All parents sooner or later have to face the lack of motivation for the child to study. Some children are very consistent in their reluctance to learn and remain negligent students from the first to the eleventh grade, others only occasionally have periods of dislike for lessons. But even the parents of the most diligent students are not immune from the fact that one day their child will not begin to bring low marks or comments from teachers in the diary, or simply will not refuse to go to school.
Why does the child not want to learn?
Reducing the motivation of children to study can occur for a variety of reasons:
- Health status. First of all, if your child does not want to study at all, make sure that he is healthy. Perhaps, because of vascular problems, his head hurts during moments of mental stress; or to concentrate does not give an allergy to some potted plant, located in the classroom. The ailments can be very different, they can often become aggravated during the lessons, and upon returning home, the child can feel better and simply forget about his unwell state. In addition, not all teachers are so attentive as to quickly notice the deterioration of the student's condition. Therefore, until you ask your child about it, you will not know anything and, accordingly, you will not take it to the doctor on time.
- Psychological problems, complexes. Unfortunately, most parents themselves provoke the appearance of such problems in the child. A violent negative reaction to a bad evaluation, comparison is not in favor of the child with older brothers or sisters, or worse, with classmates or children of friends, etc. - all this can inflict a wound on the vulnerable child's psyche for a long time. When we show our discontent with the child's "failures" at school, in his mind this changes into a message: "Something's wrong with you, you do not like us, you are inferior." Parents should always, in any situation, be an ally and friend to their child. Of course, you do not need to have fun about overturned test work or an unlearned poem, but it's not worth dramatizing, but it's worthwhile to understand the causes of the problems together with the child and try to help. The difficult interaction between the child and the teacher, and the difficulties of adaptation in the school team can also interfere with learning - all of these aspects parents should be treated with great attention.
- Individual characteristics, abilities for certain subjects. One should not confuse the lack of motivation for learning in general and the lack of interest in individual subjects. For example, if your child has a humanitarian mindset, and a mathematics teacher makes high demands on all students, at best, do not expect high marks on this subject, and at worst, do not be surprised when your son starts skipping math. In such cases, if a confidential conversation with the child and a conversation with the teacher does not help to soften the situation, a possible exit will be the transfer of the child to school with a bias.
Motivation for learning in children of different ages, of course, is different. Formation of educational motivation of junior schoolchildren, as a rule, is laid in the preschool age and has a play basis. Here a lot depends on the teacher in the kindergarten and on the first teacher. For professionals this is a separate topic that requires a lot of attention. On the theme of motivation of educational activity of junior, middle and senior schoolchildren, scientific research is being carried out, special programs are being prepared. Parents, however, should take this issue equally seriously and know which features are typical for motivation to study for first-graders.
Features of motivation of younger schoolchildren
- the first-grader is not yet aware of real, "adult" reasons why he needs to study; the prospect of entering a prestigious university, finding a good job (which is an effective motive for older students) is too remote and incomprehensible for him to be a real impetus to mastering knowledge;
- students in the lower grades still have a strong motivation to play, that is, they perceive the learning process as an interesting activity, an opportunity to communicate with each other, and not as a means to achieve any goals;
- game motivation develops over time and grows into a social, collective, motivation for cooperation;
- the junior schoolboy still accepts the goals and tasks of adults for his own; but very soon the moment will come when he begins to set and formulate his own goals and objectives;
- a strong motive in junior school age is to receive encouragement for good progress, this motive is reinforced by the availability of a system of grades in school.
How to increase the motivation for learning?
Increasing the educational motivation of schoolchildren is a joint task of teachers and parents. Needless to say, ideally, they should work together and in concert in this direction. Educators have their own, highly professional ways to increase the motivation of children. We, the parents, should have an idea of how we can increase the child's motivation for learning within the family. What can be done to do this?
- find the right balance of approval and control: let the child know that you love him always, with any estimates, but at the same time you want you to be with him than to be proud;
- provide support with sufficient independence: help, but do not do for it, listen and correctly criticize, establish a trusting relationship;
- say "no" to the method of the carrot and the stick: encouragement in the form of sweets or campaigns in the circus for good grades is possible only at the youngest age and only occasionally, since this is only an external motivation that does not form an internal stimulus; and domestic penalties for poor performance are generally unacceptable, since they completely discourage the pursuit of learning;
- be interested not in the assessments of the child, but in the topics and content of the lessons: showing your interest in what is happening in the class, you form an interest in this and the child; telling about it to you, he will remember the material and will understand that the process is more important than the result at any cost;
- Do not hide and do not deny your own mistakes: it is wrong for everyone to be mistaken, and the child should not think that his parents are ideal - then he will not dramatize his mistakes, but with your help he will correct them;
- set the regime and follow the discipline: if a child does lessons every day at the same time, it will eventually become a habit and will cease to be a problem and subject for controversy;
- find together with the child what he will be interested in out of school: emotional satisfaction from his favorite pursuits gives strength to fulfill his academic duties.
These are just some general tips that you can take advantage of. Every child is different, and who but the parents will find the key to discovering his abilities and potential? We wish you an easy solution of this task, confidential, friendly relations with the child and success in studying and in all matters!