5 Ways to Motivate Kids to Do Science Homework – Homework is critical in helping children consolidate the concepts they had tackled during class sessions and test their understanding of the topic. Unfortunately, enforcing the completion of assignments often proves a challenging task for parents.
Parents tend to resolve to chastise their children, causing an antagonistic attitude toward homework. The mood, in turn, affects the interest in the subject, resulting in a subpar performance.
There are some interesting ways that parents can follow to motivate kids to do Science Homework at home.
Motivate Your Child to Do Science Homework
Read on to master various approaches to motivation that help instill a positive attitude towards study. These tips should supplement efforts like seeking online science homework help as they ensure the readiness of your child to interact with ideas contained in the assignment.
Types of Motivation
To master the methods to motivate your child to do their homework, it is vital to identify various approaches to motivation.
- Intrinsic motivation is the self-driven will to do something while deriving satisfaction from the achievement of the task. For a student, this may be achieved when they realize that they can cover the challenges within a test and secure a quality score.
- Extrinsic motivation- This form of inspiration is driven by external factors, often rewards and praise.
These broad categories should help you to develop an approach that best suits your child. However, avoid overreliance on any system as the child may lose the system’s intrigue, weakening its effectiveness.
Where possible, have a reward system where the child loses something when they fail to cover a task and earn a reward for completing the milestones you have agreed upon. Some of the approaches to motivate your child to do homework are;
Clarifying Concepts using Relatable Models
The ability of your child to relate to concepts is a great driver for their motivation. Children may feel overwhelmed by the concepts at hand if they are presented in a complex way.
You should break down the ideas and present the basics of the ideas in a medium that appeals to the children. A great way to do this is by finding animated videos that your child finds relatable.
However, avoid oversimplifications as they may bore your child or result in a skewed understanding of the content. Similarly, avoid presenting children with complex materials as they may result in self-doubt.
Upon mastering the basic ideas, engage them and help them to apply the concepts to various questions. This will foster self-efficacy, assisting the children in managing their homework comfortably.
A Reward System
Rewards are the significant components of extrinsic motivation. These may be presented as food and gifts, screen time, and a tour of their favorite parks for kids.
In fact, a quality iPad can be given as a reward to kids who can learn new things and maintain the skills they have learned. As you know, parents need to find ways of motivating their children. A good practice is by using rewards such as granting screen time or giving them other materialistic items.
When children connect the joy of activity to homework, they are motivated to spend time on the assignment. However, the reward should be able to promote quality within their work.
Here, you can assign them the freedom to watch their favorite program upon completing a task and a gift if they manage a decent score. This will allow your child to focus on the ideas contained in the assignment instead of rushing to complete the paper.
When dealing with kids, it is also essential to show them how their actions affect their career choice, thus promoting the innate drive to achieve in their academics.
Playing a Supportive Role
Often, parents burden their kids with extreme expectations and chastise them for failing to meet the expectations. This slowly morphs into a shaming dynamic that results in defiance and self-doubt.
Instead of this approach, you should exude the image of a caring, calm, non-controlling partner. Here, you can reassure them when they are frustrated and instill confidence to tackle the tasks.
Positive reassurances help your child to focus on the task and to develop competence in a subject. This extends to subsequent studies and allows you to monitor your child’s progress closely.
Develop a Routine
One of the significant influences in the child’s life is the parents. These serve as the initial role models and help shape the aspirations of each child.
You should liaise this admiration and develop a routine that accommodates personal work. The children will feel that homework is an obligation instead of a task that infringes on their freedom.
For this, devote time to handling your tasks and preparing conditions favorable for study, away from all distractions.
Intervene without Taking Control
Although you are obligated to support your child as they tackle their homework, taking complete control does more harm than good. Doing this creates an antagonistic relationship and limits your child’s commitment to their studies.
When possible, allow your child to go about their tasks and only supervise the progress or offer help when they reach out for it.
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Conclusion:
Motivating your child to do their Science Homework is a task that requires a balance of various parenting skills. These tips should come in handy to help you develop an approach that promotes a positive mentality towards homework.
However, there is no one size fit for all children. You should thus evaluate your child’s personality and relationship before selecting a specific approach.