“This worksheet/topic again? Why do I have to do this again?”
Your child asks you these questions almost every day, and you answer by saying “because you have to” just so there will be no more questions asked. You notice how he shows disbelief over solving the same problems and trying to understand the same topic. Also, you begin to see how he is slowly showing less interest in learning and starting to give excuses just to delay doing what he needs to do. So you start asking yourself the same question, “Why does he have to do it again?”
To help your child better understand the practice of doing things again and again and to help you explain these to him in a simpler manner, here are four reasons why repetition is beneficial.
- Mastery
Practice makes perfect. Repeatedly doing something makes your child better understand it. Soon, he can identify just what needs to be done to a problem at an initial glance. Also, it helps your child master the basics and the simple topics before moving on to more challenging topics. Remind your child that athletes and dancers do this too especially when they need to perfect a play to win or to deliver flawless and outstanding performance.
- Memory
It is often said that what one knows, one can easily remember. In this case, once your child tackles advanced math, he can easily remember how to solve a problem since he learned it on his own. He knows what needs to be done first and how long he can finish it. He can also better explain it to friends in the simplest terms since he knows what questions and challenges they may have (which he might have also asked before). Liken this to singers who can sing certain songs at an instance with their eyes closed simply because they can easily remember the lyrics and melody.
- Discipline
Learn from mistakes. There is always a silver lining, a good thing to gain from not getting it right the first time. One would never want to make the same mistake again especially when one does it numerous times. Your child will do so once he is made aware of his mistakes, and he answers a problem again and again until he gets it right. He learns to avoid making the same mistakes, and he makes lesser mistakes as time goes by.
- Confidence
When one learns, one gains. This is what happens to your child – he learns new things, masters new topics, and gains new skills and traits which leads him to achieve a lot be it academically or non-academically. Since he is a master of one subject, he can spend more time on other subjects which he finds more challenging. Also, he is able to divide time between school and other extracurricular which interests him and he excels in. This leads him to become more confident in himself and his choices – an achiever in every aspect of life.
