Proven Ways to Motivate Children - Alan Shawn …

1 Prepared for: Greer Middle School Greer, SC. 7 Proven ways to Motivate Children To Do Better in School One of a series of Parent Guides from ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. abcdefghijklmnopqrstu- vwxyz1234567890!@#$%^&*()- =+~`'",.<>/?[]{}\| . ABCDE- FGHIJKLMNOPQRSTU- VWXYZ abcde- fghijklmnopqrstu- Parent Guide *()- Seven Proven ways to =+~`'",.<>/?[]{}\| . Motivate Children . To Do Better in School The Parent Institute Box 7474. Fairfax Station, VA 22039-7474. 1-800-756-5525. Publisher: John H. Wherry, Executive Editor: Jeff Peters. Writer: Maria Koklanaris.

2 Senior Editor: Betsie Ridnouer. Staff Editors: Pat Hodgdon, Rebecca Miyares & Erika Beasley. Editorial Assistant: Pat Carter. Marketing Director: Laura Bono. Business Manager: Sally Bert. Operations & Technical Services Manager: Barbara Peters. Customer Service Manager: Pam Beltz. Customer Service Associates: Peggy Costello, Louise Lawrence, Margie Supervielle & Cynthia Lees. Business Assistant: Donna Ross. Marketing Assistant: Joyce Ghen. Circulation Associates: Marsha Phillips, Catalina Lalande & Diane Perry. Copyright 2005 by The Parent Institute , a division of NIS, Inc.

3 Reproduction rights exclusively for: Greer Middle School Greer, SC. Order number: x02472575. Table of Contents Introduction ..2. 1. Set Proper Expectations ..3. 2. Help Your Child Set Goals ..4. 3. Show Your Child that You Think School is Important ..5. 4. Support Your Child's Learning Style ..6. 5. Speak the Language of Encouragement ..8. 6. Reinforce Learning at Home and in the Community ..9. 7. Encourage Your Child to Be Resilient ..10. What About Rewards? ..11. Conclusion ..11. For More Information ..12. Other Parent Guides Available From The Parent Institute.

4 13. Seven Proven ways to Motivate Children 2. Introduction It's not that I'm so smart, Albert Einstein once said, It's just that I stay with problems longer.. How telling that one of the greatest geniuses of all time explained his success in this way. Einstein gave the credit not to his superior intellect, but to his tremendous persistence. He was motivated. Of course, not everyone can come up with a theory that will forever change science. But every- one can use motivation to achieve personal success, beginning from an early age. Research has plainly shown that motivated Children do better in school not necessarily because they feel they have to be the best, but because they are trying their best.

5 A motivated child is likely to: A child who is not motivated is Choose tasks that are likely to: challenging. Choose wor k that is inap be easy. propriately Begin tasks without having to prodded. Need lots of prodding to ge t started. Show serious effort and Put in min imal effort. concentration. Show a neg ative or apat Have a positive attitude toward about lear nin hetic attitude g and schoolw lear ning and schoolwork. ork. Give up qu ickly when th Use coping strategies to get rough. e going gets through the rough times Leave man ful y tasks unfin Stick with tasks until success ished.

6 Complet ion. Based on these characteristics, it is not difficult to see why motivated students are more successful! Motivated students can rightly take credit for their own achievements, but most of them also owe a debt to the people who started them out on the right path their parents. As a parent you have a large role to play in whether or not your child will be motivated to do his best in school. In the end, it's up to him but you can create an encouraging environment. This guide will help you do that. There are many ways to Motivate Children based on their temperament.

7 However, this guide will spotlight seven ways Proven to work for nearly every child. Implement these ideas, and you will assure your child of your loving support and that may be the best motivation your child could ever receive. *Each child is unique, so this publication alternates using masculine and feminine pronouns. Copyright 2005, The Parent Institute , a division of NIS, Inc., Reproduction rights exclusively for Greer Middle School, Greer, SC. Seven Proven ways to Motivate Children 3. Set Proper Expectations 1 Expect your child to succeed, and her chances for success improve greatly.

8 Expect her to come up short, and the odds are that she will. Children are usual- ly keenly aware of how their parents view them, and they often tailor their actions to those views. So it's very important to have high expectations and communicate them to your child. It's equally important to base your expecta- tions on your child as an individual who has strengths and weaknesses like all individuals. Set appropriate expectations by: Communicating with your child. Talk kindly but honestly with your child about where she thinks her interests and abilities are, and where she thinks she has less interest and ability.

9 Then share your own opinions, based on your observation of your child. Look for common ground, but never dismiss your child's self-assessment as inappropriate or unrealis- tic. Those areas that both you and your child view as her strengths may represent the areas where she will truly shine. These should be the focus of your highest expectations for achievement. On the other hand, those areas where you both agree she struggles should be the focus of different expectations. Here, make it clear that you expect to see her top effort. If the effort expectation is met, then she has succeeded.

10 It is natural to be con- cerned with results. But if you look only at the final product, you might miss the enormous amount of work that went into every step. Re-evaluating as necessary. Your child will grow and change, and so will her interests and abilities. Plan to review expectations with your child about every three months (more frequently if needed). Talk often and make adjustments if you and your child agree that any of your expectations were too low or too ambitious for the moment. Copyright 2005, The Parent Institute , a division of NIS, Inc., Reproduction rights exclusively for Greer Middle School, Greer, SC.