How to help your child succeed at school

As parents, one of the things that worries us the most is our kids’ academic performance. We want to make sure we are doing our job, supporting, encouraging, and enabling our kids to deal with responsibilities at school, without pushing too hard or going beyond their boundaries as individuals. We don’t want to leave them alone because we know that, either we like or not, their future depends in great measure on how good they do as students, yet, we don’t want to make them feel as if life is something they should be scared of. This forces us to be thoughtful when it comes to finding the best approach to deal with our kids’ educational needs.

Make sure the mindset is the right one

Before exploring a few things that can be done to impact our children’s performance positively at school, we would like to make sure we consider the mindset that drives our efforts as parents.

Their results are theirs, not ours

As parents, it is our job to provide our kids with an environment that’s adequate for them to experience their own things in life. When parenting for school, it is possible that we deviate from our true responsibility and start thinking that our kids’ grades are something that we want for ourselves. Such parenting styles should be avoided.

Let's make sure we love the kids we have, not the ones we want them to become

If we truly want our kids to succeed at school, we want to make sure they don’t see it as a way to earn our love. If your kid starts thinking that getting good grades is a way to “earn” your appreciation, he or she probably won't become a great student. Let’s make sure that our kids receive enough of our attention and love regardless of what shows up in the report card.

Let’s get practical

With the above having been said, let’s dig into the actual strategies and practical recommendations that could make a difference in your kids academic life:

Sleep is very important

One thing that can’t be stressed enough is the importance of healthy sleep habits. Sleep deprivation will make your child exhausted and will directly impact his ability to focus. Avoid electronic devices before night time, and make sure they are getting enough sleep each day.

Parent for autonomy and self-responsibility

As a general rule, you want your kid to avoid developing a way of thinking along the lines of: “My parents will do my homework essay”. Essays, hard math problems, and preparing of speeches are all good examples of things that you should let your kids do on their own, as it will benefit their problem-solving skills and ability to think on their own.

Teach your children how to organize and how to study

Make sure your kid stays organized by teaching him how to use to-do lists, maintaining an appropriate space for him or her to do their homework. Teach them how to find the stuff they need around by keeping everything in its proper place. This will reduce stress and will benefit their focus in the long term. If your kids are preparing for an exam, make sure they are following a sound study technique, not just chaotically memorize everything about a subject.