Teaching Good Study Habits

Perhaps the most important skill your child can learn in school is how to study effectively. By learning how to take notes, read for content, actively listen and study for exams, your child will not only achieve more in school but she'll take these skills with her to college and into her career. Bad study habits, on the other hand, interfere with learning. If your daughter loses confidence in her abilities as a student, the resulting insecurity might cause her to limit her future options in college or the workplace.

Clearly, it's in the best interest of your children to teach them good study skills--but changing bad habits can be challenging. Some children have no difficulty letting go of their bad habits; others consistenly fight any change. Either way, with the right techniques and plenty of perseverence, it is possible to transform a study-phobic child into an organized, efficent student.

Read on to learn how to cater to your child's particular learning style and to find tips on creating study schedules.

Sylvia Rimm, Ph.D., is the director of the Family Achievement Clinic at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and the author of 12 books, including her most recent, SEE JANE WIN: THE RIMM REPORT ON HOW 1,000 GIRLS BECAME SUCCESSFUL WOMEN.