Study Habits: How Kids Can Improve Their Study Habits

How Can I Help My Child Develop Strong Study Habits?

Students who have strong study habits often succeed in school because they know how to retain information from lessons and homework. Beginning in elementary school, your child should learn and practice study skills. By high school, most teachers will expect students to have basic study habits already. Introduce the following study habits now to help your child to succeed in high school and beyond.

Create a Dedicated Workspace

Give your child a clean workspace with minimal distractions. At the beginning of each school year, you should select a quiet area for your child that is well supplied with common school supplies, like paper clips, highlighters, extra paper, pens and pencils. It's best for your child to study away from distractions, such as the television. However, depending upon his or her preference, music and light background noise can be helpful. You may want to turn off your computer while your child's studying in order to prevent the pull of the Internet, unless the Internet is needed for his or her work.

Help Your Child Take Notes

If your child has thorough, easy-to-follow notes, it will often make studying far less stressful and complicated. Prepare your child for a topic before class by discussing it and activating any background knowledge your child might have on the subject. If the teacher gives the class an outline or a handout, advise your child to skim it quickly before class begins.

When taking notes, it can be helpful to write the subject and date at the top of the page for easy reference. Instruct your child to write down the main points that the teacher makes with subsections for more detail. If your child misses a lesson, be sure he or she gets the notes from a reliable classmate so that no essential material is missed.

Have Your Child Be Organized and Keep a Schedule

Help your child keep his or her notes and materials well organized. With organized notes, your child can find information more readily when studying and will be less likely to lose important materials. Show your child how to date and label all notes and study guides and how to keep all materials separated by class. Make sure your child studies at the same time each day so that he or she becomes mentally accustomed do doing so and can concentrate with less effort.

Maintain Positive Studying Habits

Be positive and set daily study goals for your child. Help your child make a habit of studying even if there's not a quiz or exam coming up immediately. This way, she or he will remain sharp and has more time to absorb the new information. When it comes time to study for a quiz or an exam, your child will already be ahead of the game.