Parents cannot Force Children to Study: Train them to Improve Good Study Habits

Parents can’t and should not push their children to study.  Unfortunately, scolding, nagging and threatening won’t improve good study habits.  What kids should understand is that they are the ones responsible for their own studies and homework.

Sad to say, kids are not born with the great study habits  required for them to succeed in school. This is one thing they need to learn gradually.  Normally, children start studying without the developed skills to do well.


How Education Pressures Children and Parents?

As observed, this modern generation offers a complex approach for educational system.  More books are read, daily homework given, monthly exams, projects, additional curricular activities and others that burden the kids.  We’ve been seeing them dragging books and bags heavier than they could carry.  Imagine a young 7-year-old kid is bombarded with much study pressures and tasks he does not deserve.  This was not the case many generations ago.

On the part of the parents, teaching a grade school child causes much anxiety, fighting, and long hours of scolding.  And the result?  Physical and emotional exhaustion both to parents and children. Worse, parents did not help kids to improve good study habits.

In order to cope with what modern education gives, it is very important to develop and improve good study habits. Here are some helpful keys:


1.   Start the habit early. Parents can start displaying good examples for their kids long before they go to school.  Read to your children every day.  Skills in reading are so significant if you want them to succeed in school.  Frequent reading helps kids to build up interest for reading a variety of subjects.


2.   Have a fixed schedule. Parents need to make a decision what time of the day homework should be done, then stick to it.  While kids are in the lower grades, an hour each day is possibly enough to start and improve their good study habits.  Added time would be necessary as homework increases.   Kids need to understand they are capable of making decisions for their studies.  If there’s no homework on a given day, use this fixed time to read or work on long term projects.  Remember, your goal is to help children improve good study habits.  So don’t miss studying although there’s no homework.


3.   Have a conducive study area.  Parents should provide a comfortable study area—same place for each day. There should be no distractions in children's focus.  Keep away from TV, computers, phones, gadgets, toys—anything that will capture their attention.  These are not helpful to improve their good study habits.


4.   Be there to help.  You must have time to immediately answer questions.  You should give information without really doing the homework for them. Parents should train their children study skills they need.


5.   Provide strength.  Parents, why can’t you praise your children for exerting efforts for their homework?  You’re so quick to reprimand if they do wrong and yet too lazy to praise them if they do good.  Bear in mind, though, that homework is not all the time fun, so don’t expect perfection.  In time, they will improve their good study habits.


6.   Provide children the responsibility for their own homework.  Let kids suffer the consequences if they  have failed to do their assignment.  Your role as parents is to give support.  What is important is that they understand the value of education to become more responsible.


7.   If the method doesn’t work, try another approach.  If the plan does not help, simply change it.  Two shorter study periods each day may be easier than a longer one.  Early evening study may help better than an immediately after-school study.  Parents and kids should plan with the right schedule until they come about with one that works best.

Always keep in mind that children must learn to be responsible for their own education.  Parents can create a big difference by giving them learning tools for education. How to stimulate a child's mind should be the priority of every parent.  There's no stressful and difficult life for children who have been trained to improve good study habits.