Understanding Your Child’s Learning Style

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Understanding your child’s learning style is a vital step for any parent wishing to fully enable their child to learn well and with confidence. All individuals have their own learning style – the different ways in which we learn can be classified into four main categories:

• Visual – learns thought the things they see
• Auditory – learns through the things they hear
• Tactile – learns through the things they touch
• Kinaesthetic – learns through doing and experiencing

Beginning to understand which type of learner your child is, can be a wonderfully freeing thing as you will be able to help your child to learn more through offering them the right sort of experiences for their learning style.

More about learning styles

Visual learners process things better when they are able to see and watch a process rather than hear it or feel it. An example of this would be how a teacher demonstrates a maths problem on a board and shows how it’s done. If that same teacher merely explained the problem to a visual learner, they may not retain the information. These learners tend to be highly imaginative and have the ability to think in pictures.

Auditory learners. Telling these children how to manage a problem or carry out a task is always the best method of teaching. They are often strong conversationalists, they enjoy discussion and like to participate in group chat.

Tactile learners are practical types; they are children who need the stimulation of touch in order to process information. It’s good for them to try to do things as they are explained to them.

Kinaesthetic learners are even more practical and they’re often highly energetic. Show them how to play chess with giant pieces they can move and run around with – teach them maths with numbers they can pick up and even throw. Hands-on is best for these children.

How can you work out your Child’s Learning Style?

The best way to learn about your child’s learning style is to observe what they most enjoy doing. Are they the type who love to run about and touch things? Or are they more focused and enjoy sitting with a book? Watch which toys your child enjoys most. Do they like books and puzzles or balls and climbing equipment? Perhaps they’re tactile and love messy play and painting?

How to Support Your Child’s Learning Style

You have a huge influence on your child’s learning experience. Understanding how your child learns is the first big step towards ensuring their success. A good way to look at it is to consider that even though your child has a dominant learning style, you should also try to strengthen their other areas.

Ideas for supporting their growth in their weaker areas as well as their stronger ones are as follows:

• Plenty of movement and music
• Discussion time around the dinner table
• Joining clubs and classes which encourage physical activity
• Plenty of arts and crafts

Above all, enjoy the early years – children who are of primary and nursery age are often the most open-minded learners of all. This pre prep school in London advocates plenty of outdoor play as a way to strengthen both mind and body.