Monday, 15 October 2018

By ASP School Projects

Encourage your children during their preparation for the year-end exams.

As parents we are often so busy with organising our houses and making sure everything is fine at work that we often lack in checking up on our kids when they need to start preparing for the year-end exams. However, to our children, the upcoming exam might feel like a mountain that they need to climb on their own. Some children might try their best just to get through a study session while others might be procrastinating. How will we support our children in this crucial stage in their academic journey? How can we encourage our children to give their best in this exam?


Motivate your children to study for their year-end exams with these 5 tips:
1. Be enthusiastic about learning.
2. Help your children set a schedule and a routine.
3. Teach them responsibility.
4. Praise your children’s effort.
5. Show compassion and have patience.


1. Be enthusiastic about learning.

The first thing we as parents need to remember, is that our children look up to us, even when we don’t realise it. Bob Keeshan said, “Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action have an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than a parent.” If parents start proclaiming how much they learned that day and get excited about knowledge, then their children will too. If parents are excited about reading good books and encourage reading in the house, then their children will follow. How many times will parents read the news and then complain about the content or complain about all the reports they have to read? Children start to associate reading with complaining and negative emotions. However, if parents choose to read positive and uplifting books and talk about the wonderful things they learn, and discuss how valuable the content is, their children will also talk with a positive attitude about the thing they learn. Be the parent that is always enthusiastic about knowledge.


2. Help your children set a schedule and a routine.

Setting a study schedule helps children gain control over their time. This way your children can decide how many chapters or topics they want to study each day, and to help set small goals to achieve along the way. A schedule also helps to make studying a habit. For example, if your children are very busy with extra-mural activities, make sure you take that into account for their schedules. If your children have one-hour sport or music practice directly after school, they can go to practice, have lunch and be rested by 16:00, then they can start to study in increments of 20-minute study sessions with a 10-minute break in between. This way not only is the activity scheduled, but also the resting time. Read more about setting up a schedule in our blog article ‘Four tips to help you set up a schedule for a successful school year.’


3. Teach them responsibility.

When it comes to studying, the responsibility to sit down and concentrate lies completely with the children. However, parents can teach their children that the sole responsibility lies with them. Encourage them to study and stick to the study schedule, and check up on them if they have reached their daily goals set out in their schedule. If your children didn’t study and procrastinated the whole day by watching television or being on their phones, the consequences should be clear. For example, they can spend less time with their friends over the weekend, because they need to catch up on their studies in that time.

You can also teach them about the consequence of regret. The consequence of regret means your children will later regret that they didn’t study. Usually this regret kicks in the evening before a test or exam, or when the results come out and they failed. Explain to your children they will be a lot happier at the end of the exams when they achieve good marks, than if they spend more time watching television.


4. Praise your children’s effort.

We are sometimes so critical of what our children didn’t do (they didn’t clean their rooms, didn’t make their beds, didn’t do their chores, etc.), that we don’t notice all the effort they put into other activities related to their schoolwork. Praise your children’s study efforts. Tell them that you are proud of their work ethic and time management skills. Don’t just focus on their grades or report card, focus on their effort. Praise them especially if you see improvement in their grades, even if there is still room for more improvement.


5. Show compassion and have patience.

When it comes to your children’s study routine, the most important thing you can do is to be patient. If you see your children are trying their best, have patience with their grades and performance. Show compassion towards them and teach them that if they give their best effort, then it is enough.


We hope these 5 pieces of advice will inspire parents to help their children when they study. If you have any additional advice, please share this in the comments below.

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