Parenting – The Foundation For Learning
Much of a child’s ability to learn comes from their motivation to learn and much of their
motivation and effort they put into their learning is based on the value they put on learning and their ongoing
education.
As a parent, you need to know that the value that your child associates with learning is strongly influenced by you
and what you as their parent expect from them. Much research as determined that the expectations that parents have
for their children is directly related to learning behavior and attitude both positively and negatively. All of
this to say is that when parents expect their children to do well academically they do; and when parents expect
failure the get failure. This is why it is extremely important that you as a parent set positive expectations and
examples when it comes to learning and education.
Always be communicating to your child that you expect them to do well with their learning assignments and
projects. Over time your child will understand that no matter what the assignment; they know what your expectations
are and that you as a parent truly believe what you are saying about education and learning.
But it’s not all about communicating your expectations; a big key for your child aspiring to work toward your
expectations is encouragement from you. You not only must let your child know that you expect them to do well, but
you also let them know that you know that they can do it. Let them know when they are engaged in a difficult
assignment or subject that you know that it is difficult but that they can do it if they continue to try and stay
with it! And when your child accomplishes… celebrate the successes.
Expectations fortified with constant encouragement and praise is a powerful force in learning for a child when it
comes from their parents.
Be a role model for your child. It’s much easier for you as a parent to get your child to buy in to your
expectations when they see you adopt the same importance in learning as you espouse to them. In other words, make
sure that your children see you partaking in learning activities around the house. One of the best examples that
you can set for your child is reading. Make sure that your children always see you reading and keeping up with
current events. Be sure to have plenty of reading material around the house. Make it a point to take your child to
the library and get involved in reading programs with them.
Remember, expecting your child to do well with their studies is only the first step; you have to follow through
though. Always encourage and praise as your child is working toward those expectations. If your child receives no
feedback from you along the way, their motivation wanes and is sometimes lost. When your child succeeds… celebrate.
And don’t just celebrate when the final goal is reached; make sure all the little successes are recognized along
the way. Soon your child will understand that even a large and foreboding looking learning task can be accomplished
a little at a time.
And finally… be an educational and learning role model for your child. Be visible to your child around the house
when you are reading, or even when you have to break out a set of instruction on how to put something together and
learn something that you yourself don’t yet know how to do.
The value of learning is definitely something that you can pass along to your child to help ensure their long term
successes.
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