Today’s parent tip focus on studying during the holidays, whether it is a short one week break at Easter or the three month break during the summer.
Students often want to spend time with their friends and visit people they haven’t seen for months. Studying is usually the last thing on their minds.
Here’s some things that you can do to help.
Ask Them How University Is Going
Talk to them about their studying and show that you are interested. This is when you can find out whether they are struggling or not.
Your children may not want to open up to you about everything but you can usually get an idea of how well they are doing from their initial answer. Most students will be really enthusiastic about it. They’ll say how much of a great time they’re having and maybe mention that courses are harder than they thought.
If they push off the question, it is often a sign that it’s a subject they really don’t want to talk about. And that’s not usually a good thing!
Ask Them to Go Through What You’ve Learned
One parent tip that I kind of wish my parents did with me is to go through the things that I’d learned. Since I did a computing degree and my parents aren’t the most technically minded people (well, my mum definitely isn’t), it was hard to talk to them about it.
They wouldn’t have understood anything if I tried and it can be hard, but I’d have appreciated them learning.
I’ve found this has helped with my husband when he asks how my course is going. He’ll ask me about the course material, especially when it’s to do with law. He’ll also ask me to put my law knowledge to use when he has a hypothetical question or something interesting comes up at his work.
Encourage Just a Few Hours of Studying a Week
Students won’t want to spend all day, every day studying during the holidays and you can’t expect that. My best parent tip for encouragement is to encourage a few hours of study a week.
This will give your children the chance to meet their friends and maybe even work at an old job to bring in some extra money. It will give them time to recharge their batteries while keeping the information in their memories.
You could encourage this during the week days when most people are at work or on a Sunday lunchtime for a few hours when it is quiet.
Set Up a Space for Them to Study
I know I found it really hard to study at home. I would only have a small bedroom and would have to have books spread around me on the bed.
Having somewhere to study that is easy to use and quiet is really important. When I visited family over Christmas a few years ago and had to work for a couple of days, I set myself up on their dining room table, put my headphones in and managed to get a lot more done.
So, set up a space for them to study. You could have an office or just a table in the dining room to do the work. By having that space, they are more likely to get into the zone and learn more.
Talk About the Upcoming Exams
Most students have exams in January and June. Talk about these upcoming exams and ask your children if they are ready for them.
This is often the subtle encouragement to study for them, even if it is just a couple of hours a week. However, when following this parent tip, don’t get too involved in the process. You can’t force students to study for exams. Some may need to take the break to help with the recalling of information afterwards. Some may not even have exams or have had them before Christmas!