James' World 2

Click the link below the picture

.

No parent wants to see their child become bored and uninterested at school. Most don’t even realize when their kids are losing interest in learning, says author and parenting researcher Jenny Anderson.

Fortunately, parents can actively encourage their kids to be more curious and seek out opportunities to learn — and they can do it without resorting to nagging, according to Anderson, who co-wrote a book with education expert Rebecca Winthrop called “The Disengaged Teen” that published earlier this month.

In a survey of 65,000 third through 12th grade students that Winthrop conducted with the Brookings Institution, 75% of 3rd graders said they “love” school, but only 25% of 10th graders said the same, according to the survey. Meanwhile, 65% of parents of 10th graders said they believed their kids loved school.

“There’s a real mismatch,” Anderson said on an episode of the “Raising Good Humans” podcast earlier this month.

Kids who are engaged at school — meaning they’re curious and self-motivated to learn — perform better academically, and develop skills and traits that’ll help them in the long run. Children who are curious and intrinsically motivated are more likely to grow up to be happy and successful adults, research shows.

But student engagement has declined in the U.S. in recent years. Pandemic disruptions had negative effects on students around the world, and nearly half of U.S. teachers believe their students are less engaged at school now than in 2019, according to a 2024 survey by The Harris Poll for Discovery Education.

No matter how old your children are, you can encourage their curiosity and help them develop a lifelong love of learning, Anderson said. Here are her six recommendations:

Let them make decisions and experience consequences

Sometimes, you need to allow kids to make their own decisions — even if that means they face consequences from their actions, Anderson said. Instead of dictating a strict schedule for how and when they do their homework, for instance, parents could try giving kids the freedom to decide their own schedule.

You should still set firm boundaries — the expectation should always be that kids’ homework will get done — but giving children autonomy within those boundaries can help them develop confidence and motivation to make good decisions on their own, bestselling author and parenting expert Esther Wojcicki wrote for CNBC Make It in 2022.

″[We’re] there to support them as they make a bunch of extremely bad decisions [to learn] to make better ones,” Anderson said. “So hopefully, when they leave [home], they’re capable of making these decisions better.”

Avoid comments like ‘I’m not a math person’

Teach your kids to adopt a “growth mindset,” which involves thinking of your knowledge and abilities as skills you can develop over time, Anderson said.

People who take the opposite approach, a “fixed mindset,” tend to be less motivated to take on new challenges, so you should avoid making comments like, ”‘I’m not a math person. I’m not a science person,’” said Anderson.

.

Skynesher | E+ | Getty Images

.

.

Click the link below for the complete article:

.

__________________________________________