Love of Learning

Instilling a passion for knowledge in your child goes hand in hand with their desire to learn and excel in school! If you make sure your child gets all they can out of the classroom experience by showing them how they can use their learning everyday they will quickly come to appreciate schooling as a privilege rather than a chore.

Ask your child what they learn in school, and listen to the answer! Often your child hasn't a notion that you would be interested, though inside they may be glowing from achieving a special goal or solving a particularly hard problem.

Show them that you are interested, and let your enthusiasm echo theirs. Take a moment to let them show you the new trick they learned to multiply fractions, or explain how plants turn sunlight into food. It doesn't matter that you already know - what is important is that they are excited about it!

Pretty soon you child will be volunteering information as they move through their day - "Hey, those are Cumulus clouds" or "Did you know that sunsets are red because of dust?" They will begin to apply the things they learn at school to events in their day, and their lives will be richer as a result!

As your child becomes more involved with extracurricular activities you may not be able to follow them to every meet or game. That's OK! Letting them strike out on their own enables them to become self reliant - if you have parented them properly they know you are there in spirit, so don't give way to doubt or guilt if you don't make it to every event. Teach your children to cheer for themselves and not expect external motivation for success!

Of course you want to enjoy your child's closeness to you, and helping them become an independent person doesn't take away from that bond you have with them. Instead, it strengthens it because they learn that they can make decisions about who to admire and lean on - and you will always be one of those people.

When the time to apply to colleges arrives, your child should be calm and confident of success! Their learning and your support will have paid off in the best possible way. That is not to say there will be no obstacles or stumbling blocks in the way, but if you have raised your child to love learning they will treat each new challenge as an addition to their education, and meet it with the same zest they apply to the rest of their lives!

If you manage to instill a deep love of knowledge in your child from an early age, there is no doubt that they will find a way to achieve their goals. Every difficulty faced and battle fought will be worth it on graduation day, and you can rest assured that your child will never stop learning!