When your child is struggling with motivation at school, it’s hard to know what you can do as a parent to encourage them.

Fear not, as we’ve put together some simple tips to help you.

So if you’re wondering how can you motivate a child for learning in affordable and ingenious ways, read on!

Create a study space

Motivate your child at school by creating a dedicated space for them to study at home. This could be a corner of their bedroom or somewhere else in the house — it doesn’t matter where, as long as your child knows it’s their exclusive space.

Involve your child in setting up and decorating their study area. Let them choose a desk and chair and get them a pinboard that they can adorn with anything that inspires them, whether that’s motivational quotes, printed facts and figures or artwork that they like.

If you’re struggling for space at home to provide a separate area for your child’s study area, think out of the box. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Make use of that dead space under the stairs.
  • Take the doors off an unused wardrobe to create a study alcove.
  • Designate an unused section of your kitchen counter.
  • Fit a wall-mounted unit with a fold-down desk to save space in your child’s bedroom.
  • Use wall dividers to section off part of your living space.
  • Convert your garden shed to an outdoor study room for use in the warmer months.

Investigate different learning styles

Some children don’t respond to traditional ways of learning but positively blossom when offered an alternative method.

Let’s take a look at three of the most common learning styles:

  • Visual learners learn by seeing. They respond to pictures, charts, diagrams and videos. You’ll know your child is a visual learner if they like reading, enjoy drawing and love imaginative play
  • Auditory learners learn by listening. They will respond to spoken instructions or facts set to words and music. If you have an auditory learner, they may be musical, enjoy conversations (and could be a chatterbox!) and may even have a tendency to talk to themselves
  • Kinesthetic learners learn by movement and touch. They will need to move around while learning or touch an object to get a sense of its significance. An auditory learner will likely have an aptitude for physical activity, enjoy building models and could also have a habit of constantly moving or fidgeting

The takeaway is that each child is an individual and will have their own unique way of learning. If you feel that your child is being made to learn in a way that doesn’t suit them, discuss the different options with their teacher and encourage learning in this way at home.

You can find out more about children’s learning styles here.

Celebrate your child’s achievements

Recognise and celebrate your child’s achievements — big and small — and you will foster an atmosphere of encouragement and motivation.

Even if your child hasn’t achieved top marks in a test, if you know they’ve put the effort in, then rewarding them will encourage them to do better next time.

Here are some easy ways to celebrate those goals:

  • A good, old-fashioned 'well done'
  • Reward charts with stickers for individual achievements and a reward when a certain number has been collected
  • Let your child choose what’s for dinner — even if that’s a takeaway!
  • A small financial reward
  • Spending one-on-one time with your child doing an activity of their choice — this is effective if they have siblings who share your attention

Offer motivational wristbands

Learning your times tables is one of childhood’s rites of passage. While some children breeze through them, others may struggle.

Multibandz are designed to make learning easy and fun for your child and incentivise them at the same time. They’re a series of wristbands with the individual times tables printed on them. The idea is that you give your child one band at a time, starting with the 1 x table. As they learn each times table, you can reward them with the next wristband.

For extra inspiration, the 11 x table is printed on a silver wristband and the 12 x table on a gold wristband. And the 6 to 9 x tables are glow in the dark, so there’s always something for your child to get excited about.

You can adapt this idea by using plain wristbands as rewards for any other learning goals — kids love wearing wristbands and collecting things, after all!

You can also choose to customise wristbands with a message of your choice, making them personalised and unique to your child.

Inspiration for motivation

Finding inspiration for how to motivate your child at school is half the battle. Once you’ve got some great ideas, you’ll see the difference in your child’s attitude and feel that a weight has been lifted from your shoulders.

You can start small with one of the most affordable ways to reward your child — wristbands. Check out our online collection and find a wristband to inspire your child.

Remember, it’s all about responding to your child’s individual needs so you can experiment with different tips and tricks to put the love back into learning!