If you're a parent who wants to know how to motivate your children to do well in school and study hard, this article is for you. Sometimes it can be difficult to identify the best way to help your child succeed in school. Different books and websites provide different information that makes it even more difficult to navigate this topic. They sometimes leave you even more confused. We are sharing below some practical study and motivation tips from our parents and a great summary about motivation from one of our parents.
Tips from our parents
Children and adults need this in order to perform better, to get through tough times, or to maintain focus. Just remember motivation is a building process and not a ready action. The need and desire take time to actualize.
There are 4 types of motivation we can tap into when working with any type of resistance: intrinsic, extrinsic, introjected, and identified.
Intrinsic motivation is aligned with values, is very subjective, and involves some sense of pleasure in performing a given task. Ex: When hard work is recognized and praised in the environment and of course, in this case, hard work is valued by the subject themselves.
Extrinsic motivation occurs because of an external influence that compels the individual to perform in a better way. Perhaps there is a reward (price) involved. This price has to have a high value for the individual and it is important that they have not had access to it at all or for a long time. Ex: my children have no access to sugar but if I want them to engage in a really hard task like paying attention in class, I offer them a candy of their choice at the end of the class. This is used only with the internet class where I have the chance to observe them and see if they have performed the task I asked them. Praise is the most simple, readily available motivator to anyone. Us humans simply love being recognized.
Introjected motivation: it is internalized but it is because a task was performed poorly or not at all and the person feels rather guilty. I would not use this because it can foster unnecessary anxiety for a developing child. When you notice a child reflecting on this and they share how poorly they feel this would be a time to be supportive and encourage them to try again.
Identified motivation: you can see this motivation when children talk about knowing a task needs to be completed but have not yet acted on it. It is very powerful as it prepares the person to act. This is a powerful form of motivation as it builds lasting accomplishments or improved performance. Perhaps here, it is important to recognize and praise children for identifying what needs to be done and support them by asking them what they will need to accomplish this goal.
By Timea Tenkei