6 Effective Study Habits For Your Child

Your 8-year-old child is expected to memorize tables, dates and spellings, finish his work on time, organize his school bag, and remember to finish so many other tasks, too. It is natural for you to expect your child to get into a routine automatically, and assume that he will learn to manage and work around things. While some do learn on their own, others need to be guided through. It’s a crucial time for your child - the habits that get formed now will stay with him for a lifetime. Staying organized is essential to having a decluttered mind, which, in turn, will help your child work efficiently.

What Are Some Effective Study Habits For My Child?

You want your child to study well and learn new things. You want to support her in every dream and ambition that she has. Here are a few tips to aid your child in her journey as a student.

1. Study Zone: Before your child sits down to study, create a supportive environment that helps her to keep the focus and concentrate.
   • A blaring television in the next room is a big no-no.Let her study area be noise free, as far as possible
   • Every member of the family needs to be on board with the boundaries. Any disturbance near your child’s study area is discouraged
   • Assign a dedicated space at home for studies. Quiet is good, boring is not. Make it a lively space. Put up charts, frame some quotes or pictures, depending on your child’s age
   • Surprise your child with small gifts for her study space, like a pencil stand or a small box to keep erasers, sharpeners and other stationery
2. Organize well: Daily activities and academics go hand-in-hand. When you teach your child to manage her daily tasks and routines in an organized manner, her academics will gradually reflect the same.
   • Guide your child on organizing wardrobes, drawers, books and CDs. Make certain things non-negotiable, such as no snacking at the study table.
   • Ask your child to make colorful sticky notes that serve as reminders. For instance, a simple “Keep me clean” on the study table; “Empty me when I’m full” on the bin, and so on. Bright, cheerful lighting works well to keep sleep and laziness at bay.
   • When clutter is cleared out regularly, the mind automatically concentrates better.
3. Track the clock: Time management is one of the most important skills and needs to be practiced every day, every hour, every minute. This can be best inculcated in young children (7 - tweens) by making use of visual organizers like timetables in the school diaries.
   • Make a time table with your child for the home too that balances out the study and leisure time and paste it into a bright spot in your child’s room where it is clearly visible.
   • Reward your child if he sticks to the routine but do allow some deviations from time to time.
4. Plan it right: Encourage your child to use planners from the very beginning. Let your child write daily assignments in the planners (subject-wise) and make a check mark when it has been completed. You don’t have to use expensive or complicated planners. Simple, yet attractive, ones are available in stationery shops
5. Flash/Cue cards: Teach your child to use simple and colorful flash cards for different tasks, such as taking notes, memorizing important points, dates and events, highlighting key vocabulary or anything else. Visual aids go a long way in helping your child learn effectively
6. Review sessions: Learning isn’t about mugging up and spitting out whatever is in the book. Have regular review sessions with your child where you casually talk about what she has studied in her lessons. This way you can gauge how much your child has understood about what she is learning. Wherever there are blanks you can help her fill the same

As you put these ideas to work, do evaluate what is working and what is not – and modify accordingly. Some ideas may work better than others. Be creative and allow room for improvement and most importantly, involve your child at every step. Allow her to make choices and take decisions. This will instill self-confidence.

Have any tips on effective study habits to share with us? Let us know in the comments section!