Are you at your wits end when it comes to making your child sit and learn?

Let’s check…

Every time you call out to your child “Let’s read a book”, you get your self ready for a game of catch.

While you are teaching him 2 and 2 makes 4, you end up in a tug of war.

You need ear plugs to protect your ears from the high decibel screams of your resisting child.

 Like me, I see you checked it all!

One of the top concerns of parents is that their child shows no interest in learning! Especially when it comes to table top activities such as reading, writing or math. Although it is not a “primary” (pun intended) concern in toddler years, it might carry over to when the child starts to attend school and needs to conform to a proper classroom environment where they are expected to sit for longer periods of time. Hence the transition will be challenging especially when the child has learning difficulties.

And whether you are a parent or an educator, the focus always seem to fall on the child and we often overlook how we present ourselves to the child while we are teaching. Sometimes it is not the child, it is you who are in fact overwhelming the child which results in the “fight or flight” behaviour.

Good news is you can do something about it and the change begins with you as parents/educators! Read on to find out more on what you can do to create a positive learning environment for your child.

What’s your style?

“Learning modalities” (i.e. the way we assimilate information in our environment and build our knowledge bank) have four main characteristics of learning styles:

1. “Visual” (seeing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. “Auditory” (hearing)

 

3. “Kinesthetic” (moving)

 

4.”Tactile” (feeling)

As much as its important to know your child’s learning style, it is also crucial for you to know what your own learning style is.  We tend to unconsciously try to make the child adapt to our learning method whereby we override the style of the child and consequently the child loses the interest to learn.

It is also imperative that there should be an integration of all four styles in order to reap greater success in all aspects of learning. Therefore parents should create opportunities for the children to exercise their strengths to overcome their weakness in order to have a well balanced learning experience.

Be Innovative!

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; Show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

– Anton Chekhov

Be imaginative! Use everyday items that can be found around you to bring concepts to life. For instance, get your 3 year old to count the number of oranges that you need to buy at the groceries. For older children, give them the money to purchase the items bought to give them the experience of buying things. We should remember that concepts taught in school will only make sense when applied in real situations. Below are some ideas that you may like to try out.

Everyday Math

Reading at home

You also might want to take a look at how to teach maths, literacy and other concepts using Art from our previous post.

Positive learning.

Be prepared that there will be times where no matter how exciting you present the tasks to be, your child is going to be “Uh uh, I am not doing it!” Understand that if there is no intrinsic motivation to learn, there is no way your child is going to listen to you. Children with learning difficulties will most likely exhibit poor attention skills. They need to focus and concentrate on the task at hand, be aware of what is required of them to do and respond appropriately. Since they will face difficulties in these cognitive abilities, it becomes an effort to embrace a positive learning experience. So what can we do?

Positive reinforcement is a technique where we award the child for having accomplished a task or action no matter how small it can be. For a child who may be severely delayed in speech, attempting to make a sound, for example  “bah” for “Bye” is a huge step. Positive reinforcement is when we acknowledge the attempt by saying “Good try!” and we give a high five.

 

Out of habit, we sometimes tend to be critical on every inappropriate behavior that a child does but we forget to praise all the good things that the child is capable of! However, when we shift our attention to what they are actually good at, we start to build their confidence and help them to overcome their apprehension in trying out new things. Thus the language that you use with the child is momentous if you want to see a difference.

Boost your language with this:

Consistency.

Another key ingredient to the new approach you are going to work on is CONSISTENCY. When we bring about a system for change, we must ensure that it is being followed in a timely manner and is adhered by everyone who is involved with the child.

It is not easy to establish a system where both parents compromise on certain rules especially when it comes to rewarding the child. Further, any system can be jeopardized by doting grandparents who can easily give in to child’s demands. Thus, make sure rules are followed by everyone in the household so that the child understands the consequence of his/her behaviour.

Final note

“Change the way you see things and the things you see will change”- Dr Wayne Dyer

If you are attempting to bring about a change in your child, it starts with you. Changing the way you approach your child with respect to learning will attribute to the child’s confidence and perseverance thereby making his/her learning journey a positive learning experience!

References

Bradway, L & Hill, B.A (2003). How to maximise your child’s learning ability.

Pierangelo, R & Guilliani, G(2008). Teaching students with learning disabilities.

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