What Determines The Success Of Children In School? – Being Parents

Today, the school success of children  is determined by the combination of multi-faceted,  ranging from social and family interaction, guidance and adequate stimulation, a good diet.

The academic success has nothing to do with the fact that the child is studying more or less than his comrades. What is certain is that there are a number of incentives and conditions which, if present in your child’s life, will greatly improve their academic performance. We are going to go over the aspects that make children excel.

What is academic success?

When we talk about academic success, we are referring to a whole concept. It has nothing to do with the old conception that our child is successful if he gets top marks. Indeed, it has been proven that  the best results do not necessarily reflect a high degree of knowledge,  nor even that this  learning will  last over time.

We start from the principle that academic success  should, in fact, be the reflection of a high level of integration into society. In other words, the child must be able to cope well with his classmates and with his teachers; and it must also be able to process information fairly.

In view of the above,  the conception of academic success has changed in recent decades. The best student is no longer considered the one with the best grades. He is now the one who manages to balance all aspects of his life. In contrast, in the past, many of the best performing students had:

• Behavior problems.
• Difficulties in socializing.
• Psychosomatic illnesses.
• And so on.

What then becomes of a successful child? The one who manages to learn the precepts inculcated, as much by the parents as by the teachers, and who is also capable of integrating effectively into society. This does not mean that a student with difficulty in socializing is inferior, but that  his academic success should not be based solely on his qualifications.

Some tips to boost children’s academic success

Here are several recommendations for your child to achieve overall development and academic success:

Healthy habits

Good habits largely contribute to the well-being of people and should therefore be cultivated from childhood. Good sleep and proper nutrition provide children with the energy they need  to be able to carry out all the activities of the day.

It is estimated that  breakfast provides 25% of the daily calories the body needs to function properly. Children who do not eat breakfast present: low energy during lessons, lack of attention, headaches and they cannot remember information. The same thing happens when they don’t get enough sleep at night. Hence the importance of having a healthy lifestyle.

Watch out for the Pygmalion effect

We have to be careful with the expectations we create and the Pygmalion effect. On the other hand,  be aware of the demands you place on your children. It is often counterproductive to demand high results and rewards from them if they are not helped and supported in this process. Likewise, it is not desirable to convey to them the idea that high marks represent everything, they must also be taught to value the learning process.

Many children suffer from the stress of not being able to achieve the maximum grades their parents demand. It is therefore necessary to assess how good it is to demand from them without fully knowing their capabilities. Let us remember that  every child has the potential to learn, but we must respect their pace  and know how and when to help them so that they can benefit from the knowledge.

External motivations

For a child to be successful, it is not enough to just take them to school every day. He must be helped in several ways so that he feels an interest in learning. Ask him how his homework is going and sit down with him to do it. A very simple and useful way to support them is to provide them with the necessary tools to make them feel comfortable studying.

A good study atmosphere can considerably increase his interest in school activities  and, it can even help him to develop other similar interests such as: reading, writing, painting, drawing, etc. You can also encourage table discussions so that your child can intervene and can feel more confident doing so in class.

Team work

Evaluate with the teachers how the child is doing with his classmates. It is essential that you know if your child has friends in the classroom, or if he is not feeling well in school. If so, don’t rush and blame him for not having friends. Instead, evaluate the whole and gently teach it to reach out to others. It is also wise to:

• Educate with values.
• Give affection.
• Stimulate self-acceptance.
• Listen to what he has to say without judging him.

As parents, it is important to be your child’s guide and number one collaborator. Give him all the help he asks: get him to school on time, help him with his homework, if he needs group work, allow other children to come to you.

These simple tips will help you pay attention to your child’s learning needs. With you as a collaborator and guide, he will surely find total success in order to succeed in school.