If you instil a love of learning in your children, you’re setting them up to succeed in life. This is because they’ll become self-driven perpetual learners, and that prepares them for an ever-changing world. Furthermore, you won’t have to work as hard to get them through school. Instead, you only have to nudge them in the right direction or help them focus on the task at hand. Here are five ways to instil a love of learning in your child.
Read Stories as Soon as You Can
Start reading to your children when they’re babies. Read anything they want to have read to them, regardless of subject, as long as it is age appropriate. Let them see you reading the newspaper, magazine or books, and read what you’re reading to them. They’ll learn that you love to read, and they’ll learn a little about a lot of different subjects.
Give Your Kids Choices
Giving your children choices helps prepare them for the real world while it gets them engaged. For example, give your kids a choice about reading. This will make them more excited to read, and it will probably lead to them picking up a large number of books.
Let your children select where they will have a birthday party and the type of decorations to set up. You can discuss budgets and acceptable boundaries, but do what you can to support their choices. Let them choose their own hobbies and extracurricular activities. And be willing to let them switch sports, arts and other activities as they discover what they are good at.
Engage Them in the Real World
Don’t just read to kids or give them educational apps – engage them in learning in the real world! Either take or send your kids on field trips. If you want to know how to teach your child in a fun way, start by exploring interests together before you let them discover things on their own with a few ground rules.
Make learning fun. It can be as simple as educational songs or playing academic games, or it could be scavenger hunts and music lessons.
Get Involved with Your Kids’ Lives
Get involved in your kid’s school. This will help you to keep up with their assignments and build a relationship with their teachers. On the flipside, you can talk to your children about the classes you take and your own hobbies. Your children will learn about these subjects and feel more connected with you. Provide support for their art lessons or hobbies. You can talk about your own related experiences and assist your child while they follow their own passions. Have discussions, not lectures.
Give Your Kids Moral Support
Get excited when your child builds a project or discovers something. This will give them a sense of accomplishment, whether they just rolled over or read a book by themselves for the first time. Cheer them from the side-lines when they’re playing sports, and be present when they’re performing. Let them show you the toys they’ve assembled. This not only shows your children that you love and accept them, but it means they’ll continue to come to you for advice, guidance and support as they grow older. And note that this doesn’t cost you anything but time.
Be realistic about your expectations, too. If your child is a B student, don’t punish or shame them for not getting As. Celebrate their accomplishments while providing academic support as necessary. There are a number of tried and true techniques to instil a love of learning in your children. These techniques can also improve your relationship with your child while helping their personal development.