Creative Ideas to Motivate Children as Virtual Learning Looms Ahead

Behavior Analyst, Chris Messina, and Landerholm Family Law’s Marketing Director, Kari Landerholm, discuss creative ideas to help motivate children as many families prepare for a virtual school year. 

The biggest step we can take to set ourselves up for success is to reprioritize our expectations for ourselves, as parents, as well as for our children. Expectations are going to have to, and they should, be shifted and modified. 

An activity to help prioritize expectations is to get out sticky notes and make a collection of expectations for yourself, as well as for your child. Once you’ve created a list of expectations that feel feasible, illicit your child’s opinion. Allow them to be part of the conversation and to input their own opinions of what they feel they can accomplish, and the most effective way to structure their day. 

Parents should remember that the “shame game” will get you nowhere. Remember that every parent is struggling in some way, shape, or form. If there was ever there was a time to stop shaming and comparing, it's now--it is an exercise in utter frustration and has no utility.

Even if a child has a skill within their repertoire to achieve something in school, that  doesn’t mean they will be able to accomplish the same goals within their new home-school environment. A child’s behavior is largely dictated by their environment. It’s not always a realistic expectation to see identical performance from a child within a home environment without social cues. One way to help this is to create a space for your child to work, such as in an office or at a desk within their room, that doesn’t require them to tune out stimuli and will indicate that “this is the place where you work”.

Consistency and a reliable schedule can help to reduce anxiety in children, as they do not always have the ability to self-modulate. At the core of this is the need for empathy and relating to our kids, so that parents can then collaborate with their kids to come up with solutions that everyone can live with. 

One silver lining to virtual learning is the opportunity to have concentrated time with children. Take this time to practice empathy and relationship building with your child. If your child is in a position where you’re worried about their mental wellness, remember that you cannot fill all roles within their life—parent, teacher, chef, counselor. Employ the help of professionals, such as the school counselor or a pediatrician.

La analista de comportamiento, Chris Messina, y la Directora de Marketing de Landerholm Family Law, Kari Landerholm, discuten acerca de ideas creativas para motivar a los niños mientras muchas familias se preparan para un año escolar virtual.

El paso más grande que podemos dar para tener éxito es replantear las expectativas para nosotros, como padres, así como también para nuestros hijos. Las expectativas deben, y tienen que ser cambiadas y modificadas.

Una actividad para ayudar a priorizar las expectativas es usar notas adhesivas y hacer una colección de expectativas para usted, así como para su hijo. Una vez que haya creado una lista de expectativas que se sean factibles, tome en cuenta la opinión de su hijo. Permítales formar parte de la conversación y que den sus opiniones sobre cuáles son sus límites y la forma más efectiva de estructurar su día.

Los padres deben recordar que el "juego de la vergüenza" no los llevará a ninguna parte. Recuerde que todos los padres están luchando de diferentes formas o maneras. Si alguna vez ha habido un mejor momento para dejar de avergonzar y comparar es este: es una práctica de absoluta frustración y no tiene ninguna utilidad.

Incluso si un niño tiene una habilidad dentro de su repertorio para lograr algo en la escuela, eso no significa que podrá lograr los mismos objetivos dentro de su nuevo entorno de hogar-escuela.