Why is it so important to listen to your children when homeschooling

Did you know that by listening to your children you can help them learn? As homeschooling parents, our motivation is to contribute to the education of our children. However, we sometimes feel frustrated by our incapability to explain or teach something. The truth is, we don’t always have to have the answers. At times listening is the best course of action.

In a study, researchers asked children to explain a solution to a particular problem to themselves, their moms, or to just repeat the answer. The outcome showed that explaining the answer improved the child’s ability to resolve both difficult and similar problems over time. By merely listening, parents affect their child’s retention and understanding of the solution and problem significantly. The art of engaging a child in a topic at the right time, with a probing question, and profound listening skills is what is needed. Asking your little one to share their most interesting experience of the day is a good question that entails more than just a one-word answer. 

So next time when your child asks you a question, instead of just answering them as an obligation, take this as an opportunity to start a discussion. Sometimes the best approach is to answer the child’s question with another question. While putting this method into practice may seem like hard work. But when you make them think their problem through and reason, you provide more advantages in the long run than just casually telling them the answer.

As homeschooling parents, the main lesson here is that you must stop feeling like you should know everything and provide all the solutions and instead construct situations that require your children to explain their reasoning or knowledge to you and then be patient listeners when they are trying to explain. Homeschooling will be a lot more fun if you put this idea into practice.