How to support the desire to learn: two ways available to every parent

“It’s so difficult at school today, the child definitely needs help!” every good parent believes. And now, additional classes and tutors appear in the schedule of a small schoolchild, and the whole family gathers to do homework every evening.

Then for some reason it turns out that the child does not want to study. There are new conditions. For example, he did his homework – you can play on the computer. He graduated from the year without triples – he received a phone as a gift. And what to do – the phrase “if you don’t study, you become a janitor” has long been out of date.

But neither the telephone, nor the tutors, nor the family council around the next homework will be able to instill in the child the desire to learn. On the contrary, it is the easiest way to discourage the desire to learn something new, inherent in nature in each of us.

And what helps to strengthen this desire? Here are a couple of easy ways every parent can do.

1. Show the importance of the knowledge that the child receives

It is important for a child to understand why he needs this or that knowledge right now. Did you do multiplication at school today? Ask him to calculate how many packs of milk (kilograms of apples, bottles of yogurt) your family needs to buy for a week. So the child will help you in the formation of a weekly family budget, feel his importance and realize the importance of the acquired knowledge.

Need to write more, but he doesn’t like to rewrite exercises? Start a big project – a family cookbook. Entrust your child to take notes and select beautiful pictures for decoration. Writing skills will develop, and soon rewriting the exercise from the textbook will not seem like an impossible task.

Have you studied atmospheric pressure? Ask them to tell you what it is and why it is defined. Do not take the position of a school teacher, on the contrary: let him be a teacher at home who explains the material. This will help to better understand the topic and develop the ability to talk about complex things in simple words.

2. Teach your child to set goals and achieve them

When you know why, you can withstand any “how”. This phrase is also true for schoolchildren. At seven or eight years old, children still do not know how to set long-term goals for themselves, but they can already be taught this.

Ask your child what activities or professions they are attracted to. There is no need to be afraid if he suddenly sees himself as a popular blogger in the future. Sit together, watch different channels and think with your child about what it takes.

Perhaps a popular blogger needs to know Russian well in order to communicate with subscribers in the comments. And world-famous bloggers probably also know English: this allows them to be the first to learn international news and reach foreign audiences.

After setting goals, you need to break them down into tasks. It is best to do this with your child. In this case, there can be two tasks: conscientiously study Russian and enroll in English courses. Even if you would send your child to a language school anyway, it is better if he makes this decision himself based on his goals.

And, of course, let’s give the future blogger the opportunity to record stories right now. It doesn’t matter if they are available to a wide audience or posted on a private channel – achieving the goal should not be limited to school subjects.

But what if in a month or two the child says that he is no longer interested in blogging? Quite possible. But by that time he will have the skill of public speaking, good friends, interesting classes in a language school and an understanding of the rules of his native language.

Show your child that learning new things is interesting and necessary. Arrange evening “around the world” on the world map, set up an experimental garden bed on the windowsill, study the traditions of the peoples of the world or read aloud to each other.

Just don’t be a controller – be an ally. The school program was originally conceived not as a headache for parents, but as the next stage on the path of growing up and becoming a new unique personality.