How to encourage a child to study independently?

How to teach a child to study independently

What is independence and should you help your child do homework, steps to study independently, effective ways to motivate, advice to parents on instilling independence.

For many schoolchildren, doing homework is an unpleasant routine that is tiring and uninteresting. Parents have to sit with their child over textbooks so that he or she does not get distracted by a more interesting activity. But teaching a child to study independently is not as difficult as it seems; it requires a competent organization of the work process.

What is independence

Speaking about independence, a parent most often means that their child is able to do homework on their own, does not need the help of an adult to do any tasks appropriate to their age level. In reality, children's independence is a more detailed concept, including:

responsibility, a serious attitude to their obligations and promises;
the desire to achieve a set goal, understanding that the result is determined by the efforts made;
self-confidence, the ability to adequately assess opportunities and skills;
the ability to take initiative;
the ability to make decisions without depending on the opinion and requirements of an adult.

Not even all adults can achieve full compliance with such personal qualities. But they must be developed without fail, without them it is impossible to grow up correctly, to develop a personality. Moreover, a child should be taught independence not from school, but from early preschool age, when he actively studies the world around him, learns to take care of himself in everyday life. Then, during his school years, he will be able to take care of himself and his comrades, make the right decisions in difficult situations, he will not have problems with friendly relations.

Why a child should do homework on their own

It is not normal for parents to regularly help a schoolchild with homework. A child should study independently the material at home without a mother sitting over their shoulder, checking and correcting every line. He should sit down to do homework on his own initiative, without waiting for reminders and shouts from his parents. An independent schoolchild does not need tutors to master the necessary knowledge.

Homework is not just a reinforcement of the material covered in school. It is the acquisition of skills and personal qualities that will greatly help in adulthood.

Many parents are so meticulous about their child's education that they do homework with him until graduation. They are driven by the desire to "mold" an excellent student. But this is a disservice. Yes, parental help helps raise the certificate, but the graduate turns out to be completely unadapted to adult life. He experiences difficulties both in his student years and in building a future career.

It is not so much school knowledge that ensures a prosperous life in the future, but independence, organization, determination, the desire to improve and learn.

Is it worth doing homework with a child

Parents' concerns are understandable: if you do not help the child, he will make a lot of mistakes, will not learn the assigned paragraph, will forget to put the necessary supplies and textbooks in the school bag. The result will be comments in the diary, unpleasant conversations with the teacher.

But nothing good comes of it when a mother fusses over her child, forces him to study independently, threatens punishment for not doing the lesson. Any work done forcibly, without desire, turns out to be useless. A parent should not force to study independently, but arouse interest in learning, organize the process, create the necessary conditions.

Trusting and adequate family relationships play an important role in organizing home schooling. A schoolchild should understand that the attitude of mom and dad towards him is not determined by the grades in the diary, that he can ask for advice and support at any time.

Parents should remember that it is possible to teach a child independence only if they themselves are a positive example. If adults cannot plan their affairs, are constantly late, and neglect household chores, then you cannot expect independence and organization from the schoolchild observing this.

As soon as the child goes to the 1st grade, it is necessary to establish study independently rules. In subsequent years of study, the issue is resolved by establishing motivation, including incentives. Here are some tips to help teach a child to study independently:

You really need to work with a first-grader. But not do homework with him, but only control organizational issues. It is important to teach the first-grader the rules that will help make the learning process more productive and faster. So, first you need to complete a written assignment, then an oral one. You need to solve problems on a rough sheet before transferring them to a notebook.
The workspace for homework should be well lit and fully organized.
Determine the exact time for doing homework. Having done everything assigned during these hours well, the student can be free to do his favorite things.
Do not ignore the student's requests for help. You can prompt, but you cannot do the homework for the child completely.

Steps to independent study by the child's age

A parent should explain to the child the importance of learning, especially independent learning. A schoolchild should understand the benefits of independent work. He should understand that he has a choice: to study or not. But he should also have an idea of the consequences of refusing to study.

It is important to establish the boundaries of the student's responsibility. He should clearly understand what he is obliged to do independently, in which cases he can count on parental help. For example, a schoolchild should read a paragraph assigned for homework, try to analyze it. If he has difficulty understanding the information he has read, he asks his parent. Having received an answer to a clearly and specifically asked question, he continues independent work.

For younger students

Here are some recommendations for parents that will help teach a child to study independently:

At first, when the child goes to first grade, sit down to study with him. Gradually leave for longer and longer periods of time, citing household chores. Having set himself up to do a task, a first-grader usually does not wait for his mother to leave, but finishes the task.

Make sure that the student does not sit at homework for several hours without a break. Let him get up every half hour, stretch, and do a little exercise. This is useful not only for health, but also for maintaining interest in learning and concentration.

Control the comfort of the microclimatic conditions in the child's room. Unfavorable conditions cause rapid fatigue.

Determine what percentage of work the student manages to do in a certain time. This makes it easier to plan time after school.

Make a table in which you write down what the child should do at what time.

Pay attention to the mood of the student when completing certain tasks, what subjects interest him. This will help in the future to determine which sciences the student gravitates towards: humanities, exact sciences or natural sciences.

For middle school

After the student moves to the 5th grade, take the following steps to teach him independence:

Learn to negotiate. Come up with incentives for reducing the time allocated to unloved lessons.

Incentives should absolutely not be monetary. This will lead to blackmail and regular whims.

Pay special attention to time planning. Set a positive example.

Determine which subjects cause difficulties and therefore require special attention.

For teenagers

A high school student should already have the skill of independent work. Do not try to help, let the teenager try to understand his own responsibility, even at the cost of a temporary decrease in academic performance. It is important to understand what exactly is causing the problems: lack of understanding of discipline, disorganization, too much of a study independently load, something else. Once the problem is eliminated, it will be easier to teach the high school student to work independently.

Take into account the interests and aspirations of the teenager. Do not forbid them to have free time, to pursue hobbies. It is great if parents are interested in the child's hobbies, delve into their interests. If the high school student is involved in fine arts, mom and dad should help with organizing exhibitions, with participation in competitions. If the child is an athlete, parents must attend competitions.

It is important to convey to the teenager that if he needs help, he can ask for it himself. He should not hide problems. And for this, trusting relationships must be maintained in the family.

How parents can help to find motivation for studying

If adults are motivated by monetary rewards and career advancement, then for a schoolchild everything is different. A child is motivated by the desire to acquire new knowledge, the desire to share information through communication, the desire to receive praise, as well as attempts to develop, to determine the direction for their own future.

These motivational factors are complementary and interchangeable. If a schoolchild, for example, does not care about parental praise, you can focus on curiosity, the desire to study the world around them.

There are several ways to instill motivation for studying:

use successful individuals, famous public and cultural figures, great scientists as examples;
help your child arrange a home workspace, taking into account his taste and desires, use design elements, for example, photographs, that will remind him of his dreams and aspirations;
do not focus on grades, pay more attention to the interests and aspirations of the child;
Explain how the knowledge gained at school will be useful in the future, why even unloved and incomprehensible subjects will be useful in adulthood;
Show an example of interest in learning, do research and experiments with your child, read, play intellectual games, get out into nature with the whole family to study the living world;
Do not say negative phrases, for example, “nothing good will come of you”, “Who did you take after such a talentless person”;
Inspire the student, praise, convince him to work further, allow him to make mistakes, analyze his mistakes, reward him for his achievements;
If possible, use a game form of homework, so the educational material is easier to learn.

Advice for parents on instilling independence in learning

You can’t abruptly refuse to help your child. This is no less harmful than creating “hothouse conditions”. You shouldn’t hope that, finding yourself alone with problems, the young person will be able to figure it out on their own. On the contrary, in this case, the child turns out to be even less prepared for life than an overprotected one. You need to help with homework, but only if the child asks.

Only a first-grader needs to be monitored for completing assignments correctly, since due to his age he is not yet able to adequately assess the results of his own activities. But you shouldn’t sit with him from the beginning to the end of doing homework, this is a harmful practice.

If a parent sees that the child is doing the work incorrectly, you don’t need to interrupt him. Let him, having finished the work, understand that he made a mistake and try to correct what he did. This method gives the student self-confidence, develops creative and experimental interest.

If you have to start teaching independence late, primary school is already behind you, then this process should move slowly, exclusively positively, with division into several stages. It is important to let the child understand that he will succeed, to instill confidence, because students accustomed to excessive care often have low self-esteem.

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