Your child might not want to study because they are bored with it. If this is the case, try finding ways for them to stay interested in their studies. This could be by changing up what they learn or doing something related to what they are currently learning.
If you think your child is over-thinking the material and has lost interest in school altogether, take a break from studying! Spending some time away can often help kids regain their focus.
We all know that kids usually don’t like studying. As a result, they can lose interest in school and stop putting effort into their work, which makes it hard for them to succeed. However, we can do things to help our children stay engaged with their studies and get back on track.
The first step is figuring out the cause of the problem: Is your child not understanding how to study? Does he need more time outside of class each day? Is his work too difficult or boring? Once you figure out what’s wrong, you can start brainstorming solutions together with your child, so they feel heard and respected as a partner in this process.
If you’re a parent, then I’m sure that you’ve experienced your child losing interest in studying. This article will be helpful to parents who are looking for guidance on how to get their kids back into school and show them the importance of education.
No one likes going to school when they don’t want to learn anymore. But what can we do? How can we make our children want to study again? We’ll be exploring this question and giving some tips!
Why Do Children Lose Interest in Studies?
Many children lack interest in studies, but parents must take the right steps before such children completely lose interest. Here are some reasons why children hate studying and what parents can do to help them start loving studies again.
No one, especially a child, likes to be controlled. They all prefer freedom, but unfortunately, the concept of freedom often extends to areas necessary for their future growth and development, such as studying. Most children view studies as a way for parents to tie them down despite their obvious disinterest.
In the back of their heads, they are aware that they need to do well in a classroom setting in order to win the admiration and respect of their peer group, teachers and parents but their need to have fun and enjoyment in their lives triumphs over these concerns.
Here are some reasons why children start losing interest in studies.
Hindrance to Freedom
Children find studying extremely irritating and hard due to their preconceived false notions about school and their study subjects. Therefore, they eventually feel controlled, and they dislike the feeling intensely. It all boils down to doing something you thoroughly enjoy, and the majority of kids do not enjoy studying. They fail to realize that they can learn to love their studies if only they give it a chance.
Negation of Control
Many kids in school settings have this strong dislike for studying, so whenever they sit down to study their texts, they concentrate on something else. This is responsible for making them hate studying though some of them actually like reading.
Numerous children enjoy reading books but do not like being told what they need to read. Parents might try to convince their children to consider studying their subjects as reading something they like, but in reality, studying requires a special sort of concentration and practice.
Of course, we should be actively encouraged to develop their own techniques that will make their study process livelier and increase their ability to gain and retain information. An increase in memory capability is greatly recommended since it enables children to learn simply and easily.
How to Help Children Start Loving Studies?
Let us take a look at some ways to help children start loving studies.
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Breaking down Barriers
You must first break the wrong notions that your children harbour towards studies by encouraging him or her to link his or her studies with images that appeal to him or her.
In order for this technique to work, your kid must have an open mind so that he or she becomes capable of linking things with weird or unusual topics they will study in the course of time.
This is basically a method of combining the good with the bad – the effect of associating unlikely objects with images that are actually appealing to the kids.
Visual Aids
If you are prepared to go the extra mile for your child’s benefit and inculcate the love of studies in him or her, you can begin by highlighting certain phrases and words in books that refer to various things.
Make sure that you use different colours to mark the words since this makes the subject matter more cheerful to view, and the kid may actually take the initiative to read what you have marked down so diligently for him or her.
Streamlining Studies
Another method that might work to spark the love of education within your child is to summarize the subjects that are being taught in school. Of course, you have to take an active part in the process since it can get rather complex, but the end result is a lot of fun with knowledge.
You and your child may draw flowcharts and maps on normal full-scape papers in order to make sure that he or she can revise them quickly and grasp the fundamental concepts present in the topic. This will make the entire process of studying easier and may increase his or her interest in studies.
Children should be made to understand the importance of studies. However, be careful that your words do not end up sounding like a lecture. Instead, try to explain the ill effects of not studying and how it can impact your or her future to get your child’s full attention in studies.
What to Do When My Kid Doesn’t Want to Study
Every child is unique, and hence every child needs a different environment to reach his potential. But, unfortunately, when everyone around us seems to be a competition, living in the times today, it becomes tough to lift the excess burden to study rigorously. Even adults face such kind of pressure in day to day life, whether it’s about office performance or keeping up with social media.
Similarly, kids today are also surrounded by various forms. There is constant pressure on them to perform better in every aspect. Some kids are blessed with the right concentration and learning skills, and hence they find it easy to learn more. While in other cases, this constant pressure on some kids often drifts them away from studies. They find it hard to focus and don’t want to study. But the question arises on how to develop an interest in studies?
Education in the initial years of learning plays a crucial role in the holistic development of a child. Most of the right habits and social etiquettes are formed in these foundational years. But what to do when the poor concentration skills of your kid take over his initial learning experience, and your kid doesn’t want to study?
This can become a significant concern during good parenting. But what to do to enhance a child’s desire or motivate the child and his ability to learn? Well, as they say, nothing is impossible for parents. However, there are always some proactive steps that you can take to help your kid develop better study habits and learning skills.
Tips for When a Child Doesn’t Want to Study
Acceptance Before Expectations
As parents and facts of good parenting, we have a lot of expectations and hopes from our children. We want them to be happy, healthy, and prosperous in every aspect of their life. But make sure that your expectations don’t act as an unnecessary burden on your child.
If he is not good at studies, accept it, and make yourself comfortable. This will motivate your child to work harder. Define your idea of success with them and make them enjoy learning without burdening them. This will give you answers to how to develop an interest in studies.
Look Out Of Their Interests
Education or the ideas of learning are different for every individual, but the learning environment is relatively rigid. They go to school, study, follow a scheduled timetable, do specific assignments, learn certain topics, and get promoted based on their performance. But maybe, this is not working for your child.
If he finds doing chores boring and shows no interest in the topics taught in school, expand your approach by considering his topics of interest. For instance, if your kid gets excited about planets or animals or nature, or if your child likes to listen to stories and respond well to them? Figure out their interests and take time out to pursue them. This will engage your child in learning more about such subjects, and he will end up attaining better focus.
Encourage Their Curiosity
Curiosity is like kids. They are always curious about everything that surrounds them. Their growing years are all about what, why, and how. Because of good parenting, you can harness their curiosity, motivate children, and give it the right direction.
Provide them with the freedom to find answers on their own. Allow them to wonder about topics independently. Answer their question with a question. This will engage your kid’s mind, and he will be curious to study more things. Don’t get irritated over your child’s tendency to ask, “why?” Always answer with patience.
De-Emphasize School
School is the centre point of learning in the initial years of your child, but it should not be the end-all of learning. Don’t get disheartened over the school performance or teacher’s review of your child’s account. If your child doesn’t like studies, there are chances that his performance at school will not be satisfactory. This is because every child needs a different environment to thrive. Traditional methods of schooling do not need to be enough to engross your child into learning.
Give your children the freedom to follow their interests. Handle their test anxiety patiently and avoid taking an angry approach. This will divert them further from studies.
Make Studying Enjoyable
Kids follow things that seek their interest. Ask them to study with the help of diagrams or cartoon pictures. Draw mind maps or thought charts. Please provide them with coloured pens and encourage them to enjoy their studies. Be creative to attract their attention to reviews. This will help them in enjoying the process rather than avoiding it. Follow good parenting and know the difference.
Learning Together
Just like the family eats together, celebrates together, make sure to learn together. Read exciting books, watch documentaries on exciting subjects, go to museums and the zoo. Show enthusiasm towards learning new things and explore education tools and your child will follow you.
Minimize Distractions
Technology resides with us. From the time we wake up till the time we hit the bed, we are surrounded by technology. And since kids form habits quickly, they often get attracted to these gadgets.
They like playing video games over the phone or TV consoles; they like watching movies and browsing the internet. So keep an eye on their screen time and pay attention to such habits. Make sure that your kid doesn’t spend much time on mobile phones. Minimize distractions to help them focus on their study.
Stay Positive
Focus on the strengths of your child rather than weaknesses. Promote a positive learning approach that emphasizes on capabilities. If your child is not interested in a particular subject, find another way to seek his interests. For instance, if your kid is weak at maths, follow approaches that are different from the traditional ones.
Watch videos on the internet, or teach them while playing or buying them chocolates. Similarly, if your kid is interested in language ad writing, encourage him or her to learn more about it. This will promote progress, and your child will develop a sense of self-belief that will lead him to seek other realms of knowledge too.
Don’t Shy Away From Seeking Professional Help
As we have said before, every child is unique, and their needs differ accordingly. Therefore, while it is entirely okay to feel distaste towards school and education, but in some cases, there can be more than meets the eye.
Some children struggle with learning disabilities that make things more difficult for them. If you feel that your child is showing traits of some disabilities, consider seeking professional help as soon as possible. Disabilities like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia are common in children, but they are manageable. Get your child the desired treatment and help him develop their learning skills.
Signs Your Child Might Be Giving Up On School And What You Can Do
Every child’s school journey is unique and we know that for children and young people who become disengaged from school, it can start at different ages and in many different ways.
For some children, it can be a one-off incident that leads them to refuse to go to school while for other children, it can start young and slowly build over time due to a number of different events.
As a parent, you can play a vital role in observing your child and noticing changes in their behaviour that might indicate disengagement from school. Here’s some information about signs to look out for and what to do if you notice them in your child.
It Can Happen At Any Time
While disengagement from school is most likely to happen in the teenage years, particularly between the ages of 14 and 16, we do know that some younger children can experience disengagement. So, it’s important to keep an eye on your child throughout their schooling years so you can notice any signs of disengagement and get the help you need.
Signs Your Child May Be Disengaging
As a parent or carer, you are in the ideal position to observe your child and notice any changes in their behaviour. Here are some signs to look at for which might suggest your child is at risk of disengaging from school:
- shows little of no interest in school
- talks about wanting to leave school
- struggles with learning at school to the point where they have lost interest and confidence in their ability to learn
- misses a lot of school or refuses to go to school
- repeated suspensions or other school reports of negative behaviour
- starts behaving in an aggressive way at home or at school
- seems withdrawn and doesn’t want to see their friends
- shows significant changes in their behaviour, attitude or performance at school.
How You Can Help
Your support can make all the difference to your child if they are struggling at school and are at risk of disengaging. As Parenting educator Maggie Dent explains in the video below, it’s important to try and find out what’s going on for your child. If you can problem-solve with your child, connect with them, and recognise that they are not the problem but that there is a problem, then you are already going a long way to giving them the help they need.
Speak To The School
Staff at your child’s school will be looking out for signs that their students are disengaging so they can give them the support they need to re-connect with their learning. So talk to the school and be open about your concerns so together, you can break down the issues your child is experiencing, understand what is going on for your child, and work out the best way to help your child.
With this understanding, you and the school can work together to help your child overcome problems they are experiencing at school. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time and persistence to find the right person to have this kind of conversation with at school, but keep trying.
How do you motivate a child who doesn’t want to study?
How To Stay Motivated To Study
-Find Out What’s Stopping Your Child.
-Make Study Time Easier.
-Create A Study Plan Together.
-Create A Reward System.
-Limit Stress.
-Focus On Learning Instead Of Performance.
-Encourage Your Child To Set Small Goals.
-Try Different Techniques.
What do you do when your child loses interest in school?
Try and limit distractions as well as set up a good, consistent routine so your kids know what to expect of them. Make sure they have easy access to the things they’ll need for studying like pens and pencils, paper, worksheets and other stationery.
Why do kids lose interest in studies?
Children find studying extremely irritating and hard due to their preconceived false notions about school and the subjects of their study. Therefore, they eventually feel controlled and they dislike the feeling intensely.
If You’ve Worked With The School And Your Child Is Still Not Engaged?
If you have worked closely with your child’s school and your child is still not engaged at school, then it is time to contact your local, regional office to seek support. Each regional office has a team of experts who understand how the education system works, have strong connections with local schools, and know how to get support for young people struggling at school.
And if your child refuses to go to school?
If you and your child’s school have tried everything and your child still refuses to go to school, it might be time to call a Regional Youth Engagement Hub. They work with disengaged young people using individualised support and plans to reconnect them with an education, training or employment pathway. This fact sheet provides contact details for each local hub.
Author
Dr. Olga Abeysekera
Dr Olga Abeysekera, founder of Dr Study Tutoring and the Dr Progress Group Pty Ltd, is passionate about transforming education through innovative and personalised tutoring. With a PhD in Management from Monash University and a background in both academic research and private tutoring, she has a deep commitment to helping students excel.
Her holistic approach at Dr Study Tutoring emphasises not only academic success but also the development of lifelong skills, ensuring that each student receives the best education and support possible. Dr Olga’s dedication to continuous improvement drives her mission to inspire a love for learning that lasts a lifetime.
