“My kid does not feel like studying” is a very common concern among parents.
It is natural to wish that your child studies hard and flourishes in academics, but as parents, you often raise your expectations too high. When they fail to meet these expectations you often end up complaining. Some of the common complaints of parents include:
- My child does not have any interest in studies
- He never sits more than 10 minutes at a stretch
- He feels sleepy when he sits for study
- He is quite active in other areas but not in study
- He forgets everything that he studied 2 days ago.
Misperceptions are part and parcel of parenting. But the trouble is at times these misperceptions influence us to make wrong assumptions and incorrect judgments about our kids.
You must realize that every day is not same for kids. Sometimes, it is alright if they mess up with their studies, don’t follow study routine or don’t perform up to their level. You have to let your child be like any other child and not robots. But of course, as parents, you should keep monitoring your children’s behavior. If their apathy towards studies continuously persists then you should look deeper into the matter.
Here are some reasons why you child can hate studies:
1. Boring learning process:
Sometimes learning becomes boring and unexciting for children. If the learning process involves a lot of memorization and observation, it may make the process tedious and dull. Also, kids also have their own likes and dislikes for particular objects.
Neuroscientists agree that every brain is unique. So learning style will not be same for all children.
We should try to devise new ways to make the learning process interesting and easy for the child. Activity-based learning or video-based learning can be ways to restore the child’s interest in studies.
2. Disinvolvement of Parents:
Children often get stuck while studying alone and if they don’t get proper assistance at such moments, they might feel irritated and demotivated, and eventually lose interest in studies.
According to the Pearson Voice of Teacher Survey 2014, 54% teachers stated they are not satisfied with the support they get from parents in a student’s academic achievement.
So, instead of only compelling the child to get good marks and complete school tasks, parents should take an active part in their children’s learning. This will improve the child’s morale, attitude, and academic achievement. Research has already proved that parents’ involvement leads to improved educational performance.
3. Lack of proper environment:
Cornell University environmental and developmental psychologist, Gary Evans has conducted numerous research studies examining the effects of the physical environment on a child’s well-being.
In his research, he found that excessive exposure to noise, overcrowding, and unfavorable housing and neighborhood condition has a negative impact on a child’s learning.
Whereas on the contrary, calm place with minimum distractions and proper physical settings help improve the child’s concentration levels. We should take all these observations into consideration before forcing our kid to study.
4. Lack of awareness of the importance of study:
Children who have difficulty comprehending the importance of learning in their lives might take a casual approach towards study.
Parents in such situations should teach their child why studying is important in life, guide them to build good study skills and discuss with them frequently the benefits that come with academic excellence.
5. Imbalance in Physical and mental health:
Both, physical and mental health have an important effect on a child’s performance in academics and are also interrelated.
Research shows if a child is physically fit and active, he would do well in studies whereas an overweight or sick child might feel lethargic and have difficulty concentrating in his studies.
Similarly, mental health is very much important for a child’s well-being and positive development. It has been observed that if a child is emotionally disturbed due to child abuse, bullying in school, domestic violence, parental conflicts, or any other reason, he might perform poorly in academics.
Dr. Joan Luby, a psychiatrist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis proved in his study that psychosocial environment has a material impact on the way the human brain develops, their learning and memory formation.
6. Learning disability:
Sometimes children with learning disability remain undiagnosed for a long time. Children with learning disabilities can be as intelligent as their peers. But they may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, recalling and/or organizing information due to which they start hating their studies.
So, parents in such cases often get confused by their child’s skill, ability and behavior. What the child needs to overcome these problems is proper intervention and right support for their academic development.
