How to impress the importance of studies on the minds of children ?

Children should always be told stories about scientists, businessmen and scholarly persons and how hard these people had to work to reach high positions. By doing this, the importance of studies and of hard work will be impressed upon the minds of children. They will realise that there is no alternative to hard work for achieving success.

Children must be taught that they will reap what they sow; and thus by studying hard now, they will be benefited in the future. We must also impress upon the minds of children that God always lends a helping hand to those who work hard to achieve their goals.

1. How to make studying easier ?

Younger the child, the more should be the usage of appropriate examples and stories in order to develop interest in studies in the mind of the child. Do not complicate studies. The brain of children of 10 to 12 year age group is not developed for abstract thinking and hence they are not able to understand the meaning of ‘x’ in algebra.

Marbles, pencils, wooden sticks, etc. are essential to make small children understand a particular subject more easily. It is necessary to  keep making sure that children are understanding the subject with ease. If parents are not able to teach subjects like mathematics or science to their children, they should not hesitate to take the help of experienced teachers to teach these subjects to their children.

If your child has failed a particular class, do not persuade the school authorities to promote him to the higher class, because if the base itself is weak, your child will not be able to cope with the added stress of the higher class. This will cause even more trouble to the child. Also, do not scold the child if he has failed. Instead, sympathies with him, try to understand the reason for his failure, and help him perform better next time by correcting his mistakes.

2. The atmosphere in the house should be ideal for studies

For a child to study well, it is necessary that the atmosphere of the house is cheerful, peaceful and complementary to studies. In olden days, children used to go to Ashrams (hermitage) for studies, as the Ashram used to be away from the populous village and the atmosphere there used to be cheerful, peaceful and ideal. However, because of today’s education system, the responsibility of parents has increased. That is why, it is important for parents to keep the atmosphere in the house peaceful, cheerful and complementary to studies.

Parents should avoid switching on the radio or television when the child is studying. Parents should avoid quarreling with each other in front of the children. If there is some marriage procession / tableaux going past your house, do not leave your work and rush to the window to see it, because on seeing you do this, your child too will stop his studies and follow you to the window. If you yourself aren’t able to control yourself from getting distracted while doing your work, it would be wrong to expect that your child should not get distracted from studies. In short, if you feel that your child should study properly, the atmosphere in your house must be like an Ashram.

Instead of just asking your child about his studies daily, parents should sit with the child for a while everyday and teach him something. If your child is studying in college and it is not possible for you to teach him those subjects, then sit with him when the child is studying. Sit next to the child and read some holy books like Dnyaneshwari, Bhadwadgita, biographies of Saints, etc. This will give your child company when he is studying and he will have a pleasant feeling that my father / mother too is reading with me and it will motivate him to study. Remember one thing, children have a habit of imitating their parents.

Teach the child to read a paragraph and note down the important points in that paragraph in one to two lines. Later on, teach him to read the whole chapter and write down its summary by noting the important points. Practically, it is difficult to concentrate one’s mind on a particular topic continuously for more than 45 minutes. So, allow the the child to take a break or change the subject after 45 minutes.

Just reading for hours together does not constitute real studying. Studying only for 3 to 4 hours every day with complete concentration is enough. Sometimes, keeping an idol or picture of the child’s favourite Deity on the study table helps in generating self-confidence in the child. Meditation also proves useful in increasing concentration of the mind.