How to deal with a child who is not interested in Studies

12 Practical Tips to Teach kids under 10 years

One of the biggest worries of parents when their kids start school, is to ensure that they study well. This becomes even more important during the early years as these are the formative years which have far-reaching effects on the children. Today, we share 10 practical tips to help kids focus on studies.

tips to Teach children at home ( preschoolers)

Create a positive image of school

Often times, we as parents make a mistake of making school a scary place. We project a school as some place where they have to go as a punishment. We must try to continuously create a positive image of the school where the child will meet new friends and nice teachers, so that child looks forward to going to school and enjoys the process of learning.

Focus on Multi sensory development

When children are young, it is very important that all their senses develop. We must focus on exposing kids to various art, craft, motor skills, playing with colours, sand play, rice play, play dough, clay, swings etc. We must remember that play is the best way to learn for young children.

Once children are in primary school, the studies get a little more structured but even then they must have a lot of free time to play and explore on their own.

Ensure they get enough sleep

Children need ample sleep to focus on their studies. A child below 5 years need somewhere between 9-11 hours of sleep every day along with a nap and children till 12 years of age need 8-10 hours of sleep every night. As they grow older, children often want to stay up late or catch on sleep during weekends, but this can be counter-productive.

Inculcate Reading habit

I cannot stress this enough. If there is one thing you must do with young children, it is to read to them and with them regularly. Reading helps in language development, imagination, creativity and also improves their focus.

Find age-appropriate books for children and start reading to them right from the age of 6 months to 1 year. For babies and toddlers, you can get picture books and progress to small stories with big pictures. As children become more proficient readers, introduce them more books for their age to read on their own, but continue reading with them too.

Focus on Practical learning

Children learn faster and better through practical learning. E.g. A child will learn more about animals through a visit to the local zoo in one afternoon than by looking at 10 books everyday. Similarly, a park is the best place to teach young kids about trees and flowers. A supermarket is the perfect place for them to learn about fruits and vegetables without really putting too much effort.

tips to Teach children at home ( PRimary & middle school)

Create a stress-free environment at home

We must not forget that a young child goes to school to study, and wants to come back to her home. She does not want to be pressured to do the same stuff again. It is futile to keep pestering them about school the full day. Once they are home, be the parent and help them enjoy so that she can look forward to going back to school the next day.

Give the child at least an hour of free time after school

Once a child is in primary school, she starts getting some amount of homework every few days and it keeps increasing the child moves up the grades. In such case, we sometimes feel the urge to immediately start looking at the homework as they come from school, which can demotivate children tremendously. Let the child unwind for sometime after school. They can change, freshen up, eat something, rest a bit, read or do anything they like. After they have had this one hour, you can ask them about homework and tell them to work on it.

Daily Study routine

Create a daily routine of about an hour, which can be increased a bit as children to higher grades. This routine prepares children mentally to expect to focus on studies during that time every day. Even if there is no homework, you may do something on your own during that hour but do not skip the study hour.

Minimize screen time

Now that we are back to normal school, make sure to limit total screen time during the day. Doctors recommend that total screen time during the day for young kids does not exceed more than 2 hours. Experts believe that excessive screen time may hamper in children’s social interaction as well as learning ability.

Discuss Study and School every day

Once children are back from school, talk to them about school, teachers and friends. Ask them how her day was and what fun they had in school. Kids are very excited to share about their day and it keeps them motivated to go back and enjoy the goings on there. It will also help you to know, if something is wrong and you will be able to discuss any issues with teachers without delay.

Create a distraction-free study environment

Once children start getting regular homework, make sure that they have a designated space for studying, which is away from distractions like TV or other siblings. A desk automatically tells the kid that it is where she does her homework.

Keep in touch with teachers

Attend all the parent teacher meetings and also keep in touch with teachers otherwise to discuss any concerns. Teachers usually inform the parents if they have any concerns and are also ready to hear feedback from parents.

Do not dwell too much on failures

One mistake that we as parents often make, is to get too upset when a child fails at something. It puts unnecessary pressure on children and proves counter-productive despite our good intentions. We should give the confidence to children that failure is just a stumbling block and there will be plenty of more opportunities for them to succeed.

Hopefully, you found these tips helpful and will keep them in mind while helping your young children while studying.