A child’s academic success is highly dependent on a variety of contributing factors. Parents are able to assist with their child’s success at school in numerous ways. This ranges from keeping in touch with teachers to incorporating home reading in their daily routine. There are so many ways to help your child on their path to academic success. Like most things concerning your child, rules are important. Children function best when they have structure and routine. It’s important to remember that, as parents, your expectations should remain realistic but encouraging. We talk about setting your child up for a successful academic journey below.
Start with the Basics
Make sure that your child is receiving enough sleep and good, wholesome food. Good hygiene practices are important too. When a child starts their day with a hearty, healthy breakfast, they are more likely to perform better at school due to improved concentration and brain functioning.
Establish a Peaceful Homework Environment at Home
A place of peace and quiet that is free from distractions is one of the biggest favours you can do you for your child. Ensure an organised space is set up with all the necessary stationery.
Don’t Have Unrealistic Expectations of Your Child
While it’s good to encourage your child to do their best, it’s important to ensure that they realise their best doesn’t always have to be an “A” at the end of an assignment. It’s important that kids learn the value of making mistakes and learning from them, and not to lose self-confidence because they’ve failed you or themselves. It’s super important to note that every child is different, and has different strengths and weaknesses. Getting a high grade for every subject is not always going to be possible, but ensuring that they try, and feel rewarded for working hard, is important!
Build a Relationship with Your Child’s Teacher
It’s easier than you think. Parent-teacher conferences are there for a reason, and can really help you to understand your child’s strengths and challenges at school. Make sure to invest time into your relationship with your child’s teachers. After all, they are the ones who will be able to point you in the right direction if you decide to jump in on the academic success train at home.
Create Some Ground Rules
As mentioned earlier, rules are one of the most fundamental things where children are concerned. Establishing some rules and consequences ensures that your child knows what is expected of them and what they can expect from you. You could even ask your child which rules they think would help them improve at school and set up a few together. Make sure that they are short, clear and easily understood by your child. This helps to create structure and organisation in your child’s life and routine, which has a positive effect on their academic success.
Get to Know Your Child’s Drive
What motivates your child? There is no better sense of empowerment than when you simply just believe in doing your best, and make the right choices because of it. It’s immensely encouraging for your child to do something because they believe in the goodness of it, rather than to abide out of fear for punishment or disappointment. This skill will benefit your child’s school career, as well as the other endeavours they pursue as they progress in life. A simple example is when your child studies hard because they want to achieve their personal best in a test, not because they fear being grounded for failing the term.
If you feel your child is experiencing barriers to learning and needs psychological intervention, book a consultation with me to begin the journey of identifying root causes to issues relating to their academic growth.