Encouragement & Pressure: Maintaining a Balance to help Your Child Learn

Encouragement & Pressure: Maintaining a Balance to help Your Child Learn
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Tips for parents

  1. When you start teaching your child at home, keep yourself calm and patient. If you start with a long chapter and the child loses his/her interest and wants to stop, do not force the child to finish the whole chapter there and then. You can start reading from the same point the next day or in the next sitting.
  2. Choose a subject that is of interest to the child. Do not force him/her to learn the things in which he /she is not interested. You can encourage a child’s learning by sharing natural activities such as going out to the park. If your child is interested in birds, do not force him/her to learn about trees.
  3. When the child comes back from school give him/her some fun time. It can be watching TV; playing video games etc. A child’s mind should be free for learning. Extra pressure can cause disinterest in learning.
  4. To keep your child in good spirits, try to reward his/her achievement and stop criticizing his/her mistakes. Try to spend quality time with your child at home.
  5. Every child has the capability of learning. Therefore, you should try to understand the level of your child and work according to that. Do not compare other children with your child’s achievements. Your child is unique in his/her own abilities.
  6. Try to establish new approaches of learning for your child. The goal of learning should be to provide true knowledge instead of just cramming things into memory.

To keep a balance between encouragement and pressure try to maintain consistency in work and, at the same time, introduce new concepts. If your child does not get up to your expectations in any subject or field, do not scold him/her or underestimate his/her ability by that single performance. Try to encourage your child by saying that ‘nothing is impossible’. If everyone can do it, you can also do it.