Daily Tips for Families

Today's Tip for Families

06-07-2022

Tap Into Your Child's Inner Motivation

Remember when your child first learned to walk? There was probably some struggling and stumbling and holding on to you. But finally, your child took a step all alone. Not to earn stickers on a chart or some other reward. Your child wanted to learn to walk. That's internal motivation, and it's something all kids are born with.

Children's internal motivation doesn't always translate to their schoolwork or responsibilities at home, however. The same child who will practice free throws for hours gets bored after five minutes of math problems.

Sometimes, parents offer rewards—more screen time, more playtime. But those external rewards only work for a little while. A better way is to tap into children's internal motivation.

Here's how:

Praise your child's efforts. Celebrate hard work and progress and persistence.
Be a good role model yourself. The way you deal with success or failure will teach your child powerful lessons.
Limit rewards. A smile or a hug is enough most of the time.
Help your child solve problems. Don't be too quick to jump to the rescue. If your child is stuck, ask, "What ways can you think of to figure this out?"

Brought to you by:

Webster County Schools

[School Success Ideas for Families]