As your child gets older, you will see your child working on more writing assignments at home. Some children see writing as an opportunity to be creative and enjoy the writing process. Some children are not as enthusiastic about writing. If your child is struggling with writing, they can become frustrated and not want to write. As a parent, you want to help your child be successful and enjoy learning, reading and writing. The following are some helpful tips for parents so they can help their child with writing:
- Provide a quiet space at home for your child to be able to write and do any homework assignments.
- It’s tempting to tell your child what to write when they are frustrated with a writing assignment, but don’t. Instead, ask questions about their writing assignment, offer guidance and give them feedback. Your role is to support, not to do the work for them.
- Always be positive and encouraging. Review their work and give them feedback. It’s important to begin by providing positive feedback for all the things they did correctly. You can tell them about errors but be encouraging and supportive at the same time.
- Revising their writing. Explain to your child that writing requires multiple drafts and they should read their writing more than once.
- Help your child organize their writing. Breaking up the writing into smaller chunks can help your child not become overwhelmed.
- Your older child should be encouraged to keep a journal. They can write about any different topics that interest them. The more practice they get at writing, the better writer they will become.
- Encourage your child to become an expert at something they love to do. If your child loves robots, have them research, write about it and share it with others that might not be so familiar with the topic.