A Guide to Developing Effective Study Habits

Jan 24, 2022 As a parent, it’s your job to help your child develop good habits from the earliest age. You need to teach them how to behave, deal with problems, process their emotions, and so much more. Creating effective study habits should be one of your goals. It’s important for your children to learn how to study effectively and apply it to their entire education experience.

Luckily, we’re here to help you achieve it. Below, you’ll find a guide on how to help your child develop good study habits. Take a look at each of the steps and try teaching your child one at a time.

1. Develop a Study Area

It’s very important that you create a designated study area for your child. Even as a preschooler, he needs to have his special study space.

A study area should be in their room and consist of a desk, a comfortable chair, and all the school supply your child needs.

Placing it all in one place will help your child:

• Focus,
• Have better control over the study process, and
• Learn to be tidy and responsible for his things.

Don’t let your child carry his things all over the house and do his assignments wherever he gets the chance.

2. Remove Distractions

When it’s time to do homework, color, learn a song, or do any sort of studying, remove any distraction that might bother your child.

Teach them to always:

• Turn off the TV,
• Remove any unnecessary item from the desk,
• Leave their smartphone in the other room (if they have one).

Fewer distractions mean more hard work and better results. Help your child realize it and adopt this good study habit.

3. Create a Study Calendar

A study calendar is a great asset to the process of studying effectively. Even if your child is still in kindergarten, you should teach them well from the very start.

Here’s what to do:

• Take a larger piece of paper and write “Study Calendar” at the top,
• Write down the goals and assignments your child has,
• Together, make a plan on when to do them,
• Write it all down.

For all those parents who are creating a study calendar for the first time, you can check out these elementary students’ websites. They can help you write a template calendar and use it for all your child’s future plans. 

In time, your child will add new entries on their own and take charge of their school obligations. Teach them to write it all down, plan for the next day, and thus achieve their study goals easier.

4. Set a Specific Study Time

Another great study habit that you should try and transfer to your child is setting a specific time of the day for studying.

This will help them organize their day better and not develop procrastination habits.

So, suggest your child to:

• Choose a time of day that is designed for studying,
• Respect that time every day.

For example, once they come from preschool, they should have a healthy meal, get some rest, and do their studying.

After that, they have the rest of the day to play and have fun.

5. Plan for Effective Study Breaks

Study breaks are important, especially as your child grows older and has more studying to do every day. An effective study break can make all the difference in the study process and make it much more enjoyable and successful.

Teach your child to recognize when it’s time for a break and use it wisely:

• Go outside,
• Play with the dog,
• Ride their bike,
• Take a swim,
• Play some music.

If they learn how to rest their brain and recharge their batteries, they’ll have a much better study session every day.

6. Deal with the Hardest Study Tasks First

Your child needs to learn how to prioritize their study tasks. 

Developing this study habit will save them time and effort. The most complicated and hardest tasks should be completed first, and here’s why:

• You need to most energy for them,
• All the other tasks will seem even easier to complete.

Tell your child to always think about the difficulty level of each task and get the hardest one over with first.

7. Stick to Your Plan

Teaching your child responsibility is another very important segment in the process of adopting good study habits.

It’s easy to create a study plan and strategize with your child about the things he should or shouldn’t do. But the most important thing is to actually stick to the study schedule.

Help your child to:

• Stay responsible,
• Realize the benefits of sticking to the plan.

They need to understand why it’s so important to stay on track and keep up with their goals and scheduled tasks.

8. Provide Tools and Resources 

Finally, to help your child improve each study session, you should help them find the right tools and resources to use.

That includes:

• Online exercises,
• A study buddy,
• Helpful videos and tutorials.

You can find all kinds of tools for different subjects and types of assignments. Help your child do better work, and they’ll be thankful you thought them to be resourceful.

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Final Thoughts

Adopting good study habits needs to start from the earliest age. It takes some preparation and strategizing at first, but soon your child will be able to study without any pressure or tension. Use the tips we’ve shared above and create effective, healthy study habits with your child. Teach them how to study better, and you’ll teach them a major life lesson they’ll be using for a long time.

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