The Top 10 Ways to Help Your Child Do Well at School

  Over the past year or so, most of us have been faced with having to conduct at least some of our children's education at home. While in the normal state of things we don't need to be experts in teaching kids maths or biology, parents still have a crucial role in their children's success at school. The reality is that, with the best will in the world, schools can't do much more than providing the education. It's up to the parents to make sure their children are in a good place to make the most of that education. Here are ten ways of giving your kids an advantage.

1. Help Them See Failure as a Positive

 Nothing worth learning is easy to get right first time. When your child encounters a new skill to master, they're likely to fail on their early attempts. The important thing is not to be disheartened by these failures, but use them as an opportunity to learn. Learning to play a game like chess or Go can help them learn this lesson. You can also help your child by talking about how you've learnt from failures, and also by praising them for their efforts, rather than for results.

2. Help Your Child to Love Learning

 Research has shown that we learn far more easily if we approach it with a positive, engaged attitude than if it appears a chore. Your child is likely to do better even at subjects they're less good at if they have this attitude to learning in general. You can do various things to associate learning in your child's mind with enjoyment. This could range from associating learning with quality parent-child times to making it fun, like identifying objects or words while you're out together.

3. Let Your Child Be Great at What They Love

 Although all the major school subjects are important, there are going to be some your child will "click" with and some they'll feel less interest in. And that's OK. If, for instance, they love English but show little interest in science (or vice versa), by all means help them achieve adequate grades in what they don't enjoy, but put most of your emphasis on encouraging their passion.

4. Show Your Child the Relevance of the Subjects

 It's easy for a child to feel that what they learn in school is completely divorced from reality, and this can make learning it seem irrelevant. Everyone learns better if they can see the point, so showing them how a subject affects their life can help motivate them. For maths, for instance, show how what they learn relates to anything from budgeting their pocket money to dividing up a cake. If they can't see the point of history, discuss with them how events in the past have affect the world as they know it.

5. Use Games in Learning

 It's been shown by research that learning is much easier if it's in the form of games. Whether you go old-school (Scrabble is great for expanding vocabulary, for instance) or find games online, your child is likely to be more engaged. They don't have to be pre-existing, formal games, though. You could always create your own games built around what your child needs to learn — for instance, a game to decide which of a group of historical figures is most awesome or villainous.

6. Motivation by Consequences

 The traditional way to motivate a child is by using the (metaphorical) stick — if you don't do your homework, no iPad after dinner. However, it's been shown that a much better form of motivation is to let the child learn consequences. If the child won't put their clothes in the laundry basket, for instance, leave it till they find they have to go to school in crumpled clothes. This will teach them that consequences aren't imposed from outside, but a direct result of their actions.

7. Work on Depth of Processing

 Learning something is all very well, but it's pointless unless we can process and remember it. Sometimes, the harder your child tries to remember what they've learnt, the harder they find it. Work with them to arrange their revision material and schedules in a way that best suits their learning style. Space out revision sessions, reassure them that it's OK not to be perfect at first, and make sure they get a good night's sleep.

8. Help Your Child Relax

 We all learn better if we're relaxed, rather than feeling anxious about what we need to achieve. Your child is no exception, so it's vital to help them learn relaxation techniques. Simple breathing and relaxation exercises are good, but perhaps the best way to help your child relax is for them to learn yoga. You could practice with them at home or in a class, but there are yoga classes available specifically for children.

9. The Internet Doesn't Have to Be the Enemy

 While the internet clearly holds dangers, it's also the best research tool ever created. Your child can certainly benefit from access to the internet — as long as you make sure they keep safe. Most internet providers offer child protection tools that allow you to restrict, filter and monitor where your child goes online. Besides this, having the computer they use in a family space will help you monitor activities and computer time.

10. Encourage Unstructured Time with a Range of Children

 Playing with other children is crucial for developing empathy, as it helps them learn how to interact, take turns and negotiate. Ideally, encourage your child to play with children of different ages and backgrounds, so that they learn to interact with children less like themselves. Interaction with different ages will help both the younger children to learn from the older and the older children to learn responsibility. These are just a few of the ways you can support your children and help them do well at school. Register with TutorExtra for more resources.