potential problems at a glance before they manifest into bigger issues. Strategies to help improve communication include being approachable, asking open ended questions and listening more than talking. Be your child’s best friend and develop in him or her the confidence to trust you always.
• Read Actively: reading is a good starting point to excelling. Reading does not only place an individual into a knowledgeable realm but opens one’s sensibilities towards life. A child that reads is better equipped to solve bigger problems even beyond the school.
• Think Positively: Being in the right state of mind can make all the difference. Encourage your child to think positively when studying or heading to an exam also avoid catastrophic thinking. Parents and teachers should encourage students to turn negative statements like, I may never get a good grade on this exam, into positive ones like, I began preparing later than I should have but, I must put in a comprehensive study plan that will be able to get through the material prior to this exam. Positive thinking is the first road to success

It is envisaged that when children receive desired support and motivation from their parents they are most likely better of at school and in other areas. Parents have very significant role to play in the success and progress of their wards in important school and life matters

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Article written by Titilayo Adewunmi

(Content developer at Edufirst.ng)