Keep in mind that learning is a basic survival skill that will determine how well your child can adapt to new situations. Seeing as how, for a major part of their life, their academic career will be the essential part of their life, this will determine their overall success rate, confidence, etc. Most importantly, their early academic career is their first real responsibility. The way they approach it determines how successful they are.
It is also important that you understand just how important a curious mind actually is. It can help nurture creativity and lead to some of the most amazing conclusions and outcomes. With that in mind and without further ado, how do you raise a child who loves to learn? How do you help them harness the power of this passion and turn it into something good? Can this have a negative side, as well?
All of this and much more we’ll try to answer in this post.
Encourage their curiosity?
Never dismiss their question just because you don’t know something. Keep in mind that you can always tell them that you will look into it. However, it is essential that you actually go ahead and learn about this.
Second, you don’t have to know all the answers. Instead, you can tell them to ask someone with authority. You can take them to see an acquaintance of yours who is more familiar with the topic or talk to a professional in the field. This way, you will encourage them to rely on credible sources. This will also teach them that just because someone is older than them, this doesn’t mean that they have all the answers.
Third, try to provide them with tools to find the answers on their own. Even at a very young age, there are picture books that they can use for answers. There are a lot of encyclopedias meant for children. Something so interesting and colourful, when gifted at a very young age, can serve as the spark for major curiosity.
Let them work with professional instructors
Keep in mind that there are a lot of different types and forms of learning. It is your goal to expose your kids to as many of these forms as you possibly can. For instance, you might decide to enlist them in one of the amazing child care programs. It is up to you to look for the program with the best instructors, as well as one that is the most learning-oriented.
If you decide to hire a babysitter, it’s essential that you tell them just how important their daily schedule is. Do you want the babysitter to read to them or play a specific game? This is something that you need to communicate but also find the right person for. Such a task is far from easy.
Develop their love for reading
First of all, children try to impersonate what you do, which is why you need to read and self-improve in order to become a positive example. So, why not make a reading nook with seating for both you and your child? This way, you can make a personalized reading space and create an atmosphere of reading in your household.
Keep in mind that some kids don’t like to admit they love reading for fear of being ridiculed by their peers. They don’t want to be mocked for being “nerds,” etc. The key thing is that they see that this is something normal and even praiseworthy. You, as a role model, are someone they respect, admire and look up to. So, by seeing you read and enjoy reading, they’ll enjoy this too.
Now, the topic of the book is essential for their enjoyment. People who say that they don’t enjoy reading simply haven’t found their genre yet. Reading is like eating – whether you enjoy it or not depends on the course. You know your kid the best, which is why you’re the person who is supposed to find the right book for them. Do they like knights, pirates, animals, mermaids, unicorns, dragons or princesses?
Remember that they’ll still just a kid
As a child, they don’t have tests, grades or deadlines. This means that there’s no real reason for you to push them hard for them to learn something. Instead, learning needs to be fun. You need to help them gamify experience but you also need to make sure that this is done in small doses. Otherwise, you risk getting an adverse effect.
If you scold and ground them when they’re not learning or not managing to master a certain topic, you’re actually helping them develop an aversion towards learning. In other words, even if they do find a topic that they’re interested in; even if their teachers do the best of jobs, they’ll have a hard time learning. Why? Because you pushed them too hard when you didn’t need to.
Pay attention to different learning styles
There are four different learning styles you need to understand. These are:
- Visual
- Auditory
- Read/write
- Kinaesthetic
Some kids (and people in general) learn better something they read; others learn things better when they’re spoken to them. There are a lot of those kids who learn the best through gamified experiences that incorporate body movement and tactile feelings (kinaesthetic learners). It is crucial that you find the style that suits your child the most.
Albert Einstein once said that if you judge the fish by its ability to climb the tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it’s dumb/incompetent. By finding a way to adjust these learning methods to your child/children, you will make it so much easier for them to master any given topic. It will also become a lot easier for them to actually enjoy learning.
Give them the reason why
Whenever you want to teach someone a certain skill, it’s paramount that you explain to them its practical application. So, try systems like – if you learn X, you will be able to Y. If the Y is something that they’re interested in or fascinated by, they will easily develop intrinsic motivation to learn. It is really that simple.
In other words, motivating your child to learn often comes down to explaining to them why something is important, relevant and why they (personally) need this skill or a piece of information. Sure, this requires you to be extra crafty but the end result is worth the effort invested.
One other thing that could potentially motivate them is your own display of fascination with the subject matter at hand. Show them that you personally care about something and they might show interest in it, as well. Just keep in mind that kids sometimes develop an aversion towards something that you try super-hard for them to like.
In conclusion
At the end of the day, raising a kid who loves learning means preparing them for anything that lies ahead. It also means helping them develop a cult of knowledge, which is essential for self-growth and development. It means ensuring that they always have a competitive edge, regardless of what they try to do. Last, but not least important, it helps them become a better person.
