As your child grows, their education becomes a more and more integral component of their daily lives. But far too many kids rooms are not conducive to studying at all. Too many kids wind up studying in bed, on the sofa, on the floor, on their cell phones, or in front of the TV - none of which are terribly supportive of a child's educational betterment.
The following are some simple and effective tips for creating an encouraging and productive study environment for your child:
- Incorporate study space into a custom theme bed by using a loft bed or a stowable Murphy bed, both of which create extra space in the room that can be used for studying
- Put in a desk that your child is expected to use as their official study space. When they're studying, they study at their desk - period. Don't allow studying to occur anywhere in their room but there. Put the desk in a corner of the room where there will be minimal distractions. In doing so, you create a space that will become increasingly more conducive to effective studying as time goes on.
- Don't forget a comfortable chair. You don't want a plush chair that may only promote sleepiness. Preferred is a straight backed, ergonomically designed chair that keeps them alert and on task. A cushion upholstered with a color or pattern that interests them may give them just that extra added incentive to sit down and buckle down with their schoolwork. Just make sure the chair fits them adequately to minimize (or even eliminate) the strain and discomfort they feel in their bodies while sitting there studying. Casters or wheels on the bottom of children's chairs is a bad idea for a child's study space that will only lead to distraction and potential accidents.
- Instruct your child to always keep the surface of their desk (preferably a no-glare finish) clean and cleared of clutter. Enforcing a clean surface to your child's desk encourages them to have the most efficient and proactive experience of studying there.
- Make sure there is adequate lighting in your child's study space. Place an adjustable, incidental light, like a desk lamp, on or by your child's desk so that they can angle the light as needed to focus best on their school work. The spread of light should be wide enough to cover the entire surface of the desk, and the shade on the fixture should be adequate enough to prevent the lamp's bulb from glaring in your child's eyes.
- Place adequate storage in your child's study space. A desk with drawers is a great way to enable kids to keep all their needed study materials - textbooks, writing implements, research materials, file folders, index cards, rulers, etc. - handy. Alternatively, a custom theme bed can also have useful storage space built in where your child can easily keep all their study materials close at hand.
- Display space helps add a sense of pride to any child's study space. Whether incorporated into your child's custom theme bed or built into the wall above their desk, shelving and display cases give your child a place to show off their academic accomplishments - be they gold stars, certificates, tests or reports with good grades, report cards, artwork, or school projects, giving your child a place to display their successes by their study space will only encourage them to have more successes there.
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Plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. .. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education.
(Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, On Philosophy of Education)
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