What Age/Level Did You Really Start Studying? How to Encourage Your Kid To Study?

**CVT** · March 14th, 2006 09:54 AM

Tanong ko lang po sa grupo:
a. At what age/grade level did you really start studying?
b. How do you encourage your kid to study harder?

> a. I was really studying hard ever since I entered school (Grade1). Wala pang nursery/kinder/prep noon. We were not well to do, so I see education as my contribution to our family's welfare.

> b. I want to solicit your suggestions here, please. My firstborn is in Grade5. He does not have the fire in his eyes to study. How do I encourage him to study harder?

Salamat po!

**the_wildthing** · March 14th, 2006 09:58 AM

I prefer not to answer a.

When you say he does not have the fire in his eyes to study, does it mean he has failing grades? Or is he doing "average", but you think he can do more? How are his grades? How are his interactions with other children? What do his teachers say? Does he show interest in other activities?

Find out these things to gain insight into the cause of the "not having fire in his eyes".

**CVT** · March 14th, 2006 10:06 AM

the_wildthing: A few of his grades are below average and one is near the borderline. I assess that he can do so much better than that. He is a normal active kid who has no issue relating with his peers. We have not really talked with his teachers. However, there are no negative comments in his report card. When it is time to study, he suddenly loses his enthusiam, which was there a while ago. You know, the drive is missing....

**Bry** · March 14th, 2006 10:09 AM

I was two years younger than everyone in my class. That's because my parents wanted me to finish my studies ASAP. I highly advise parents not to do this for so many reasons.

CVT: School is overrated. I know a lot of people who graduated from good colleges, with good grades, and they're still jobless. Then again, I know some people that enrolled in so-so colleges, dropped out, and still landed good paying jobs. I say if you get passed 6th grade, that's all you really need in life. TV takes care of the rest.

/dons flame retardant suit

**luloym** · March 14th, 2006 10:12 AM

Modeling helps. If your son can see you reading around the house instead of watching tv, or playing videogames, or surfing the net, he might follow your lead.

**the_wildthing** · March 14th, 2006 10:21 AM

It was there a while ago, you say. So there must be a reason why he is losing interest. If you can ask him why and he gives a straight answer, that would be great. But he could choose not to answer the question and that'd be more difficult. You may want to talk to him about your experiences, how studying is important, how it is the key to anything he wants to become (unless he plans to become a bum).

Bry, it is true that there are a lot of out-of-school success stories, but they are more the exception rather than the rule. I don't want to get into that argument, I'm sure there are a wealth of resources that back up this claim. Suffice to say that I'd rather bring my daughter to a doctor who has finished medical school rather than some quack who finished sixth grade.

Of course the other side of the coin is if you see him excelling in another aspect, maybe that is where he will become successful.

**1D4LV** · March 14th, 2006 10:25 AM

i started formal schooling when i was 6 years old. straight grade 1 na. nung mga panahon naman nun hindi pa uso pre-school eh. and my mom just thought me that basics of everything before going through elementary.

yung kid ko, started going to school when he was 4. the school evaluated him to be fit in kinder level so kinder sya nag start. he will be graduating pre-school next saturday at age 5. so it means, 6 years old din sya mag-grade 1 kagaya ko. although i don't want to announce ths publicly kasi baka sabihin nyo mayabang ako, my son will graduate #2 (2nd honor) out of 70 students..

my wife and i don't push my son to study harder, but we guide him in his lessos everyday, making sure he understands his daily lessons and making sure he makes his homework by himself. hindi kami tutok, but we instill in him his responsibilities. study habits kung baga. we believe in the saying "in whatever you sow, you reap", so yun ang talagang ginagawa namin sa kanya. so far, as we have observed, may study habits na sya, pero syempre, hindi naman dapat bitawan yan.

a tip.... "let your child be a child.." don't expect something extraordinary out of him, and reward him for a job well done. if he wants to play first, let him play first, but make sure he finishes his daily responsibilities before ending his day.

may mga parents kasi na pinipilit yung bata maski hindi kaya, so nagiging traumatic ang bata. nagkakaroon pa ng inferiority complex dahil malalaman nya sooner or later a mahina sya compared to his classmates. and don't compare against other siblings. a child is special in his own right, may individual strengths and weaknesses yan. its up to the parent to exploit his child's strengths and develop his weakness.

imho and hth.

**CVT** · March 14th, 2006 10:28 AM

Bry: thank you for sharing your thoughts. Yes, I agree that I am still traditional in that a diploma can help a person land a good job, which translates to a better quality of life. However, it's a dog-eat-dog world here in the our country...., based on my limited perspective of the corporate world.

luloym: I seldom watch TV(except F1) and do take time out to check on the progress of their studies every night...

thanks.

**jim** · March 14th, 2006 10:32 AM

i started studying at the age of 4. my mom was my teacher. pag may mali ako katumbas nun ay kurot at palo

grabe talaga pero nagpapasalamat ako sa disiplina na itinuro ni mommy.

i encourage my 6 year old and five year old to read. bahala sila kung ano gusto nila basahin (wag lang **** syempre hehehe). then i ask them kung naintindihan ba nila yung binabasa nila. one time nahuli ko 5 year old son ko watching tv (educational) at lahat nung sinasabi nung nasa tv ginagaya nya. pero oftentimes pag nakikita kong puro laro at away sila, pinagagalitan ko at pinakukuha ko yung mga books nila para magbasa na lang sila. me and my wife try to be balanced. pag mataas grade ng 6 year old ko, we always tell him "ang galing-galing mo"and give him a hug or a kiss. pero pag minsan ayaw nyang mag-review pinagagalitan ko rin.

ang importante makausap mo ang anak mo at pinaka the best samahan mo sya sa pagre-review. matutuwa ang bata ng husto pag may kasama sya sa pagbabasa.

btw buying them yung mga v-tech na educational laptops really fires them up to study hard. nakita ko effect nyan. ngayon nagpapagalingan na ung 6 at 5 year old sons ko. yun na ang pinag-aawayan nila (sakit talaga sa ulo nyehehehehehe)

**roninblade** · March 14th, 2006 10:35 AM

i started studying when i was four or five years old. saling pusa lang ako nun sa mga kindergaten classes.

i also have a kid, he is turning four this june, and we enrolled him sa kumon to get him started on his study habits.

CVT, as to motivating your kid to study I would have to agree with the_wildthing - talk to your kid. kung hindi helpful yung answer nya, talk to his teachers.

Bry, school is not overrated. get a kid first then say that again. im just assuming here wala ka pang son/daughter. *me puts on flame suit too*