9 Essential Tips To Encourage A Teenager To Study

Do you find yourself getting into conflict with your teen and want to know how to encourage a teenager to study? Is a lack of motivation causing friction in your home? I hear you because I have been there as a mum and a teacher in a large secondary school.

Revision and studying are essential skills that teenagers need to learn in order to get good grades. As parents, we can encourage a teenager to study if we implement some strategies that can help an unmotivated teenager learn some good study habits.

Do you ask yourself how to motivate teenagers to study? I have some of the answers!

Many students find studying at home challenging despite their good intentions and that is because in schools we do so much for our students. We haven’t always taught them to be independent learners and yet this is what is needed as they get older. Learning how to motivate teenagers to study needs to be a joint responsibility between the student, schools and parents.

We are often presented with an image of the lazy teenager in the media and it can become a self-fulling prophecy that is what we expect from our own kids. It has become so commonplace that many people simply assume that being lazy and unmotivated is a natural consequence of adolescence. Such thinking, while understandable, is essentially misguided and doesn’t help us motivate, encourage, reward, and support our teenagers to be the best that they can be.

How to motivate teenager to study?

Teenagers, like all of us, will have a preferred learning style and it is important to establish what methods work for each individual. Some will be auditory learners, some kinesthetic and others visual learners. Understanding learning styles is important when it comes to studying at home. What I do know is that reading and doing nothing else is not a good revision approach! The first step in a study plan is to work out what methods work for you.

This is a really great post on teaching Brainstorming Skills that will aid revision and learning, it will help most learning styles and really helps you develop your subject matter.

I am frequently asked when is the best time to start revising for GCSE’s? And the simple answer is right from when they start the academic work!

Getting a teen into a good study or revision routine is essential for success in my opinion as a teacher. I know first-hand from twelve years of teaching that those who work steadily throughout their courses have less stress and are usually more successful at the end.

If a child has not started revising before the Summer of GCSE’s they haven’t really found what works for them or how they learn best. It is easy to sit in a bedroom looking out of your window daydreaming or constantly checking your social media on a phone. It is much more difficult to actually study effectively.

However, this post will help parents help their children to develop good revision techniques and it will show parents how to encourage a teenager to study and find positive ways to support academic achievements.

9 Tips To Help Your Teenager Study

• Firstly a young person needs to understand the ‘why’ Whether it is learning something they don’t see the value in or even interests them is still part of learning. Helping teenagers see meaningless tasks as part of life’s greater goals is a valuable message to pass on. Getting school work done is necessary for a teen who wants to get into the university course of their choice, or to be considered for their dream job one day. Talk to your teen about why they need to do something. Give studying a purpose and have a specific goal in mind can help with that intrinsic motivation that is required.
• Secondly a pleasant environment or study area, I honestly believe not having a cluttered work area helps with study skills. A cluttered space is not easy to work in as there are too many distractions. Good lighting is also vital, I am always turning lights on when the children are working at the table or reading as I don’t think they notice it getting darker around them. Have a workspace in their rooms or in a communal area of the house that they associate with a study session or working. If your teenager is easily distracted the dining table can be ideal as you are on hand to answer questions and support them during study time.
• Set goals with study sessions. It makes sense to have a timetable or plan with actionable steps as then the studemt will feel that they have accomplished something which helps with staying motivated and positive during the revision process. It is important that the student has a sense of control over what they are doing.
• Have stationary to hand – it sounds obvious but I always have a stock of coloured card for making notes, bigger A3 paper for doing mindmaps, and then blu tack for sticking them to walls. This should be readily available to your teenagers and aid greater success. If they don’t feel that they have the correct paper or it’s a faff to find some then they will not put the same effort in.
• Ask questions – constantly. Show interest in what they are studying/revising ask questions about it and it will help consolidate their understanding. Chloe likes me to test her also her little brother is great at testing her which aids his knowledge to so this is a win win! From personal experience as a teacher, I know that if a student can explain a topic or describe something in an effective way or teach it to someone else they have a deep understanding that goes far beyond just memorising it. This is when they show a greater depth to their learning, therefore if you can ask questions and the young person can explain it they have really nailed it.
• Healthy snacks need to be on hand. Remember how you slump if your blood sugar drops and how tired you can become late afternoon. Remember your child has already put in a long day at school and now they are doing even more studying or daily homework.

• Reward them. We all like being praised and treated, a reward can be verbal but also there is nothing wrong with the odd treat, I will sometimes make a lovely hot chocolate with all the trimmings after finishing off a project or a revision session. I believe in motivating our teenagers too, like we would work harder if a pay rise or promotion is on the cards, our teenagers will also be motivated by appropriate external rewards. I have previously chatted on This Morning on this very subject!
• Little and often works best. No one benefits from leaving homework, revision or projects to the last minute that just causes tension and fraught words. Have a plan where you have set times for academic activities and social activities. Write deadlines and key dates on a family calendar and then they don’t surprise you or your teenager. Little tip I encourage my students to photocopy their exam timetable and stick a copy on the fridge or noticeboard for family members to also see.
• Study sessions need to take you out of your comfort one. It is really easy to to play safe, effective studying needs to be challenging and you are filling your gaps in learning as well as going over the main points. In real terms I know that completing practise papers or past questions is the most effective way of studying.
• If your teenager is struggling with a particular topic and you cannot help them (and believe me it is hard teaching your own children) do consider a tutor. For example, if they need some extra help with their law school admission test preparation, you can hire an LSAT tutor online to make things easier. I have tutored and paid for tutoring for my teenagers. A subject specialist is a powerful tool and can reignite the passion needed to master a blocking point. Tutorful offer face to face tutors or online tutors for all subjects and ages. The site works like a marketplace where you can search for a tutor, message with them and then book sessions when you are ready. I have found this approach works really well as you can talk to a couple of tutors and find one that you connect with. Each tutor sets their own price which is based on experience and qualifications. Many are qualified teachers but there are also subject specialists who have no degrees but are not qualified teachers, therefore, you decide what works for you.
• We all want our teenagers to do well and it is our duty to support and encourage them with their education. We can be positive role models and support their learning in many ways and this can be the difference between success and failure. Good luck!

Sharing is caring!