So your child is enrolled in the martial arts, congratulations on taking a positive step for their overall growth and development.
However you’ve noticed that karate practice is not as easy as it looks and you want to get your child to practice at home as well as in class.
How do you do this without burning both you and your child out?
After all you work hard all day and are probably paying good money for martial arts lessons so you naturally want your child to be successful.
Here are three simple tips to get them to practice at home.
- Create a designated area for practice
Depending on the size of your house or apartment, do your best to create an open space big enough to practice.
There is absolutely no chance for success if there is no space in which to practice.
The good news is that a practice area for karate does not have to be big.
An area of 10ft by 10ft is plenty and you can even function with less by being creative with your practice drills.
- Agree on a set practice time each day
In order to successfully follow through on chosen goals you need to consistently help your child schedule a time to practice or study.
If you do this then you give them every chance of success.
When structuring a practice schedule for your them you should set a fixed practice time each day that does not interfere with school homework or dinner plans.
Another important point to keep in mind is the length of the practice session.
You can be sure of burning your child out if you make them practice for one hour each evening.
I would recommend a practice session of no more than 20 minutes each day.
You can do a lot in 20 minutes and with a well-structured training program, your child’s progress will be practically guaranteed.
- Reward your child for fulfilling his or her end of the bargain
Positive praise and encouragement goes a long way to creating motivation in your child as they really want to please you.
However a few tangible rewards wouldn’t hurt either.
These rewards can be as simple as being able to watch their favorite TV show, or playing their favorite video game, or being excused from house chores for the weekend if they complete a full week of self-study sessions.
Or if you’re feeling really generous then a prize of a new book or toy can go a long way to motivating them even more.
You know your child best and you know what motivates them most.
If you can build a rewards system into their training program then the chance of long term success will go up considerably.
With these three simple tips for motivating your child to practice at home, you should have the basis for creating an effective self-study training program.