Why Your Child Needs to Develop Good Study Habits
It is in our DNA to get excited by new things. New car, new book, new gym membership, new diet, etc. But after a while, the novelty wears off. Although we know that exercise is good for our health, we lose motivation and not exercise regularly. We then wonder why we don’t achieve our intended goal. This is particularly true with study habits.
Within our busy day to day lives we maintain a steady momentum of drop- off, work, pick-up, meet with friends, homework, dinner. A routine whereby we do tasks at particular times of the day in a particular setting. We even increase our efficiency by laying out our clothes the night before. We fine tune our busy schedules through consistency and the persistence to feel we have accomplished something worthwhile in our day.
Children experience this routine just as much as adults do. That’s how they are able improve in things like swimming or guitar practice. They do it at the same time and day each week, knowing that it needs to be done. As they practice, they can swim a few seconds faster than the last time. That means they are able to achieve something and can feel their own progress. Remembering that it requires the small steps to be achieved for the big goals to come to fruition.
Children do best when routines are regular and predictable and assist them to constructively manage themselves and their environments. This same attitude also applies to your child’s success with studying efficiently and effectively too. The time your child spends studying needs to be maximised so that they can get back to playing or helping with the chores.
These are some tips to developing google study habits:
8 Steps to Good Study Habits For Your Child
1. Rely on a system
When your child first starts with Eye Level, we design a progression plan to meet their goals along with a realistic amount of homework. This homework is assigned in a particular order for your child to learn and improve efficiently. With the idea that you can’t run before you can walk. Ensure that they complete the work in the order assigned.
A similar principle can be applied for your child’s school homework, or extracurricular activities. There needs to be a system for them to progress. That starts with figuring out their goal and how they’ll reach it.
2. Establish a study routine
Setting an appropriate area (desk, dining table) and time (after dinner, after bath time) is another system to prepare your child’s mind. When this routine is established their minds are willing to complete the work. It also means that we are not having to rely on motivation but the child’s intrinsic nature to complete routines and work at something themselves for their own betterment.
Here are 7 Easy Habits for More Productive Study.
3. Maintain consistency
Doing a little bit of work every day means that students won’t need to cram and try to complete a week’s worth of books into a few hours before bed. Cramming increases the mind’s chance of being fatigued, children become grumpy and may not sleep well which doesn’t help with their tasks the next day.
Encourage them to maintain their routine and remember that it is better to do something each day rather than nothing.
What to know some hurdles to avoid? Check this out: 5 Hurdles to Avoid When Studying.
Your child learns most at School or in Tuition, so it’s important the classroom environment is consistent also.
4. Eliminate distractions – they can hinder good Study Habits
We’ve all had that experience at work when there is too much ambient noise and we have to find a quiet place to concentrate. During this set study time, help your child to eliminate distractions such as phones, tv, tablets or siblings vying for their attention. Distractions mean that you child’s mind has to fight off everything that is not the work they need to concentrate on, therefore limiting their ability to complete their work with their best effort.
5. Work in short bursts of time
Finding our flow concentration state can be very beneficial to our productivity, however it normally lasts for around 45 minutes before our mind’s need a break. Monitor the length of time your child is studying for by setting a timer and allow them to have a 5-10 minute break to recharge. Oftentimes this short break will mean they can solve a problem they were struggling on, just because they had a release.
6. Break down big tasks into smaller ones
When a child looks at all the work they need to complete they can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume and thinking they don’t have enough time and are desperate to get back to playing PS4. Help your child to break their work down into more manageable chunks by discussing the content of their work and give them some gentle motivation. Give them a time frame to complete their booklet and come back to check on them at that time.
Download our Free Study Timetable to stay organised.
7. Maintaining a deadline is good for Study Habits
You can’t move on to the next step to reach our goal until the one before is finished. Ensuring homework is completed in a timely manner and submitted means your child can move on to their next stepping stone. Remind them to bring their completed homework to every class at Eye Level.
8. Challenge Your Child
Once a routine is established, your child will likely become fidgety or feel a little bored by it. That is normal. We all feel that way once we have mastered a routine and we regularly achieve our routine objective. But remember why that routine was established in the first place: to maintain consistency and improve their skills day by day.
So in their normal study time, challenge them. We thrive on a challenge that is our just right level, because when we can do it, our motivation is even higher than before. If they normally complete their work in 30 minutes see if they can complete in 25 minutes instead. Hint at a small reward if they need the extra encouragement.
Maintaining a routine is already something familiar and part of our every day life. With these tips, your child can take responsibility for their work and feel like they are achieving their goals efficiently.
Find an Eye Level Learning Centre near you to begin developing a study routine in Maths and English.