How to motivate a schoolchild to study - sensible advice from a child psychologist ❗️☘️ ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

Choosing motivation - internal and external

We rarely think about internal motivation.
These are our sincere desires, and to explain our condition, one word is enough - “I want.” Children enjoy listening to the music of their favorite band, making things with their own hands, or reading adventure novels because they enjoy doing it. External motivation can be different - from pocket money to grades at school. It comes down to the phrase: “Do this and you will get this.”

Psychologist Alfie Kohn in his book “Punishment with Rewards” warns not only parents, but also teachers against various rewards. Some parents promise to take their child to the zoo for good studies, others buy gadgets or even pay money. The problem is that this doesn’t work: the student studies just as poorly, and on top of that, he’s also offended that he didn’t get what he was promised!

Teachers try to motivate in ways that seem more noble: they introduce various titles (best student of the month), and give concessions to good students. Most often it happens like this: the same child becomes the best student of the month, and a narrow circle of schoolchildren, the composition of which never changes, gets concessions. Others just feel like failures.

The main mistakes of parents

Many adults, trying to motivate a child to study, ignore the most important point - the love of knowledge. Only by instilling a love for learning something new can we talk about positive internal motivation for learning. It occurs due to the following reasons:

enjoyment of the learning process,
desire to achieve success,
friendly atmosphere in the classroom and school in general,
understanding the importance of education for later life.

But more often it is easier for parents to resort to external or negative motivation. It is formed when:

studying turns into a debt, the need to endure inconvenience,
the child's first priority is reward for good grades,
the significance of grades is greatly exaggerated and a cult has been made of “A” grades,
punishments for school failure.

Why is it bad to develop external and/or negative motivation to study? Ultimately, parental manipulation will teach the child to use the same methods in communicating with people. Often the reason for increased anxiety in a student is precisely these attempts by parents to motivate him to study. There is also a high risk of a child developing a fear of failure, which discourages any initiative.

Why do “payments” for grades and expensive gifts give temporary results? Many studies conducted by psychologists confirm that material reward “kills” interest in what you love. The child no longer cares or is interested in learning new things; his goal is a bonus. And the system of fines for poor performance leads to the fear of losing rewards, and motivation again becomes negative.

If parents use the “stick” method, when the child is only punished for poor performance and not praised for success, then this leads to low self-esteem and fear of failure.

Why extrinsic motivation doesn't work

When we say: “Do this and you will get this,” the child initially perceives the promise with enthusiasm. At the same time, his instinct of self-preservation also kicks in.

The child begins to look not for a creative way to solve a problem, but for the most reliable and shortest one.

He asks himself: “Why take the risk and take the test yourself? It’s better to copy from an excellent student, it’s more reliable.” It turns out that there is a substitution of goals: not studying for the sake of knowledge, but studying for the sake of receiving an award.

External motivation can work great, but only in combination with internal motivation. By itself, it does not move forward, but forces you to “serve the number”, to quickly get what you want, cursing what you do for the sake of it.

How to motivate a teenager to study

The methods of threats, blackmail or rewards for good grades, which we discussed earlier, are absolutely useless and do not work with teenagers. They need a different approach. First of all, remember what methods of influencing your son or daughter to do their homework that you used before? If it was mainly coercion and threats, then you are perceived as an aggressor, and now you again need to establish a trusting relationship with the guys. Perhaps this is the main answer to the question - how to inspire a teenager to study. Only in this case can you be sure that your matured child will not hide his learning problems. Together you can find a way out.

What influences interest in learning

Kohn identifies three factors that influence motivation:

Young children are ready to learn and do not demand anything for it. They have highly developed internal motivation: they learn simply because it interests them.
Those children who retain internal motivation learn effectively. And the rest are considered incapable, but this is not so. Some schoolchildren receive straight D's, but at the same time excel in other areas. For example, they know dozens of songs by their favorite artist by heart (but in algebra they cannot remember the multiplication table). Or they read science fiction avidly (while they don’t touch classical literature). They're just interested. This is the essence of intrinsic motivation.
Rewards destroy intrinsic motivation. Psychologists Carol Ames and Carol Dweck have found that if parents or teachers emphasize some kind of encouragement, children's interest invariably decreases.

Reasons for low motivation

Parents who are looking for an answer to the question “how to increase motivation to study in teenagers” should ask themselves the question: what is the reason for the decrease in this very motivation in their particular case. Perhaps it's all about this:

you are overly involved in the learning process, practically learning instead of your child. Psychologists hear from parents (mostly from mothers) that their son or daughter is completely unable to do their homework themselves, that they always forget to put something in their briefcase, etc. In this case, the student does his homework only under the supervision of his mother, who also collects his schoolbag. This leads to a loss of responsibility in the child;
you overload the student without taking into account his objective abilities - you choose a school with intensive study of certain subjects, send him to additional classes, hire the best tutors. By doing this, you strive, first of all, to satisfy your parental ambitions;
you rarely praise your child for his success in learning, as a result of which his motivation for studying at school also decreases. He loses confidence in himself, in his abilities, and does not feel your support, which is very important to him.

Where to begin

Restoring motivation to study is a long process, and success mainly depends on parents. Adults first need to think about the three Cs: content, cooperation and freedom of choice.

Content. When a child does not comply with our demands, we look for ways to influence his behavior. Start somewhere else: think about how reasonable your request is. Probably nothing bad will happen if a child gets more than just B’s and A’s in physics. And children ignore the request “not to make noise” not because they are naughty, but because of the psychological characteristics of their age.
Cooperation. Unfortunately, many parents are not familiar with this word in the context of communication with their child. But the older your children are, the more often you should involve them in cooperation. Discuss, explain, make plans together. Try talking to your child like an adult. There is no need to be hostile to the desire of a 15-year-old boy to become an astronaut. Calmly explain why you think this is unrealistic. Perhaps in your words your son will find internal motivation for growth.
Freedom of choice. The child should feel part of the process, then he will be more responsible in solving problems. When he behaves badly, ask him why. You may argue that you already know what it is, but try it anyway. The answer may surprise you!

What should adults do?

Most children enter first grade with a positive attitude toward learning. The desire to gain knowledge is not yet fully conscious, but it is present. Parents should not rely on the teacher to determine motivation entirely. They must also participate in this process. Even if the teacher does not meet positive expectations, you need to pay attention to the situation in the family.

Family environment

It is necessary to set a positive example for the child, presenting yourself as a model. After all, a book suggested at the right time or a hobby found can change a child’s life for the better. The family should support children’s desire to learn something new in every possible way at any age. If a child asks a lot of difficult questions, then you should still look for answers to them.

Some tips for parents:

Find your child's interests. They may not always be related to education. Try to develop them and strengthen them.
If you don't find any specific interests, try something unfamiliar.
Do something with your child.

Doing homework

Most parents want to help their children with homework. This is really important for the child.

Tips for motivation while doing homework:

Classes should be based on mutual cooperation with the child.
Explain unclear topics as many times as necessary.
Don't hurt, don't ridicule, don't express negative emotions.
Don't compare with other children.
Learn to make a plan for the path to results.

Looking for internal motivation

It is not easy to correct a child’s internal state, but work in this direction can still bear fruit.

Learn to accept your child. For example, you may not like your daughter's new image, but you must accept it. In other words, it is not a matter of indulgence, but of understanding.
Have a heart-to-heart talk. If you and your child are close enough, start by just talking. Ask what interests him and what problems arise in his studies. Find a way out of the situation together.
Help your child decide on his life's work. Often there is no internal motivation, because the child does not understand why he needs these formulas, endless rules and theorems. It is important to decide what the child wants to do after school. Long conversations with parents, career counseling, and books for teenagers will help you understand this.
Build the learning process around your child’s hobbies. When studying, you need to try to combine the child’s sincere interests (internal motivation) with school subjects. This process is individual and requires a lot of attention from parents. For example, you can learn English with the help of your favorite movies (there are even entire programs dedicated to cult films). And a teenager who loves computer games will probably be fascinated by programming and the sciences associated with it.

Extracting this internal motivation from a child is the task of the tasks. But for sensitive, thoughtful, sincerely interested parents, this will not be a problem.

Based on materials from the book “Punishment by Reward.”

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Should a child be forced to study: advice from a psychologist

Before you find out how to motivate a teenager to study, you should find out: is it necessary to do this at all? Of course, every parent wants their son or daughter to receive the best education. It seems to them that the success of their entire future life depends on how successful they are in their studies.

There is certainly some truth in this. However, how prosperous and happy a person’s future becomes in later life is influenced not only by grades obtained in school subjects. Those skills, abilities, and feelings that a person will retain after graduating from school also have a huge impact. If a student constantly experiences anxiety, fear, and is always subject to criticism during the learning process, he may forever lose interest in acquiring new knowledge.

Of course, you can force a student. The most frequently used methods by parents are to intimidate him with some kind of punishment if he gets a bad grade or refuses to do his homework. The second common way is to promise to give him something valuable for his efforts and good grades. However, the effect of such methods will only be short-term, since in this case there is a struggle with the effect, but not with the cause.

Therefore, experts recommend: take the time to figure out why you suddenly lost interest in acquiring new knowledge. Only then will you be able to understand how to inspire a teenager to devote enough time to studying and do it with pleasure!

How to start doing well at school

Follow simple rules:

Good study is possible in the absence of laziness
. If you don’t start fighting laziness, you won’t study well.
Plan your day clearly
. Sign up for a club - a change in activity will have a great effect on mental activity. Create a schedule that allows you to take up a new hobby after school.
Under any circumstances, complete homework assignments
. Do you think that you perfectly remember what the teacher said in class? Re-read the topic again. Remember about oral tasks, do not ignore them - this is especially applicable to the exact sciences. Learn the rules by heart.
Start your lessons with the most difficult tasks
. It is easier to cope with difficulties with a “fresh head”. When you start to feel tired, all you have to do is do the simplest things.
No classes tomorrow?
Spend half an hour on the material covered. Subsequently, learning new material will be easier.
With the proper level of physical activity, school performance will improve
. Do some simple exercises between classes. Surprisingly, this helps you remember the material better.

We praise and encourage

Here it is worth understanding the difference between promises of valuable gifts for excellent grades and small rewards for the desire to study. After all, expensive and frequent gifts will devalue motivation. Whether it is worth giving pocket money and in what amount, find out here.

The kid will strive to earn a mark, without thinking about how this will be done. This position will not lead to motivation to learn, but will teach you that there should always be a reward for everything. Small rewards for the knowledge gained will encourage you to continue learning.

What traditional values are harmful in raising a healthy personality.

Let's make pleasant purchases and arrange a workplace

For successful study you need certain available tools. Modern students cannot do without a laptop and tablet, not to mention simple notebooks. Prepare yourself for the school year, stock up on everything you need, and treat yourself to pleasant purchases. This will help you go to school in a good mood, even if you are really too lazy to drag yourself to university.

The environment directly affects the state of our thoughts. Albert Einstein once said that fools need order, but genius rules over chaos. However, don't use this quote to justify clutter in your workspace. Get your things in order and your thoughts will also become more organized.

What color makes you study?

By the way, according to a study by psychologists, the color design of the place where you study or work also affects your performance. Let's find out how colors affect our state, and which color motivates us to study best.

Red color - activates and tones the body, increases blood pressure, promoting the release of adrenaline. Red color is good as a doping, but you should not abuse it - in a room where there is too much red, people quickly become irritable. The effect of orange is similar to red, but to a lesser extent. Soft shades of orange have a beneficial effect on performance;
Yellow color tones and stimulates the nervous system, without depressing it like red. This is a favorable color for mental stress;
Green acts directly opposite to red, calming and relieving tension. This is the best color for relaxation;
Blue color also has a calming effect and helps to cope with monotonous work, encouraging patience. However, if you need to rack your brains over a difficult task, blue is not the best color to help;
Blue color, oddly enough, has a depressing effect, reducing performance and distracting attention.

Shopping for the school year

Schedules, rituals and schedules

The brain works in such a way that for every unusual action a person has to make a serious volitional effort and make a decision. Decisions are exhausting. It’s not for nothing that famous entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg decided to wear the same clothes in order to save energy on making even such decisions.

To save emotional and intellectual resources, you need to turn necessary actions into habits, bringing them to automaticity. It is worth determining a clear time for classes, putting it in the calendar and strictly following the established schedule.

How to force yourself to learn something new for self-development

Some effective tips for those who don’t know how to force themselves to study:

Don't force yourself, give yourself time to get into the right mood
. Ask yourself: “What will new knowledge give me, why should I acquire it, how can I use it later?” Use rational thinking and determine the real benefits of new knowledge.
Think about the material benefits of self-development
. Perhaps the acquired skills will help you get better in life. It's definitely worth working for.
To force yourself to study, you should show interest in the object of study
. Perhaps the presentation of information is not very interesting, so new knowledge is difficult. Knowledge can be very exciting when presented correctly. Find an interesting video or book on a topic of interest. By awakening a keen interest in information, you will get rid of the problem that has arisen.
Manage your time correctly
. Your thoughts should not be occupied only with self-development. Be realistic - everyone needs breaks. Determine how much time you are willing to spend on self-development, work, and rest. The result will be more noticeable with the correct allocation of time.
Get enough sleep
. It’s difficult not only to start self-development, but also to take on any other task if you lack sleep. Chronic lack of sleep threatens many negative consequences, health problems, bad mood - not the best set for self-development.

Purchases

To tune in to your upcoming studies and give yourself optimism, you need to repeat the experience of school preparation - visit stationery stores or school fairs. You need to make a list of necessary purchases for your studies in order to please yourself with new stationery, clothes, a backpack, and shoes. It is also worth purchasing a diary to plan your day.

You may need to tidy up your old laptop or buy a new one, stock up on printer cartridges and paper. You should make sure you have good internet by connecting to an economical and fast tariff. The process of shopping will quietly help you get in the mood for studying.

Thinking about the future

Living for today is a very good practice, but forgetting about the future would be completely irresponsible. A great incentive to start studying is the inevitable approach of the session. Everyone understands: the longer the holidays last in your head, the worse it will be later. So what are we waiting for? The time to start studying, studying, and studying again, as one famous character said, has already come.

Think about the future! Session is coming!

Whether it is necessary to force yourself to study is a question that everyone will answer for themselves. We have just given some ways to help you find the right motivation. We wish everyone a successful academic year and no fuss during the session! Remember - no one will force you to study more effectively than you yourself. No matter what surprises your teachers prepare for you, the authors of Zaochnik will always help you successfully cope with the tests!

How to encourage your child to learn English

To develop an interest in learning a foreign language, you can use the following instructions from psychologists:

he probably has favorite films and cartoons that he enjoys watching. You can find them in English and invite him to watch them in the original. The same technique can be applied to books;
try not to speak in front of a schoolchild in such a way that “I lived my whole life without knowing English - and nothing...”. On the contrary, we can say that you do not know a foreign language, but you regret it because you cannot try yourself in a new, modern profession, in which there is nothing to do without English;
Set age-appropriate goals for students. It will be clearer for a primary school student to understand the benefits of knowing a foreign language if you say that it will help him read the latest fairy tales and watch interesting cartoons that have not yet been translated into Russian. A teenager will be interested in the possibility of going to a language camp abroad, as well as the fact that, knowing English, he will be able to understand what his favorite performers sing about, what famous personalities tell about themselves in interviews, etc.

How to Increase Your Chances of Successfully Completing an Online Course

Decide why you need the course, what you want to achieve with it, and how important this goal is to you. Visualize the result.
Plan your time. Calculate how much time you are willing to devote to studying and stick to the schedule.
Choose courses with short lectures, homework assignments, and passionate instructors.
Take demo access to the course and read the reviews so as not to be disappointed after the first lecture.
Don’t expect that money spent will motivate you—it’s an illusion. As practice shows, the amount of payment does not affect the chance of completing the course.

Cover photo: Shutterstock/fizkes