ACSSO :: How Parents can increase motivation and confidence in children

One of the characteristics of most kids that I secretly admire is, if they don’t see a point to doing something they won’t do it. End of story.

Given that some of them can be incredibly hard to convince, persuade, cajole, entice, or lure into anything, this can make motivating them a tricky business. Even at the best of times, motivation is a slippery customer. Sometimes your child will have it in abundance & other times, it sneaks off & goes missing in action.

This is where dopamine- the neurochemical of motivation enters the picture. The most important thing to know is that not feeling motivated hasn’t really got much to do with motivation. It has more to do with feeling anxious & worried. In fact this is the formula: Fear + Worry = Loss of Motivation. Motivation has a lot to do with overcoming their fears. Your child’s fears loom larger if we try to help them avoid them. This is where parenting gets really tricky. No one wants to see their child upset or distressed at the prospect of having to do something they really, really, really don’t want to do BUT if we let them slide out of too many things their fears build and their confidence decreases.

The most powerful motivation techniques. Build on your child’s learning strengths & forget about their weaknesses. Most people are not good at everything. They don’t have to be. Success in life is about doing more of what you are good at & less of the things you are not good at. Serena Williams is not well known because she can do Mathematics, Einstein wasn’t well known because he played soccer. When you focus on the things your child finds more enjoyable & interesting at school, even the things they find harder become easier.

How Parents Can Help

Assess your child’s learning strengths at www.mylearningstrengths.com & develop a starting point from their top learning strength. Building from a learning strength area they already feel confident in will helps them to overcome their worries or fears. Starting with what is easiest builds momentum & motivation.

If their strongest learning strength is:

Spatial Reasoning-start with by drawing & linking main ideas Perceptual- Motor Skills- start with by linking their learning with physical movements.

How Parents can increase motivation and confidence in children - Part 2

How Parents Can Help

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