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Learning is a lifelong pursuit. And those who invest more time in improving their education almost always end up being among the best in their respective fields, vocations and personal pursuits. As such, parents are always obsessing over how to get their kids to enjoy learning more and to enjoy school more. This, be mindful, is a very good obsession to have, however it’s important not to put too much pressure on your children, either.

Create positive association between learning and reality

We frequently discuss the value of educational toys and games on this site, and with good reasons – this is one of the earliest opportunities parents have to create positive association between learning and how that knowledge can be applied to the real world. It’s the association between Lego and architecture and engineering, or puzzle building and problem solving that will help your children develop skills they can use later in life.

Identify interests early, and pursue them aggressively

Children, like most adults, put significantly more effort into things they love than those things that they do not care for. If as parents you do as much as you can to nudge them toward those pursuits at a very young age, they will develop an immense ‘learning ethic’ as a byproduct of the ‘work ethic’ you implicitly get from having your kids do what they enjoy. The love of learning requires a love for that which you are learning, so identify that early.

Create a culture of learning

Children mimic their parents’ behaviour more than most parents realise. You set the standards, the expectations, the tone for how life is viewed and approached, particularly from a young age. If you live in a home where the love of learning is visible, in how the family opts to read over watching TV, or the nature and depth of conversations held around the dinner table, children will pick up on this. If, in the pursuit to be like mom and dad, the seed of learning is planted early, your young ones will have a difficult time ever un-learning that.

As a good parent, you need to play an active role in your child’s education to make a material difference to their lives.

Tags: children, Lego, teaching