In as much as we would like our children to do well overall and, in every subject, there will always likely to be that subject (or topic within it) that your child will come to loathe and therefore not want to apply him/herself when it comes to it in class.
Although trying to make your child interested in a topic, he/she finds tricky, could be tricky in itself for you to do, it is still possible. This task will require a good degree of creativity in order to either break down some of the barriers or simply get round the obstacle in the way.
Below are some tips we have put together to help:
Make it fun
Some subjects or topics are perceived as being very boring and that very fact could put anyone off. Your challenge would be to try and change that. Try making the learning process more fun by creating games around it. Have other members of your family join in if possible. Videos and other interactive media would certainly lighten up the mood around the subject and make it more interesting for your child.
Incorporate the topic in to your child’s daily life
A good idea would be to find ways to apply the topic in your child’s daily life, so they can understand the topic much better, especially when he/she sees how easy it could be from a practical perspective. Whether it is a question of proportions, this could be tackled while doing some baking in the kitchen and could be applied to other areas at home – whether outside or inside. If your child does not like reading, then that should become their responsibility whenever there is a sign, notice, a piece of instruction, etc. to be read. The same could apply to any other topic. The key would be to find situations at home where the concepts could be (subtly) applied.
Toss out the trickiness
Yes, the topic is either boring or perceived as being quite tricky, hence your child’s reluctance to effectively interact with it. This is a mindset that has to be changed in order for your child to make progress. There isn’t much need scaring your child any further by agreeing with what he/she says about its challenging nature and advising them to get on with it anyway. Not everyone sees this type of message as a challenge and might buckle even more under such pressure. You’d need to find ways to reassure your child and instill that confidence in him/her, so they feel capable of overcoming the challenges.
Show relation to future job
It is the general conception that being in school is the key to a good job at the end of the day. This is something you can discuss with your child and make him/her see the relevance of that ‘tricky’ subject in that area of work they are looking to get into in the future.
Check methodology
Check your child’s approach to the topic as the methodology might be the problem. This would help much better than pushing your child to study even more. If the learning technique can be improved, with other proven methods introduced, this should help your child overcome their fears. This will in turn help improve your child’s scores and subsequently boost his/her confidence in that topic.
Another tip would be to determine when your child’s energy levels are highest during the day and use that time to tackle the trickiest topics – even if done in short spurts.
Conclusion
Getting your child to become interested in a topic they don’t like can be a real challenge and there may be quite a few factors contributing to this. These factors may not always be academic, so best to have a ‘sit-down’ with your child to ascertain a few things first. This will help you shape your plan much better. Also include your child’s teacher in the plan, to ensure both parties are working towards the same goal.
Click on any of the links below for our other blogs on learning:
http://www.leadersarereaders.co.uk/how-to-motivate-your-child-to-perform-better
http://www.leadersarereaders.co.uk/does-a-learning-objective-guarantee-classroom-learning
http://www.leadersarereaders.co.uk/learning-online-with-leaders-are-readers
http://www.leadersarereaders.co.uk/does-your-child-have-a-personal-learning-style
http://www.leadersarereaders.co.uk/8-ideal-maths-learning-resources-to-help-your-child
http://www.leadersarereaders.co.uk/six-sizzling-ideas-to-make-learning-more-fun-for-your-child
