As parents, we all want our children to become self-motivated learners, who take the initiative to learn and excel in life. However, we often find that our children lack the initiative to do things on their own. They need constant reminders and supervision to complete even the simplest tasks. They prefer to engage in non-academic activities such as drawing, cutting, and reading storybooks. As experts in child psychology, we understand that all children are different and come from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, we propose a range of strategies to improve children’s subjective initiative that parents can adopt.
Children who lack subjective initiative often struggle to take ownership of their learning activities. They lack self-motivation and rely on external incentives such as rewards and punishments. This often leads to them viewing learning as a dreaded task, imposed on them by their parents or teachers. The lack of interest and motivation often leads to a poor learning experience, resulting in lower academic performance and a lack of life skills.
The solution to this problem lies in improving children’s subjective initiative. This can be done by enhancing their self-regulated learning strategies, fostering a growth mindset, and promoting autonomy-supportive parenting.
- Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
Self-regulated learning strategies refer to the cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes a child engages in when learning. The aim is to enable a child to take control of their own learning by setting goals, monitoring their progress, and reflecting on their learning outcomes. Parents can help their children develop self-regulated learning strategies by:
- Encouraging children to set their own learning goals: This helps children to take ownership of their learning process. They can set achievable goals and work towards them independently. Parents can provide guidance and support to ensure the goals are appropriate and challenging.
- Helping children to monitor their progress: Children should be encouraged to evaluate their own performance and monitor their own progress towards their learning goals. This can be done by keeping a record of their achievements, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, and reflecting on their progress.
- Giving children feedback: Feedback is an essential component of self-regulated learning. Parents should provide constructive feedback to their children, highlighting their achievements and suggesting areas for improvement.
- Fostering a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset refers to the belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. Children with a growth mindset tend to be more motivated to learn and take risks. Parents can help their children develop a growth mindset by:
- Praising the process, not the outcome: Instead of focusing on achieving a specific goal, parents should praise the effort their child puts into learning. This reinforces the idea that hard work and dedication are essential components of success.
- Encouraging children to try new things: Children with a growth mindset are more likely to take risks and try new activities. Parents can help by providing a supportive and non-judgmental environment, where their child feels safe to take risks and try new things.
- Teaching children that failure is an opportunity to learn: Children with a growth mindset view failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. They are not afraid of making mistakes and view them as part of the learning process. Parents can help their children develop this mindset by reframing failure as an opportunity for growth and learning.
- Autonomy-Supportive Parenting
Autonomy-supportive parenting refers to providing children with the freedom to make choices and decisions, within a supportive and caring environment. This encourages children to take ownership of their learning activities and develop a sense of personal responsibility. Parents can adopt autonomy-supportive parenting by:
- Providing children with choices: Children should be given the freedom to make choices about their learning activities. This increases their motivation and engagement in the learning process.
- Encouraging children to take responsibility: Parents should encourage their children to take responsibility for their learning activities. This includes setting goals, monitoring progress, and seeking help when needed.
- Being supportive and empathetic: Parents should provide support and empathy to their child as they take ownership of their learning. This includes providing emotional support and encouragement, even when things get challenging.
Improving children’s subjective initiative is an important endeavour. By adopting the strategies discussed above, parents can help their children become self-motivated learners who take ownership of their learning activities. Children who develop self-regulated learning strategies, a growth mindset and experience autonomy-supportive parenting, are likely to have a more positive learning experience, achieve better academic results, and develop essential life skills. Parents who adopt these strategies, will not only help their children, but also contribute positively to their future success in life.
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