Top Tips for Supporting your Child with Their Education

In what ways are you supporting your child with their interests and education?
What many don’t realise, is that what children bring to the classroom holds just as much value as what they are taught at school. The world that we live in now is full of very high expectations, with GCSEs and A levels being a minimum requirement to get to successful places. The good news is that there are many things that you can do at home with your child to help develop their knowledge and increase their potential. This can simply be done through everyday attitudes and examples.

Don’t worry, there is no expectation for you to have to work on your algebra as well. The attitude that your child has when they reach the school gates alone can be what helps improve their academic performance. The traits needed are already there or need to be taught by you slowly. Here are some top tips from an International School in Mill Hill on supporting your child with their education.

Teach your child that failure is not a bad thing

Any skill requires a stage of trial and error in order to completely master it. How else would anyone be able to understand what to avoid the next time they get up onto their feet to try again?  The term ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ is very important as it shows that incompetence and consistency is what leads to major success.

Nothing good is achieved the first time and children need to learn that from a young age in order to succeed in their education. You need to teach your child to have little fear of failure and to have resilience to push through tough times. You can do this by getting them involved with extracurriculars such as chess, as this teaches problem solving and strategic planning.

It also requires a lot of discipline and concentration that are both excellent skills to transfer into the classroom. Let them know of any of your own failures and how you overcame them. If they know that someone close to them also went through different struggles, it will help them connect hard work with rewards in the future.

Make learning something that your child enjoys

Naturally anything that is enjoyable will be something that your child will want to partake in more. Learning itself is 100 times harder if it is seen as something close to a chore. An example of this is Math in school. Many of us did not enjoy it and through that, created a mental block which essentially led to mathematics becoming a lot more difficult. Research has shown that a good mood and attitude towards something makes it seem a lot easier and makes the learner more engaged and willing to take part. If you can encourage your child to learn and enjoy the process, the rest will fall into place very easily.

Allow your child to follow what they love

Nowadays, it isn’t really important to be good at everything no matter what society may think. The real way to become truly successful is by mastering one or two skills and working hard on them. If you notice that your child is showing interest in a particular subject in school, encourage them to do an extracurricular related to it to expand and develop their skills.

If your child is passionate about a particular subject, don’t be afraid to go over the top on how it can impact their life. Spending time with them whilst they connect and enjoy that subject, can teach them skills and give them a new insight on how to transfer this happiness onto other subjects.

If you need any additional support, feel free to contact your child’s teachers or any parents that could assist you.