Helping your kids develop the desire to learn
Remember I'd talked about Fear of Failure last time? And I'd told you there's something that can totally vanquish that fear? Well, that's nothing but the desire of learning. A strong desire to learn stuff can eradicate fear of failure.
And the most important concern is to develop such a desire and sustain the motivation. While it could seem exciting at first, things could get sloppy as time passes. And kids are generally more excited and impatient to sustain such a desire of learning. But if they start wanting to learn better, and if they do sustain that motivation, the fear factor would completely vanish.
As a parent, you can help them develop a desire for learning, as well as sustain them. Here are a few ideas that I would like to suggest.
Knowledge doesn't die
Well, this is the most obvious signal yet understated fact. What you earn might leave you, but what you learn never would. You, as a parent, need to emphasize on this fact whenever you talk to your kids about learning. Explain them how powerful learning can be, and show them the wonders that knowledge can do.
Tell them they don't have to succeed always
The biggest hindrance to sustain the desire of learning is the pressure to succeed all the time. When there's pressure, the desire factor takes a backseat and it tends to get more mechanical. When there's the deliberation for success, children think of the learning process as an obligatory one rather than an interesting one. And without interest, there can't be desire.
Ask them to learn, not to succeed but to just learn stuff well!
Bundle the process of learning with something fun
Wouldn't you run better on a treadmill while you're listening to music than if you run without it? We would enjoy the process of something if that's clubbed with something fun. Try out things that your child enjoys while he/she sits to learn. You could have brief breaks where you'd do a fun activity. This will keep them going!
Time management
Anything done excessively will yield not so excellent results. Human mind can experience fatigue very quickly, and doing the same thing for a long time might take the essence out of it. Rather, if you switched tasks in regular intervals, you could perform better. That's just how a human mind works. So in order to keep up your child's desire towards learning, it is essential that you ask them or insist that they take breaks.
Learning can be a habit
Yes, learning can be a very good habit. That is why we have so many book lovers. Now it isn't necessary that your child studies his academic stuff. Allow children to read books, regardless of their academic value. This would make them inquisitive, and the nature's perks would reflect upon their over-all learning.
I've always deemed learning as a never ending joy ride. That is because the desire is still intact. If you manage to establish the desire of learning in your children, their future, and the world's future will be a beautiful one!
