We all want to help our children be as successful as possible in their learning, but we are not all experts in this field. With a little research, parents can tune into their children’s learning and help them thrive in school and in life.

1. How does your child learn best?

This is important. You need to know what it takes for your child to learn something, and this will be repeated throughout her life. She also needs to become an expert at this and know how to be in tune with her learning style. This is what we are here for, but there is plenty of research on the Internet and in books on learning styles. Throughout our lives, we may choose to learn in different ways, but we will also be forced to, but when we are learning and studying on our own, we are free to do what works best for us. There will be much more on this as the website develops, and feel free to ask me questions.

2. In what kind of environment does your child learn best?

Some of this is a result of our upbringing, and some of it is just the way we were born, but just as we can not all learn in the same way, we can not all learn in the same place. I am sure we all know someone who can study and learn while there is music playing, but there are some of us who need complete silence in order to be able to concentrate. This is important to know about your children because it is unfair to ask children who need silence to do their homework in a noisy room where there is a lot of activity. In the same way, if your child really does learn better by having soft music playing, let it happen, but we must know our children well enough to know if this will truly create a learning environment.

3. What does your child like or like to do?

What would your son really like to do in his spare time? Sometimes children have what seems like an obsession, and that’s okay. Let it play out. As long as homework, chores, piano practice, etc. are being completed thoroughly, let your child do what he really likes. If he seems to think about nothing but trains, let him use trains in his learning. Let him write about them, research them, interact with them. Let him be an expert! This might be a subject, such as tigers, or it might be a pastime such as skateboarding. No matter what it is, as long as it is appropriate for school, it can be given as much attention as he wants, and it may turn into a career or hobby, and it might go away or turn into something else. Especially if you have a child who says he doesn’t like a subject, let him learn about that subject through the lens of what he is most interested in. This will take some creativity, but if you and your child work together, you can come up with some great dialog and projects, and he will like what he is doing!

4. What is your child good at?

This does not need to be something academic. Know your child’s strengths. Everyone is good at something. Find at least one thing that your son or daughter really likes to do and is good at and nurture it. We all need to be successful in order to build our self confidence and find our place in the world. Sometimes this may not be the thing your child likes the most, and that is okay. It may open dialog for what she really wants to work on, but if you see a strength, point it out and use it as much as you can to help build the confidence in your child. Do not be tempted to offer empty praise, but when she really excels at something, point it out!