Kids Are Our Future

The sooner good study habits are developed, the better they will be continued. It’s never too early to introduce a child to positive study habits, which will reward his or her efforts throughout life. As parents, we should learn and use effective techniques to assist a child in developing good study habits.

1. Be a good role model
   Developing good study habits for a child starts with parents. Just like the old adage, “it’s not what you say, it’s what you do.” Good study habits should begin at a very young age; when a child is one to two years of age, he or she is ready to begin training in acquiring good study habits. The initial lessons begin with his or her observing parents at work modeling good study habits.
2. Instill the love of learning
   Let the child know that learning is fun. Long before the child starts school, parents should begin to instill the love of learning. Read to the child, and be sure the house is well stocked with books and toys that stimulate his or her imagination. The more the child’s curiosity is stimulated, the more likely he or she is to be motivated to work hard and follow through to get the answers he or she wants.
3. Teach the child to try his best
   Let the child know the satisfaction of a job well done by trying ones’ best, and finishing what he or she starts. Make sure the child knows that although parents like him or her to do well, doing well in school is something he or she does primarily for himself or herself, so the child can be proud of him or herself and gain self-confidence.
4. Teach the child to be persistent
   In order to form good study habits, parents need to help the child to be persistent. The most important of all the habits is to be consistent in whatever he or she does. Being consistent is what makes great people and great lives.
5. Teach the child to be responsible
   As a student, doing well in school is something he or she does primarily. It’s his or her responsibility that complete studying before he or she wants to do something else, such as playing games, watching TV. Doing chores is also his or her responsibility as a family member.
6. Teach the child to be organized
   Help the child organize things. For example, for toddlers, need to clean up toys after playing with them. For teenagers, need to organize assignments over weeks.
7. Help the child learn to manage time
   Help him or her organize a after-school schedule for every subject on a daily basis. This really helps the child be organized, be up-to-date or beyond on the school material. Establish a routine for completing schoolwork. Agree on a set time and stick to it. Be sure the child builds regular study time into his or her schedule. Most tests are scheduled well in advance, and review each night will produce much better results than using last-minute studying method.
   Guide a teen’s overall time commitments, be sure to take a balance on a part-time job, extracurricular activities, socializing and household chores. Teach the teen refocus on priorities.
8. Encourage the child reading
   Reading to a little child makes him or her like to read when older. Make sure the child enters his or her upper-grade studies with strong reading skills.
9. Encourage the child to ask questions
   Encourage him or her to ask questions about the surrounding world to inspire his or her curiosity, which builds his or her inner motivation to study.
10. Help the child be an independent thinker
    Parents can guide him or her to study by asking questions to make him or her think step by step.
11. Encourage the child get prepared
    Preparation is a basic principle to success. Whenever do a thing, we need be prepared. Encourage the child to prepare the next day’s class.
12. Encourage to do review
    When studying any type of material, whether it is for an English, math or history test or any other type of test, it is important to comprehend what have learned. By reviewing regularly, one of the most basic and crucial study habits is enforced, which is going back over what have learned to be sure that it is understood. A learning process is actually a process of repetition.
13. Provide a good workspace
    The child should be allowed to work within the designated “study area” from distractions, his or her own desk would be recommendable. For students, after school, they need to be required to complete their homework within the study area. In this way, they can concentrate on studying with efficiency.
14. Check the child’s work periodically
    Ask him or her to describe what the homework is, explain the project’s requirements, and what’s needed for completion, as well as the plans for next step.
15. Insist that careless work be redone
    To form a serious study ethic is very important to a child. Help him or her grow the attitude, which is one of the keys to success.
16. Monitor the child’s study habits regularly
    The best way to develop good study habits in the child is to monitor him and her; give praise when he or she is heading in the right direction and a kind remind when he or she is not. Both show that the parents care and promote improvement.
17. Give praise whenever possible
    A sincere expression of pride in the child’s academic accomplishments can motivate him or her toward making studying a habit. By gaining self-confidence, he or she will do better.
18. Need patience
    Developing good study habits in a child is a learning process, which needs time. Prepare for any set backs. If the child is not doing well, remind him or her, do not blame him or her. Give him advice and be patient to watch his or her progress.

Assisting children in developing their life-long study habits requires much effort and involvement from parents-modeling, patience, and providing necessary support. Everything has to be done according to their ages. At all times parents should look for ways to enrich the children’s learning experience and make it more enjoyable. The more the children enjoy school, the better their work habits are likely to be, and the more they will learn, and their grades will be better.