Growing up is not an easy process, and children often struggle to balance school and relationships with family and friends. Parents are key players in improving their children’s wellbeing and success at school and in life.
Here are five tips to assist your children in their personal and social development, and to help them achieve more at school.
1. How to Get Your Kid to Do Homework
It’s a good idea to keep your children in a room where you can monitor them while they do their homework. Keep the family computer accessible in this area so they can use it for their work.
This helps them avoid distractions and it is also a good way to protect them from the dangers of the internet.
Help them find a comfortable place to do their homework. If your child likes lying on his stomach while doing his work, for example, it’s OK to let him rather than making him sit at a desk.
Allow your child a breather between school and homework time. Walking or riding bike home from school is a good way to take a break before hitting the books.
How much time should your child spend on homework?
The National Education Association guidelines state that 10-20 minutes per evening is normal for the first grade. For every grade thereafter, a child should spend an additional 10 minutes up to two hours in the twelfth grade.
Regularly doing homework, does not only consolidate your children’s learning, it also develops their accountability and ability to set priorities. Homework takes time and requires organization, will power, dedication and effort. You can help your kids to make the right decisions and assist them with their work.
2. Get Organized
Growing up also means having more tasks to accomplish and deadlines to meet. Regularly checking your children’s diary and school timetable is a good way to assist them.
Hang a copy of your children’s timetable on the fridge.
Communication is also very important to understand how they are coping with the workload and other constraints. Some children, especially boys, do not like to talk much about their day at school, but don’t give up on asking them about it. You can also keep communication open with their teachers.
3. Private Space
Finally, it is recommended to let your children have some time to themselves, some time to play and wind down in a space of their own.
If it’s possible, try to keep their work space separate from their private space, so that your kids can “unplug” and relax after their duties.
School time can only complement the education children receive at home in forming life skills, morals, and more. It is important to support them in their learning.
4. A Balanced Life
A life rich with many different stimuli, people, and experiences contributes to a child’s maturation, as well as the development of his or her social skills. Too many young people spend long hours watching TV, playing video games, and on the computer.
It is good for them to spend more time playing sports or interacting with their peers. They lose contact with the environment and struggle to distinguish real life from their virtual world, as well as to evaluate things rationally.
Children need to develop their creativity, sense of responsibility, critical thinking, and social skills; this is why a balanced life is fundamental.
Parents should ensure that their kids have a wide range of experiences and guide them in making choices by teaching them solid moral standards and respect for others.
5. A Healthy Diet
Is your child having breakfast before going to school? Is he or she eating healthy food?
Many children take in too much sugar and too many saturated fats–junk food is too often the easy option parents select to keep their kids “happy,” but also the unhealthiest. Children may be lacking the nutrients they need.
What your children eat affects their behavior and their mental and physical wellbeing. This reflects directly in their learning capabilities, social relationships, and reactions to their environment.
The human body is like a machine, in order to function properly, it needs the correct fuel.
A diet too high in sugar causes hyperactivity and an excess of energy, leading to a lack of concentration and the need to constantly move around. On the other hand, if the sugar levels are too low, the brain will struggle to work and this too will result in a lack of concentration and an increased tendency to become distracted or sleepy.
*Image via Shutterstock
