How to educate your child to succeed

Success cannot be accomplished in a day! It is a gradual process that starts from childhood and reaps the reward – later in life.

Be a proactive PTA member

The involvement of parents goes a long way to ensure a child’s success in school. Being a part of PTAs and parent-teacher conferences gives the parents an insight into what all is happening in school. This, keeps the communication channels open between a child and parents. A child is also happy to know that the parent is interested in his problems and achievements in school. This involvement helps to break the ice and instils a sense of confidence in the child. Also, it shapes the personality of the child as a compassionate person in the long run.

Visit the School and Update yourself with the Website

Today, in this age of digitization, when a parent takes out time to go and look into the school it facilitates sand what all activities the child is involved in, which helps to establish good connect with the child. It boosts his confidence and fills him with positive vibes. Visiting the school website and participating in certain activities or acknowledging your child; behalf makes the child very happy and he can establish trust. A child feels brave when he knows that his parents are aware of the school and its compound, he knows no one can bully him. A regular update about the school website also helps to monitor a child and his activities.

Parents can always take a look at the additional help offered by many of the teachers on their websites to guide and help the child with his school work. A sense of togetherness and participation helps the child to learn the concept of team spirit. He understands that although everything can be done alone if done together then the task becomes far easier.

Participate in homeworks

Homework should be seen and done with the vision that it reinforces all that was taught in the school that day. Hence, it is to be done as a revision – to benefit the understanding beyond the walls of the classroom. Giving pri0oroty to homework helps to make the child sincere about the tasks at hand – with punctuality. It also helps the child to focus by giving up on the distractions at hand within a stipulated time. Different academic levels should have different timelines for homework and assignments. Although as parents, the natural tendency is to help the child. But it is re commended to refrain from helping times to enable the child to develop an investigative and curious problem-solving approach.

When the child makes a mistake, show him with reason and patience how and why has he arrived at the wrong result, rather than just blatantly shouting and scolding the child. This is how a child learns to be kind and forgiving.

Regularity in School

The best way to establish the importance of a routine in a child’s; life is to make sure he attends school regularly. To ensure regularity in attendance, make sure to give your child a healthy breakfast with the right kind of nutrients that will keep him active, alert throughout the day with a good metabolism. It helps the child to develop a good memory, good eyesight, and a sharper brain with a good physique.  Hence, it is vital to make them understand the need for a nutritious breakfast that contains- vitamins, fibers, and proteins.

The other vital activity to be taught is proper sleep time. A strict discipline should be followed to ensure the kids get the right amount of sleep. Good sleep helps the kids to develop a good metabolism and also helps them to stay active the next day. Although most of the kids have a lot of pressure these days owing to Homework, sports, after-school activities, TVs, computers, and video games, as well as hectic family schedules, still maintaining a proper bedtime should be a priority.

With the internet in every hand, you cannot prevent the kids from accessing technology, since it is a part of their curriculum. However, the amount of time to be spent on electronic devices should be decided and followed. Overexposure to these screens has a bad effect on them – psychologically, physically, and mentally. It affects their behavior pattern. Kids who spend more time on these gadgets are seen to be more hyperactive, disobedient, and cut off from their families.

Inculcate Organizational skills

the inception starts when one is a child. Teaching kids to be organized is a tedious task – but not an impossible one. Gone are the days when just an explanation of the pros and cons of organizational skills were explained to us. Today, we need to develop a practical approach and the kids learn by doing.

Starting with the simplest of tasks like folding the laundry and keeping the toys in their respective places to gradually organize the study table, preparing homework schedules and folders makes the child organized. The basic goal should be to teach that organizing things makes it much simpler to comprehend and accomplish.

Get relief from phobia of tests

Tests, exams, assignments – are scary for some kids. Preparation for these requires a lot of ofo efforts of not just self but also educators and parents. Hence, it is important to teach study skills at the different grades during the school life

During the tenure of a child in elementary school, it is important to know the schedule of the unit test for different subjects and prepare the child from beforehand. A regular end-of-the-day revision helps the child to retain better and reduces the pressure of last-minute preparation. It also develops a positive problem-solving attitude for the rest of your life.

It’s important to teach the child to prioritize the learning based on skill and schedule. For this, the child can be asked to prepare a proper list and break it down into smaller, manageable chunks to avoid the pressure of preparation. Usually, kids have an attention span of 30-45mins. Tip like taking a break after every 45 mins or a small jog or any physical activity at regular intervals helps the kids to process the information faster and retain it better.

At no point of time should the child feel burdened and stressed with the pressure of exams.

Instil a sense of Self-Discipline

It is very important to know and lay down the rules and regulations for things like student behavior, dress codes, use of electronic devices, and acceptable language in school. The school handbook of rules includes details about attendance, vandalism, cheating, fighting, and weapons. This helps to instil a sense of self-discipline and obedience. It is also very helpful in laying down the serious consequences of bullying, ragging, etc.

As much as obedience is important, however, it should not be so strict also that the child feels suffocated and is not able to voice his concerns! Hence a balance has to be maintained by parents and educators in this respect. A child should find the environment as not just authoritative but kind and compassionate as well.

Involvement

Involvement is very important to ensure a child’s success. A child learns what he sees. , teach the child to participate and get involved in team activities ad group activities. This helps the child to learn social skills with confidence and makes him handle his problems. No hobby is small or bad. Encourage the child by attending all his extracurricular activities, chaperoning field trips, planning class parties, volunteering to give a talk for career day, etc.

A simple wholehearted conversation about what all is happening in school and class establishes your involvement in a child’s life. Checking the school website and staying updated also helps to stay involved in a child s life.

Wrap Up: Encouragement, self-discipline, patience, endurance, obedience, team spirit, knowledge – are the pillars of success. At Doon international School, New Chandigarh, we believe that to ensure success, we need to get and stay involved throughout the forming years – as parents and educators, peers.