Motivation for children is very important! Many children who think and learn differently have negative experiences in school because of what they did or did not do. Think of the child with.
If every day you have problems at work and receive negative comments about things you did or did not do, how would your confidence and self-esteem be affected? What would make you continue to strive to improve?
You keep forgetting your homework and consequently, your grade gets worse. Or the child with that he rarely completes the math worksheet, or that half of his answers are wrong. Imagine how frustrating and discouraging those experiences could be.
So what makes children who think and learn differently continue to strive to improve? The answer lies in staying motivated.
The importance of motivation
Motivation is the drive that sustains an action that you take. It’s the force behind long hours of sports training or what drives you to stay up at night to make the science project look better.
Usually, this involves an incentive. It’s satisfying to get accepted on the sports team or to have people admire your project at the science fair, and that makes the effort worth it. Positive comments are a source of motivation for children to do it again.
It can also lead children to keep trying in the long run. The incentive to have positive experiences and results can keep them working despite difficulties. And the ability to do so is important to children who think and learn differently.
Motivation and children who learn differently
What drives children to do things? It is often the prospect of succeeding or at least improving in order to succeed. The more skilled children are at a task, the more likely they are to enjoy the activity and want to do it better. Success builds motivation and this leads to more success.
But children who think and learn differently usually experience more setbacks than their peers. And improvement and success can be achieved more slowly or less frequently despite the effort. That can hurt your motivation.
If a child studies for a test and doesn’t do well, they might be motivated to try harder and do better next time. But if it continues to fail, you may start thinking, “Why am I going to study for the next exam? It won’t make any difference. ”
Over time, you may begin to anticipate adverse results from whatever you do. That can cause you to quickly give up, don’t push yourself, and avoid challenges altogether.
But if you have the motivation to try again, it can lead to perseverance. You may be willing to continue, even if you don’t have positive experiences at first. And that can build resilience.
Helping Your Child Find Motivation
Children who think and learn differently need the motivation to try again and again. But without a solid history of achievement, your child may need more than a boost from you. Here are some ways you can help him stay motivated.
Help him feel successful
Feelings of success are not limited to the end of the project. With a little help at the beginning, your child can have positive moments during the process.
For example, if you have an essay to write, you could download a visual organizer from the Internet and help with the draft. That extra help can make you feel more involved in the writing process.
You can also build confidence while doing it. So if the result isn’t great, the feeling of triumph while you’re doing it can help you feel motivated when you do the next job.
Focus on effort, not results
If your child is doing well on a test, don’t express excitement just because of the grade. There are more beneficial ways to praise. Ask him what he did to prepare. Did you make index cards or ask the teacher for help?
Do the same if it didn’t go well. Reflecting on how you studied can help you figure out other ways to do it next time. That may motivate you to try a different approach.
Promote a growth mindset
If your child tries but can’t, avoid saying what’s done is done and leave it at that. Focusing the discussion on the steps you can take will move you forward rather than feeling stuck.
Focusing on “next time” can help your child develop a ” growth mindset .” You can instill the belief that you will get better with practice. That is much more motivating than an “inflexible mindset,” or the belief that if you are not good at something by nature you will never be good at it.
Take your child out of his comfort zone
When children experience negative results, they can lose motivation to try new things. That can also happen with activities outside of school. But taking risks and trying new things can help children discover new skills and passions.
This is why it is important to highlight the advantage of trying things that are difficult at first. Let’s say your child is starting piano lessons. He will have difficulties like all children when they begin to learn a new activity. But if you are used to having bad experiences when you start something, you may avoid practicing.
In that case, you can say, “I know it is difficult at first. But imagine how good you will feel when you can play that song. ” That may give you an incentive to keep practicing.
Recognize success
No matter how well you do, find something positive to say to your child that is true. Examples include: “You played very well with your team today,” “you sang very well,” or “it’s wonderful that you asked your teacher for help.”
It is not always easy to find motivation for children when things are difficult to do, but the rewards can be enormous. Find ways to help your child if he feels defeated at times. And learn to give praise that builds self-esteem
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