How adults can help a younger student
Self-study is the best way to prepare a young child for life and further education. Sometimes elementary and high school students need some advice or extra support.
Starting school is a great challenge for parents / guardians because a young child becomes a social being who needs to learn new knowledge, gain experiences, new habits and responsibilities, face personalities who are an authority and are outside a safe home environment. Children also get used to competitive flight and develop a sense of cooperation with peers.
Then the younger child meets for the first time with people who do not accept him unconditionally and do not unconditionally meet the needs of the child as he has in a protected family environment. At the same time, the child faces new challenges and obligations. Each child is a special individual whose personality manifests itself most in relationships with other people (which may or may not be present or may not even exist in general). Thus, not all children feel the same zeal for new school obligations. Some are more motivated while others are less curious or interested in knowledge and school. Independent learning of school materials and writing homework is an imperative that teachers and parents strive for, although it is rarely achieved in practice. Acquiring work habits is a long-term process that depends on the child and begins in the school desk on the first day of school. The quality and quantity of additional help changes during the years of maturation, better understanding, development of independence and guidance from important people in the child’s life.
The developmental needs of children differ in primary and secondary school
Primary school students can get the best help with understanding parents and other adults from the home and encouraging work habits, with the behavior of adults from the children’s home playing a big role. A child gets used to being idle and enjoying leisure time if he sees an older family member that he has no work obligations or avoids various jobs. Then for the child, work is a hardship and not a pleasure and a necessity of life. The gradual introduction of daily housework contributes to the development of work habits. The child then slowly gets used to establishing the necessary working relationships, learns to appreciate the work of others and becomes more independent, responsible and persistent. He learns to endure all work and school obligations and proves to his elders and peers that he should do all the work, not just the most necessary ones. Older people can help the child learn new reading, but they should not do homework for students – warn pedagogues and psychologists.
Experts say it is important to distinguish between children with developmental disabilities and children with learning disabilities. In the former, difficulties are manifested in early childhood, while in the second group of children the problems begin with the beginning of schooling.

The attitude of the environment is also important for success.

1. Children at an early age in primary school may experience problems and difficulties with writing, reading, drawing, learning new concepts, pronouncing complete sentences, reading comprehension, memorizing new information, expressing thoughts and feelings orally or in writing, solving math problems, passing from one activity to another, acquiring new skills, understanding and adhering to the rules of board games.
2. The beginning of adolescence includes the formation of important relationships of equality, reciprocity and reciprocity with other peers. High school children are more likely to have problems with oral and written expression, following instructions, grammatically correct oral / written communication, organization, attention, space, memory and timing, understanding with peers and problems with self-confidence.
3. In all these situations, parents / guardians have an important role to play. They encourage and support the child’s independence and develop the child’s attitude towards learning at school and at home, because success and failure do not affect the child’s motivation to learn but the reactions of parents / adults, teachers and other important adults.
4. It is important that the instructions for performing the activities are simple and clear. It would be good for the adult to set his / her own example, support the child and praise the child after each successfully completed activity or successfully written homework.
5. Parents can plan a schedule and agree with the child on how to achieve school results. It is also necessary to plan breaks in activities and reduce disruptive learning factors (for example, watching TV, playing games, etc.).
6. It is good for a child to have a permanent place to learn. The child does not forget to intentionally do homework or do some school activity, nor are mistakes in the child’s written compositions intentional, although the child is expected to explain the reasons for not performing the activity. Then you need to have the full attention of adults.
7. It would be nice to reward somehow (with a positive reaction, for example, praise, smile, touch, etc.) a child for a well-done school activity that follows immediately after the activity. Let it be the child’s effort will be rewarded with an adequate reward.

8. Adults should not tell a child about promises that are unrealistic and unfulfillable or out of their control. The child will not develop inner motivation and independence. The needs of a child should not be the needs of adults.
9. Find positive ways to involve siblings and other household members so that they are not neglected solely to give more attention to a child with disabilities.
10. If the child has developed work habits and does not lag too far behind with school obligations, then he / she will probably not need any additional help. Some children learn more easily in the company of peers and other children. Therefore, the child’s attitude about the best way of learning and acquiring new knowledge should be examined slowly. There are important individual differences among children because not all children have the same zeal for learning. Parental support is important or a private teacher (if parents are too busy with work). It would always be good for the child to first try to learn new material on their own or make up for some missed material. This is important for practicing and strengthening the child’s will as it develops a sense of duty that every job needs to be done correctly and to the end.
11. Parents are often in doubt if the child gives in to grades in school and repeats that there are no problems. Training children for independent work is a continuous but unobtrusive care and constant check. By controlling the child’s work, the elders help or give certain help, but only if it is necessary. So the child should be encouraged to perform their own tasks and responsibilities independently. A child without reproach should be shown and taught even by his own example and never constantly criticized.
12. In a family with more children, a kind of competitive spirit is often established about which child is the best student, athlete and the like. However, the competitive spirit often leads to unhealthy feelings (envy and jealousy, feelings of anger, hurt, guilt). In families with more children, there is also rivalry between brothers and sisters. However, for the healthy development of the child, it is best to explain to the child that he is competing with his own personality and that he always tries to be better than his own personality (and not from others and not in relation to his brother or sister or another family member).