As a parent, you know your child best. Adjust the following suggestions to make them age-appropriate for your child and to meet the needs of your child. Talk to your child about his/her goals for studying and learning each subject. Your conversation should be age-appropriate. 

What are the best educational goals for your child? 

How can we encourage or motivate our children to be interested in learning? We know it is easier to encourage children to want to take up things they believe they will be good at doing. As a teacher, I have often found that what matters is how the child/children associate with a subject and how they think they will perform in that subject. If a child has had a bad experience with a particular subject in the past, or they feel the subject is unrelatable, they may not be interested in attempting it in the future. However, if a child performs well in a subject or is appreciated for their knowledge of the subject, their attitude towards it will be more positive. So before you work with your child to set educational goals, find out their beliefs regarding the subjects they will be studying. 

WHAT ARE YOUR CHILD’S BELIEFS ABOUT EACH SUBJECT?

For example, you can ask questions such as:

*What are your favorite subjects? 

*Why do you like them? 

*What makes this subject fun to learn? 

*What is the most challenging part of your favorite subjects?

 If your child has a subject they don’t like, ask why. For example, why don’t you like math? You can ‘dig deeper by asking more questions such as: What makes you like reading but dislike math? Dig deeper to discover your child’s beliefs about each subject.  

What are your educational goals for your child? What are your child’s educational goals? List and post the goals someplace visible in your house.

When you know your child’s beliefs about the subjects they will be studying, you can go to the next step. If their beliefs are all positive, then begin your goals.

However, what do you do when your child has negative beliefs about a subject?

RESHAPING YOUR CHILD’S NEGATIVE BELIEFS ABOUT A SUBJECT

1. Realign their belief about the negative subject into something more meaningful or new. How does this subject relate to things in your child’s life, parent’s or grandparent’s lives, etc.? Is there some way to use what the child will be learning? Example: Math: How can you use the math concepts taught in school at home? in cooking, building something small, etc. Can you relate social studies to your community, family history, etc.? Can you do or watch science experiments? Family trips, etc. What resources, museums, etc are in your community or close by?
2. Be careful when you talk about your child’s academic subject. Your child could develop a negative opinion of a subject if you tell your child that you always hated this subject in school or that you always found the subject difficult. Your child hears those thoughts, which can create a negative impression about the subject. If you say, “Concentrate, this is a very difficult subject.” This kind of talk can also give your child a negative impression of a subject. So: Think about how you speak to your child. Think about positively engaging your child both verbally and with relatable actions to make educational connections.
3. Shift the negative association of the subject to something positive. You can accomplish this in a variety of ways. Perhaps one of the adults in your child’s life might be better suited to motivating your child about the subject. For example, in math: if you are using math concepts while cooking, building, or gardening, it would be the adult who is doing those things in your family. If someone loves history, it could be the historian in your family, etc. 

            *Or your child might be encouraged to try the subject by changing the medium used to complete homework or studying.  

           For example, some children relate to art and love using markers, watercolors, etc., or computer graphics. Sometimes just providing your child with a different medium can be enough to motivate children to complete homework or to study.  

           *Also, check your child’s home learning environment. Is your child’s home learning environment conducive to learning?                                                                                       

 4.Encourage your child to put forth the effort! If your child is still resistant, explain that the subject may sound difficult, but we can try! You may need to say, ” Let’s try it together.” Get your child started. You can gradually wean your child from your help. How long will it take before your child can be totally independent? That will depend upon your child. Encourage and praise your child each step of the way. Depending on your child, this method may take one, two, or more sessions. Once you feel your child can independently complete the assignment, move to the next step. Get your child started, and tell your child to call you when they complete.. #1. Go over to your child after they call you. Check their work, and praise them. Then tell them to call you when they complete..the next .2. or next 3 .. etc. Repeat the process until they are totally independent. This step may take several sessions, but it is worth the effort! This method has very successfully worked for me with students in the classroom. It builds confidence in the student as it realigns their association with a subject. Please give it a go; your child is worth the effort!