8 Effective Ways to Motivate Your Child to Study

Do you find it difficult to motivate your child to study?

Many parents face problems when it comes to convincing their children to devote more time to their studies. So, we’ve created this guide that will help you keep your child interested in studying, and even more than that, learning.

At The HDFC School, we believe in the holistic development of our students, even beyond the classroom. At each of our branches, we nurture our students into lifelong learners by motivating them to give their best in whatever they do and providing the environment for them to succeed. This is one of the reasons we have consistently ranked among the best CBSE Schools in Gurugram, Bengaluru and Pune. So we can say with confidence that the tips we have provided below will work. But keep in mind that not every strategy might work as effectively for every child. You will need to see what works best for your child.

Tips and Tricks to Help You Motivate Your Child to Learn

Find Out The Main Reason They Don’t Like Studying

Understanding why a child may dislike studying is so important for effective support. It could stem from various sources - perhaps the material isn't engaging, or they're struggling with specific subjects. It's possible they're feeling overwhelmed or lacking confidence in their abilities. Sometimes external factors like distractions or personal issues might be affecting their focus.

Be proactive in getting your child to communicate their concerns about studying. By openly discussing their thoughts and feelings, you can uncover the main reason they don’t enjoy studying. Children are naturally curious and eager to learn, so the reason is most likely something that can be handled. Once you find the problem, try to do what you can to eliminate that problem for your child.

Let the Child Take Ownership

This may not be a tip you expected to read on how to motivate your child to study. Presumably, you are here because your child does not seem to enjoy studying at present. But it is important that you don’t try to control their schedule too much.

Many children lose interest in studying or even doing their homework if they feel they don’t have any control over when, how and what they study. So let them choose what to study and when to study. If they feel they are in charge, it is likely that they will take responsibility for themselves and in the process, they will learn accountability as well.

Put the Emphasis on Learning, Not on Marks

Good marks are a natural byproduct of good learning. Yet many parents encourage their child to score high marks. They don’t put enough emphasis on the process of learning to get those marks. Sometimes, the child may feel overwhelmed by this pursuit of good scores. So take that pressure off their shoulders and instead focus on what they are learning. Ask them to teach you what they have learnt. This will help them revise and strengthen what they have learnt, and if they are going wrong, you can correct them.

This method of prioritising learning over marks will benefit the child in terms of how much they learn and how well they score too.

Make Learning Enjoyable with Games

You’ve probably heard of Monopoly, one of the most famous board games in the world. It is a game many kids and even adults play, and it is still relevant more than 100 years after it was invented. That’s because, while it is highly competitive and engaging, it is also very instructive about the way money works in the real world. Financial expert Robert Kiyosaki recommends this game in his famous book, Rich Dad Poor Dad as well.

The point I am working round to is that, with games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Pictionary and many others, you can make learning fun and engaging for your child.

Choose the Right School for Your Child’s Needs

It is possible that the school your child is going to is not providing enough personalised attention to him or her. This could be because they are part of a very large class, and teachers are unable to customise their teaching methods for such a large number of students. Or it could be that the teaching methods at the school are not meeting the needs of your child. Ask your child regularly about what their interactions with teachers and peers are like, and if they are satisfied with it.

We have a complete guide on how to choose the right school for your child, which will give you the most important factors on which to evaluate schools.

Learn Together With Your Child

This can be a fun way to not only revisit the subjects you learnt in school yourself, but also to motivate your child to study. If they see you enthusiastically reading their subjects, it can inspire them to study as well. After your joint learning session, you can quiz each other on what each of you have learnt. This will give the task a competition-like feel and bring out your child’s competitive spirit, inspiring them to learn and study more.

Keep a Dedicated Learning Space at Home

It’s important that your child studies on a dedicated desk and chair designated specifically for their use. Let them take responsibility to keep the desk organised and clutter-free. Keep the essentials like pen, notebook, geometry set etc neatly organised in the desk drawer so that they are always within reach. Keep a water bottle handy as well. These are small but crucial steps to keep the momentum going when your child is learning. If they have to get up to go get a glass of water, it is a potentially distracting moment and it could be hours before they get back to studying. Studying in a neat, clean and organised space also enhances the child’s ability to absorb more information.

Celebrate Their Achievements

This part is absolutely crucial. You must not take your child’s efforts for granted. If you have motivated them to study more effectively and they’ve scored much better marks in the latest school test or exam, you need to reward them for it. Perhaps take them for a movie, order their favourite food, or buy them that new bat they’ve wanted for so long. This will show your child that his/her efforts mean a lot to you and you appreciate it.

Conclusion

Motivating your child to study is an on-going effort. You will need to continually engage and actively participate.

Remember that not each strategy might work for every child, but the principles are the same. You need to find the root cause why they don’t enjoy learning or studying, and eliminate that cause. You also need to emphasise the joy of learning over marks, and you need to evaluate your child’s activities and interactions at school as well. Try to make learning fun for your child with joint learning sessions, games and quizzes, and ensure that they study in a space that is conducive to learning. Lastly, ensure that you reward your child for his/her effort.

We sincerely hope that these strategies will help you motivate your child to study, enjoy learning and naturally score better marks.