Creating Strong Study Habits

What You Can Do to Help

By Sheila Cosgrove and Susan Flowers

There are many elements that contribute to your child’s educational success—finding the right school, building a strong relationship with their teachers and even encouraging their participation in extracurricular activities. But one of the most important components of a thriving educational career is the establishment of good study habits.

Educational achievement hinges on parental involvement that evolves to fit the child’s needs, from the first day of first grade to high school graduation and beyond.

Communication with your child is critical, both when establishing a study routine and afterward, to ensure that things go smoothly. That means not only telling a child to do his or her homework, but talking about their existing study habits in order to help improve them.

Where and When to Study

The key to establishing good study habits is to start early, says Katherine Carroll, associate director of the Marist Academic Center at Marist, an independent Catholic school for students in grades 7-12.

“What habits can you set up now, even before they necessarily need them?” she asks. “That can be something as simple as a planner. Our seventh- and eighth-grade students maybe don’t need a planner yet, but eventually they’re not going to be able to keep track of everything in their minds. So you build the habit of putting things in a planner so that when they really need to start doing that, it’s second nature to them.”

Elektra Thompson, an executive functioning specialist with the Academic Resource Center at The Lovett School, emphasizes the importance of marking a break between the school day and the rest of the child’s day.

“If you look at it as, your job is going to school, when you get home you need to wash your face and put on some comfortable clothes, so you’re taking off your work clothes,” she says. “Take a 10- or 15-minute break, get a snack, refuel. You need to be able to take that time for yourself before you dive into studying.”

“I’m definitely a proponent of the Pomodoro Method, which recommends 20 to 25 minutes of focused work and a 5- to 10-minute break, to help improve your focus,” Carroll says.

A well-defined space for doing homework and reviewing lessons is key.

“Do they have a designated space where they work? Even if it’s not a formal desk or a formal room—maybe it’s sitting at this part of the kitchen table,” Carroll says. “But one thing I always tell my students is, do not do your homework on your bed.”

When a child sits down to study is also important. But that time doesn’t have to be when the student gets home from school.

“If they have extracurricular activities, they may not get home until 8 o’clock, but that doesn’t mean their work can’t start before then,” Carroll says. “They might be sitting at school for a practice that doesn’t start until 4:45, but school lets out at 3 o’clock. Or maybe you’re dropping them off at 7:30 but school doesn’t start until 8 a.m. I’m not saying they have to spend every minute of their free time doing work. But when their schedules are so packed, you don’t have to wait until you’re home. Where can you find little blocks of time throughout the day where they can get something done?”

Understanding Your Child’s Brain

But making sure that your child practices proven study habits is only half of the equation, says Tamara Hamilton, executive functioning specialist for middle school students at The Lovett School.

“Learning isn’t just about behavior and habits, it’s about understanding brain development,” she says. “That’s where executive function comes in.”

Executive functions are a set of mental skills that help us manage our thoughts, actions and emotions. “That’s what tells us, when we get up in the morning, the first decision we’re going to make,” says Thompson. “It’s what keeps us organized. All these things are happening in our brain, sometimes without us even having to think about it.

“Helping students understand how their brains are wired is a crucial part of helping them know what to do, when to do it, and how to get it done,” Hamilton says.

“For example, if you have attention issues, you’ll want to figure out how to practice training your brain to maintain focus. That might mean tracking how many times you’re distracted within one study period, and how do you bring yourself back to what you’re focusing on? Maybe you’re only good for 10 minutes at a time, and you need to do something else and come back to it. Helping students figure out how their brains work helps them use that knowledge to learn more effectively.”

“Encourage them to think about what their own learning styles are,” says Dennis Freeman, co-founder of In-Home Tutors. “Some children do really well visually.

Other children are more auditory learners. If you’re an auditory learner, have your mom quiz you verbally for a test. If you’re a visual learner, take some scrap paper and take notes.”

“There’s no guarantee that the teacher is going to teach the way that you prefer,” says Carroll. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t apply that and study in a way that you prefer. The teacher might teach you in a way that’s very auditory. So when you go home, think about how you can turn that into something that’s more visual to help you process the information.”

Many schools have research labs or academic centers like Lovett’s Academic Resource Center or the Marist Academic Center. These resources often have counselors, teachers, learning specialists and tutors on hand to help students identify and address different areas where they may need some assistance. Carroll, at Marist, for instance, teaches a class on “Strategies and Skills for Success.”

Parental Involvement

Last but not least, don’t forget who the most important figure is in your child’s school life—the person who teaches him or her every day. “I don’t think there’s ever anything wrong with the parent having a relationship with teachers,” Freeman says. “So, whether that means shooting an email or taking them aside at the school open house, just to let them know what’s going on, that will make the teacher more likely to communicate with the parent.”

At every stage of your child’s education, being a motivated parent can do a great deal to ensure academic success. Paying attention, creating structure and giving your young scholar the space they need can go a long way toward putting them on the right path.

Tips for Effective Studying

1. Before beginning a study session, have your child write down the goals for that day’s study time.

2. Have your child study at the same time each day.

3. Keep a daily log so that your child can track his or her progress and accomplishments.

4. Major projects and papers can be intimidating for children. Help your child get started by breaking large tasks into small, doable pieces. This practice will also help your child to form good habits and avoid procrastination.

5. Don’t overload or overschedule your child to the point that studying is secondary to extracurricular activities.