The lifelong benefits of lifelong learning

You want the best possible life for your child — every parent does. You work tirelessly to make sure your child has everything they need. Still, some things are out of your control. You give them guidance and instill in them the values needed to face the challenges that come their way, hoping they grow into independent, successful adults. Eventually, you have to trust you did your best. Lifelong learning can help. Lifelong learning is about staying curious and taking the initiative to independently learn and grow. Lifelong learning is built upon five “self” muscles that act as pillars to the best self-possible: self-discipline, self-motivation, self-improvement, self-reliance, and self-confidence. Like all muscles, the more work they do, the stronger and more resilient they become.   The sooner your child adopts lifelong learning, the sooner they can get on the right track to a fulfilling, independent life. It can be difficult for your child to understand the importance of embracing this lifestyle or recognizing its benefits, so lead by example, assist in making long-term goals, and provide encouragement. Self-Discipline Lifelong learning builds self-discipline, meaning your child will study, complete assignments, and do what they plan to do on time and without being told. They can rely on this self-study outside of school to figure out what habits, schedules, and methods work best for them as everyone is different. By perfecting their own routine and building the habit of consistent learning and practicing, your child will become a responsible learner outside of school and accomplish even more in life.   In the beginning, your child will still need your help, so give advice as they work on creating habits and routines. Do they work better when they focus for an hour, then take a thirty-minute break? Are they more likely to complete homework if they do it right after school? Habits also take time to form, so give them gentle reminders in the beginning.     Self-Motivation If your child strengthens their self-motivation muscle, they won’t have to wait for inspiration to strike to roll up their sleeves and get to work! Lifelong learning means your child should be enthusiastic about and take responsibility for what they choose to learn on their own. Your child should ask themselves why they want to learn something new (the purpose) and how they will learn it (the method). You can work on those questions with your child. The answers will give them the motivation they need to say farewell to procrastination! Also, if you encourage them often, they will start to encourage themselves. Your child will associate taking action with positive feelings and be able to do work even on days they just don’t feel like it. Self-Improvement Lifelong learning teaches your child to always work on improving themselves and the overall quality of their life, including good health and relationships. For health, simple acts like reading and picking up a new instrument can reduce stress levels, improve memory, offset cognitive decline, and increase the life span. For socializing, your child can bond with others over new hobbies and skills as well as communicate more clearly. Having a good social life can, in turn, boost happiness and networking skills.   The best way to help your child seek improvement is to become a role model. Show that you are always trying to elevate your own life, whether it’s by exercising consistently or learning new languages. You could even do these activities with your child. Self-Reliance Children rely on adults for assistance, but eventually, they will become the adults they can count on! This is important because learning and homework never end. For your child’s career, they will have to keep studying on their own time by attending seminars or reading. In their personal life, they will have new responsibilities like filing taxes. Although your child can continue receiving lessons or guidance, self-reliance means they will try to figure something out on their own before asking for help!   You can gradually let your child try things on their own, giving gentle nudges and tips as necessary. Then, celebrate whether they succeed or fail, so they know that the important thing here is they tried their best. Remind them that it’s okay to ask for help, but they should try things on their own first. Self-Confidence If your child is confident, they will never stop trying or putting themselves out there! Thankfully, nothing boosts confidence like tackling a challenge and learning they can do it on their own, and that’s exactly what lifelong learning is all about. The more your child fails, persists, then ultimately succeeds, the more they will have faith in themselves and know they can overcome anything since they’ve done it before. Self-confidence will help them do well on job interviews, take smart risks, and grow leadership skills. Confidence comes from repeatedly trying new things in spite of fear or anxiety, so gently nudge your child out of their comfort zone. Help your child understand their strengths and explain that their weaknesses are not disadvantages.   —   The benefits of lifelong learning are limitless, just like your child’s potential. JEI Learning Centre believes in every child’s infinite potential, which is why we are experts on lifelong learning with our JEI Self-Learning MethodⓇ. We know the long-term goal is giving your child the best life, and so everything we do is toward that greater vision. Rather than come up with solutions to immediate issues, like upping a grade from B to A, we bolster consistent study habits so the learning never stops. To help your child embark on this journey of lifelong learning to their best life possible, find a JEI Learning Centre near you!

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Why you should keep your child from overstimulation

Children these days are facing more screen time than ever. If in the past, they were limited to television at home, now they are given cell phones at an earlier age and reaching for their parents’ tablet at restaurants. Instead of looking at the scenery out the car window on road trips, they watch movies on DVD players or play games on handheld devices. The increased screen time and outlets for distraction introduce the problem of overstimulation. No longer are children told to keep themselves busy, but they have various tools already at hand to keep themselves busy. As a result, they grow a lower tolerance for boredom, and they do not know what to do with themselves when there is nothing stimulating them externally.   Children no longer give themselves the time to be bored, yet it is time worth having. That is why it is very important to limit stimulation so their brains can get a rest. Let them be bored. It can do wonders for them. Here is how boredom can help your child: Fosters Creativity It is natural for children deprived of outside stimuli to occupy themselves with whatever they have at hand--which is their imagination. When the mind feels disengaged, it will wander in order to find engagement, leading to creative thinking. This is an important skill to exercise. Sandi Mann, a researcher specializing in boredom, stated, “Once you start daydreaming and allow your mind to really wander, you start thinking a little bit beyond the conscious, a little bit into the subconscious, which allows sort of different connections to take place.” The idea that wandering minds lead to deeper thinking was backed by a study at the University of Central Lancashire. 80 participants in the experimental group performed a boring activity before having to think of as many uses for plastic cups as possible. Those 80 participants came up with many more creative answers than participants within the control group. As previously written, creativity is already deemed a very desirable trait in employees (LINK). Companies look for this when hiring and are likely to value it even more in the future, so have your child practice thinking outside of the box! Let them make up games in the backyard or chat with imaginary friends. Let them consume less and create more! Increases ability to focus It may be worrisome for some parents to see their child constantly staring out the window and daydreaming. However, believe it or not, letting the mind wander will actually increase their ability to focus on a task later on.   A brain that is constantly stimulated will lead to shorter and shorter attention spans. Think of all the overwhelming apps and perks a phone has to offer. Dr. Joseph Firth of Western Sydney University said, “[T]he limitless stream of prompts and notifications from the Internet encourages us towards constantly holding a divided attention -- which then in turn may decrease our capacity for maintaining concentration on a single task.” This also leads to constantly multi-tasking, and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin says, “[Y]ou’re rapidly shifting from one thing to the next, depleting neural resources as you go.” This kind of overstimulation and bombardment of tasks will decrease the efficacy of your child’s brain functions. If you remove things that will distract or overwhelm them, your child will be able to space out, which will then give their brain a rest until they need it for a specific task, such as studying or solving a problem. At that point, the brain will have reached its full potential for focus from the recharge. Hones observation skills Lack of stimulation would not only increase the ability to focus but also hone observation skills. It may seem boring to a child to sit on a blanket in the park and view the scenery. It may seem pointless to sit by a window and people watch. However, just because it seems like nothing is going on does not mean your child is doing nothing. No matter what, the brain is working to a degree, whether it is active or passive. In this case, your child may be observing what is going on around them. Rather than being bombarded with information, your child is calmly taking note of things, whether they recognize this or not. This is a practice of meditation and mindfulness. Removing stimulation gives them an opportunity to take in what is around them and notice things much more keenly than if they had been distracted by something or many somethings. Have you ever experienced this after playing the same game over and over again? You still see the Tetris or Candy Crush screen in your mind’s eye, whether you are sitting around or trying to sleep in bed. Even after, it inhibits your observation skills and holds your mind captive. Quiets their mind Building on the previous point, your child needs to quiet the mind. A lot of times, being busy is a distraction. It can distract them from things that actually have to be done, like choosing to read the news over working on an essay. It can pull them away from troubling feelings, like the pestering thought that they do not belong anywhere or stress that they will never be good enough. Preoccupying or diverting themselves does not solve any problems, nor does it actually make them feel better, because those issues are still there. Once they remove all the stimulants, your child will be able to actually listen to their thoughts, or even to quiet the mind if the thoughts are unhelpful. This will help them figure things out, trust their voice, and learn to take effective action. Sometimes, it is good to be alone with your thoughts. Improves self-discipline and patience This then leads to an improved self-discipline. Your child may feel like they have to be doing something all the time in order to feel productive, even if it is constantly researching or watching TikTok videos. However, nothing is actually being done. By encouraging your child to take a break from YouTube or Snapchat, you are really encouraging their self-discipline. Once they learn to fight the urge to flood their minds with irrelevant information and all the emotions that come with the Internet, they can redirect that newfound self-discipline to purposeful action. They will stop procrastinating. They will be better at time management. They will actually pay more attention to their surroundings and friends. This will also increase their patience. Often games and apps give frequent rewards with fanfare-like music or fun graphics to provide a sense of achievement. That is a lot of stimulants, and also sets up unrealistic expectations for real-life success. Staying away from that may help them work on long-term goals with patience instead of striving for quick gratification. == All of the advantages mentioned above will lead to many more advantages in your child’s life, and it all stems from removing stimulation and embracing boredom. That is where it starts. There is such an emphasis on the hustle these days, but more and more people are realizing they need to take a step back and truly live in the present, let their minds wander, and embrace the excitement of life. Let your child appreciate the wonderful portals that boredom can open up for them if given the chance. Set restrictions on their Internet usage. Free up their schedules. Let them wander and play outdoors by themselves. Whenever they whine, “I’m bored!” tell them, “That’s good.” Create times for you to sit with your child and do separate activities together in silence, like painting or fishing. Now that you have finished reading this, you can unplug and let your own mind wander into fun daydreams and imagine a brighter future for your child!

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Must-have skill for children #9: journaling

Children can have a hard time putting their thoughts to words, and this can get even trickier as they experience new things as a teenager. However, there is a great method for building up their communication skills and helping them understand themselves. That method is journaling daily, which can contribute to your child’s academic and personal growth! The benefits make it more than just a hobby—it’s a lifelong skill your child must-have. Journaling isn’t to be confused with a diary, which is more about documenting days and specific events. A journal is about exploring thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Both can be great for your child to keep, but journaling daily can specifically boost your child’s life in two major ways: Greater Performance and Results Director Julia of the JEI Learning Centre in Livingston says, “Clear writing is clear thinking, so the better they can express themselves, the better they can share their ideas, opinions, and arguments. Good writing skills leave a lasting impact on children’s self-learning, school performance, and career.” A couple of experiments have proven just that. "The University of Toronto asked students to reflect on their past, discover what motivates them, and envision the future through writing. As a result, the number of dropouts at the school went down while the number of goals students reached went up.   In another experiment, senior engineers who had been laid off formed an expressive writing group, which was tasked with writing about their feelings on losing their job and looking for a new one in a journal. They wrote 20 minutes daily for five days. After three months, more than 26% of the writing group and less than 5% of the control group engineers who did not journal were employed full-time. After eight months, the numbers increased to more than 52% and less than 19% respectively.   These experiments prove that expressive writing can improve the quality of life and likelihood of success! Therefore, your child should organize their thoughts and visualize a course of action through the daily practice of journaling. Improved Mental and Physical Health Journaling daily is also a way to relieve stress. Because the senior engineers in the previous experiment did this, they gained clarity and applied to jobs more effectively. It is important to give your child some quiet time to write so they can understand and validate their feelings. Then, your child can grow and move on from negative feelings as well as take notice of and appreciate positive ones. Better mental health also results in better physical health. Psychologist and researcher James Pennebaker asked patients to write for 20 minutes for three days about their stress. Four months later, 47% of them saw health improvements as opposed to only 24% of those in the control group, who wrote about their day like a diary. Pennebaker saw that journaling helped reduce and manage stress, which then helped the physical body heal faster and work better. School can be a very stressful time for your child, which can result in lethargy, digestive problems, headaches, and other ailments. An outlet like a journal can help them stay mentally and physically healthy by keeping them company and soothing them everyday! —   Now that you are aware of the benefits, you can try to encourage journaling by adding it to your child’s daily routine. They can write “morning pages,” meaning that one of the first things they do in their day is write out all their thoughts, or they can keep a journal by their bed as part of their nighttime routine. Buy your kid some fun notebooks and pens to up their excitement! Also, assure them that this is their private journal, so no one else will read their entries. Prompts are a great way to start the thinking process, so your child can try these: 1) What is one area of your life that you would like to improve in?   2) Why is personal growth so important to you? 3) What is one way you have grown over the past year, and how did you accomplish this? 4) What are 10 things that make you happy, and how can you experience these moments more    frequently? 5) Imagine that you are talking to your younger self.  What recent accomplishment would make your    younger self the most proud? Introspection is incredibly important for success, so start your child on this path of self-discovery as early as possible. Encourage your child to use their journaling skill daily so they can learn about themselves and fly toward a brighter future. For even greater results and for more goal orientation, pair journaling daily with creating a vision board, then watch your child shine! To further improve your child’s journaling experience, they can practice writing vividly through our Common Core-aligned JEI Reading & Writing and JEI English programmes. Contact your local JEI Learning Centre today to learn more!

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