I have three kids and over the years our learning centre has worked with hundreds of school aged students helping them achieve success in all aspects of their lives. Many parents I meet tell me the aspect of Heart Learning Centre that attracted them most is the guidance and help we offer each student — not only academically but also emotionally and artistically.
Usually the main struggle parents face with their kids is around ‘their laziness’ or ‘their lack of drive.’ Parents believe in their children and their abilities but when they see their children de-motivated about life at such a young age they become lost themselves and the blame usually falls on the school, the teacher or the child. My advice for my parents when it comes to motivating their children is that the most powerful person who can help your child change their thought from ‘I can’t’ to ‘of course I can!’ is YOU.
Here are two tips you can do to help motivate your child which I found to be really effective with my own kids and my students throughout the years:
Family dinner: a time to share and care
It is true: there is NO TIME for regular family dinners and if your family actually achieves this, you deserve a gold medal. Most families are exhausted at home-time and on their way to a drive through or to pick up something fast so they can get some rest before they put their kids to bed. It’s a task to plan, shop, make and clean up, however the benefits of having a family dinner are astounding.
Most kids find it as an opportunity to share their days with no distractions around. Family dinner is such a great time for parents to really understand what their children are struggling with and/or what they feel most proud of. The key here is: ask lots of open-ended questions and really mirror your child’s feelings. Once you know what makes them happy and proud and what makes them feel scared or incapable: that’s when you are in the position to motivate them about life.
Be the Storyteller
Tell them a REAL story about a time when you were a kid.
Kids love to hear about when us big people were kids; the mistakes we made, the bullies we had to deal with and especially what we did about it all! I remember teaching an emotional intelligence class at Heart Learning Centre about a really embarrassing situation when I was in grade 6. I lied to get attention from a new kid in the class and told him I would get him a new bike that my dad would pay for (I drew it out for him and everything!). My children were sitting and listening to me teach the class and they were laughing, crying and just couldn’t stop talking about my embarrassing situation when I got caught in my lie. The students were so incredibly attentive while I was teaching about honesty because immediately when I said ‘I lied’ they all connected with me, knew I was human and wanted to learn from my mistake. Don’t be afraid to show your kids the real you, the more you do, the more they will realize that mistakes are the opportunity to try again and it’s all in their power to try.
BIO: Dana Ben Halim is the Founder and Director of Heart Learning Centre. Dana’s belief in student success has always been about catering to the ‘whole child’: academically, emotionally, socially, physically and creatively. Dana graduated with a Bachelor of Education in Primary/Junior from Trent University in 2007 and has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She has lived in 8 different countries and has taught students at all levels (kindergarten through high school) from various cultures, traditions and languages. She speaks English, French, Greek and Arabic and has been a teacher for 15 years.
Image credit: SweetOnVeg/flickr
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