In order to really stand out in this world of cut throat competition, it is very necessary for your children to have strong academics. Proper education and good marks form the basis on which your child’s career stands and his/her success is dependent on the amount of effort he/she puts in to learn all that he/she can. So, in order to motivate your child to study well and work hard, here are some things you can do to grab their attention and keep them focused.

Determine what drives them. Children can be quite fickle and keeping them motivated can be a humongous task. If you find what helps them stay focused, you can use it to make them understand why studying hard is important. It may be something that can act as an incentive.

Stick to a schedule. Making a schedule and having time for play and study separately allocated will help them stay on track. Make sure your child sticks to the schedule. Do not be too steadfast though. Make adjustments when needed.

If your child is old enough, make sure you make them realize the importance of having a dream or setting a goal. Ask them what they want to become in their life and help them understand what they have to do each day to be closer to their dream.

Build a board. Use a piece of cardboard and stick pictures on it of the things that your child wants to achieve. You can hang the board near your child’s study area. Visualization is a very powerful tool and helps in motivating an individual. Building a board can be a fun activity too and you and your child can get to spend more time together.

Be firm and calm. When your child is being unreasonable, calmly make him/her understand the repercussions of their actions. Make sure they do their tasks. You can reward them if they have done something in a good way.

When your child does not feel like studying, make sure he finds a study partner. In that way, he can do his homework and still have fun.

Gift books to your child. It is better if you read to your child from an early age. Later on, he/she will want to read for himself/herself. If your child develops the habit of reading books, he/she will be able to understand the importance of doing well at school. Make sure he/she reads good books like the autobiographies of great men so that he/she is inspired and decides that he/she also wants to achieve something great in his/her life.

Make study time fun. Do not make it feel like a chore or a burden. Delve into the practical aspects of learning something and come up with interesting facts about the topics to be learned. Use songs and pictorial representations to grab the attention of your child.

Children love to go on vacations or on trips. They are essential for broadening the minds of young people. You can ask them to focus on studies with more vigor after they return from a trip and they would be happy to oblige.

Teach by example. Set an example by working hard yourself and reading in your spare time. Do not just relax and ask your children to study. Either help them out or focus on your tasks.

Motivating children to study requires a lot of patience and perseverance. Take the help of books and read up on child psychology. You can also take the help of people who have had success in motivating their children to study. Start out early on so that the habit of working hard is instilled deep inside your child’s psyche.