How to Raise a Kid Who Loves to Learn 27 May, 2021   

Being a parent is by far the most complex and challenging job in the world. Parents are not only providing for their children, but they are also setting examples and foundations for their children’s future. One of the most important things in the world today is education, but school isn’t something that a lot of kids really enjoy. Studying very quickly becomes a chore, and children would much rather relax outside or watch video games than learn. If you’re hoping to raise a child who finds learning not only not-boring but genuinely fun, you’ve come to the right place.

The importance of starting early

Suppose your child is a teenager frustrated with school and preoccupied with social media. In that case, you’ll have a hard time inspiring them to study. You can never start early enough – babies and toddlers learn simply by being with you and looking at the world. Nurture and encourage their intense curiosity by sharing their wonder with them and getting just as thrilled with them over something seemingly simple like stacking blocks together. If they love cars, learn about different models. If they love spiders, watch how they are making webs. If they are in love with making noise, introduce simple music instruments (but not too many, you don’t want a migraine). Always talk to your kid, try to help them connect the dots, and encourage them to ask a million questions, even if you’re not always in the mood to answer.

Read to your kid

We already mentioned how important it is to cultivate curiosity in kids, and the same effort should be put into reading. While reading to babies and even toddlers might seem futile, children grow up learning that reading is a pleasant activity that they love. It’s only a small and easy step from this stage to them reading on their own. Surrounding your child with books is also a great way to motivate them to read more, but you don’t have to turn your home into a library. Encyclopedias, comics, newspapers, and magazines are all welcome, and the variety will intrigue your child and encourage them to try reading different things.

Set a positive example

While showing your kids how much you care about different things going on around you, you should also show them that you like to learn too. Never forget that children look up to their parents and that you are going to be their first role model, so always try to set a positive example. We are used to Googling things, but it’s way more fun to try to find the answers the old-fashioned way. Dive into a book, call a friend, dig a bit in search of an old issue of a newspaper that you’re sure contains the answer… Talk to your kid while you’re doing this, explain what you’re doing, and show them that research and learning is something grown-ups do as well.

Enroll your child in a program

While some parents like to wait for their children to grow up a bit before introducing them to any kind of formal education, others choose to enroll them in pre-kindergarten programs and activities. Luckily for parents, there are various programs available that are meant to introduce formal education to the child slowly. What is more, child care programs are setting the foundations for your child to grow up with intense curiosity and a love of learning. In such programs, children meet their peers, learn about friendship, cooperation, and sharing, and most importantly, they learn that learning can be really fun. 

Master the art of asking the right questions

As a parent, you are probably flooded with questions from your kids every minute of every day. Why don’t you try turning the tables a bit and asking them something every now and then? You can use this to focus their attention on something (Why do you think birds in the backyard always come to this specific spot), but you can also encourage them to think (I’m not sure, why do you think the leaves make noise when it’s windy?) This will spark the conversation between you and spark their curiosity too. Still, you don’t want to turn their entire life into a pop quiz and to have them spend every minute of being with you answering obvious questions.

Know when it’s time to stop

There is one thing all highly motivated children have in common – their parents aren’t micromanaging or pressuring them. It’s easy to fall into this trap when you recognize that your child has potential, you want to push them further and encourage them to work hard, but the pressure often backfires and causes the opposite effect. Children begin to understand that learning is something they have to do to make the parents happy and quickly lose interest. So if you see your child making mistakes, don’t swoop in to do it for them while explaining they’re wrong. Instead, try to gently guide them and encourage them to try a different approach while still being supportive.

Help them find their learning style

You probably know that there are a lot of different learning styles and before you ask them to go to their room and study, try to identify the style that works best for them. When they see success, children start showing more interest and curiosity, and you can use this to encourage them further. Once they figure something out on their own, their eyes will light up; they will start asking more meaningful questions and start making connections on their own. Gathering and processing information is not a simple feat, and people do it in different ways, so encourage your child to try out different things while they’re still young. If they don’t remember things that well while they’re listening, encourage them to read and write more, have them walk around while talking loudly to themselves, or have them draw and doodle.

Hearing your child get all excited over learning something new or figuring something on their own can make you feel like you’re on top of the world. While schools love to focus on only one type of learning, children are all different, and many of them will thrive when given a chance to learn something in a new way. One of the most important things that you as a parent should teach your child is that learning comes in many shapes and forms and encourages your child to explore the world at their own pace.