How to Motivate and Inspire Your Home Educated Child: 12 Ways

It’s not always easy trying to motivate and inspire ourselves and our children are no different. We often face the struggle of trying to motivate them and it always seems to happen when we actually want them to do something. Even with good intentions, our efforts can fall short. So, how exactly do we motivate and inspire our children to learn when they just don’t seem to want to?

Well, let’s first look at why your child might feel unmotivated and uninspired, especially when it comes to learning or getting things done. 

7 Reasons Why Your Child is Unmotivated and Uninspired

1. They have no interest in what they’re doing

If you’re not interested in something, you’re hardly going to want to do it, am I right? So, we can’t expect our children to feel any different. If they’re not interested in what they’re learning or a task they’ve got to do, or if they lack passion, they’re not going to feel inspired and they definitely won’t feel motivated to get anything done.

2. They feel forced

No one likes to be forced to do anything, and a forced child is going to be an unhappy child. If they feel like they have to do something, it’s going to make them want to do it less, especially if it doesn’t appeal to them. 

3. They’re under a lot of pressure

Children can feel a lot of pressure from their parents. There’s pressure to do their best, to keep up with other children and pressure to show that they’re progressing. As adults, we often have certain expectations of our children because we’ve been there before and we want the best for them. But the pressure of trying to live up to our expectations can be too much for a child. They will likely get overwhelmed and completely shut down, losing all motivation and inspiration. 

4. They’re not getting enough sleep

We all know that a lot of late nights and lack of sleep can leave us feeling very groggy and unmotivated. As adults, we tend to snooze alarms and catch up on sleep, and yet we can still feel unmotivated to do anything. Children might exhibit lots of energy, which is often misinterpreted, and when we try to get our children to do something they lack enthusiasm and just don’t want to. 

5. They’re not eating the right things or exercising enough

It’s easy to overlook food and a lack of exercise. Of course, as parents we try our best, but I think most of us can admit to handing out too many treats and doing easy, not-so-healthy meals to save time and money every so often. Mix a bad diet with a lack of exercise and it’s a recipe for an unmotivated child.

6. They’re not being given new experiences

In order to feel inspired, children need to be given new experiences and things to try. It’s what ignites their imagination and gets them learning new things. And when they find new interests, they’re going to be motivated to do them and try other things too. A lack of new experiences will leave children feeling bored, unmotivated and uninspired because they’ve got nothing else exciting to do.

7. They’ve not had their say

Children want to be heard and they need to have their say. If they have no input in what they’re doing or the decisions that are made on their behalf, then we can’t expect them to be motivated to do them. 

So, those are the reasons why your child might be unmotivated and uninspired. Now let’s look at the ways we can motivate and inspire them. 

12 Ways to Motivate and Inspire Your Home Educated Child

1. Have a chat about their interests

A great way to motivate your child is to actually talk about their interests and what they want to do. You might get the response “nothing” and a bit of reluctance, but if you show an interest in their interests and have a bit of a brainstorm, it’s sure to get your child thinking and talking about what they enjoy. This will hopefully motivate them to try out more things of interest to them. 

2. Write out a list of aspirations

We all have aspirations and children can have some of the biggest aspirations of all. Writing out a list of them, whether it be one or many, can really encourage your child to strive towards them. 

3. Create weekly, monthly and yearly goals

There’s no better way to get motivated than to create goals. By creating weekly, monthly and yearly goals, your child always has something to strive towards. Each time they achieve a goal, they’ll have another one to work towards, which will hopefully keep their motivation consistent. 

If at any time your child changes their mind about a goal, then create a new one! It’s important that they show an interest in these goals and actually want to achieve them. 

4. Provide more experiences for your child

New experiences are a great source of inspiration for children, and with inspiration comes motivation. The more experiences your child has, the more they’ll be excited to try new things. So, take them out to different places, let them try out new hobbies and different groups. There’s a lot out there for them to try. Obviously, your child won’t enjoy everything that they try out, but by doing different things they are more likely to be motivated to find activities and subjects that they really enjoy. 

5. Let your child have more autonomy

You might be worried about giving your child more autonomy, especially if you can see them choosing TV or video games over doing something of more value, but giving them more autonomy doesn’t mean that there are no boundaries in place. It’s more about providing your child with choices and letting them choose between them, or following their lead and allowing them to make their own discoveries and mistakes so that they can learn from them.

6. Surround them with positive influences

Being surrounded by positive influences is going to have a huge impact on your child’s motivation and whether they feel inspired or not. We all know what negative influences can do to us. Being around the wrong people, not having a great support network and being influenced in the wrong ways can be detrimental to children. 

So, look at each aspect of your child’s life and decide whether it is positive for them. This includes their environment, what they’re exposed to and the people around them. Children are easily influenced, but they also thrive off of each other’s energy. If your child has great friends who are equally as motivated, they’re more likely to be motivated and have greater aspirations.

7. Follow their lead and never force them into anything

Our children need their independence. They also need the confidence to make decisions for themselves. By following their lead, we allow them to develop these skills and choose their own path, rather than have a path set out or chosen for them. And let me tell you, they’re going to be more motivated to follow their own path and their own decisions. This is why we should never force our children into anything. It will only create resistance and lead to a lack of enthusiasm. Children are only really going to do something, and do it well, if they want to!

8. Do things together

Doing things together really benefits your child, no matter how old they are, and they’re more likely going to want to do something if you do it with them. This will create stronger bonds and lasting memories. Your child is going to cherish the time that you spend with them and show their gratitude in different ways. You’ll see a spike in their motivation and inspiration because you’re there to see it. 

9. Figure out how they learn best

How your child learns and what they learn really matters. They’ve not only got to be motivated by what they’re learning but also how they do it. The best way to motivate and inspire your child is to figure out how they learn best. There are many different styles of Home Education and depending on the individual one style might be better than another. 

So, test out some styles and see which one your child is drawn to or more interested in. They might thrive better with more or less structure; they might be more hands-on or more academic — see what motivates them more! And remember, you can always change Home Education styles along the way. 

10. Make learning fun!

One of the easiest ways to motivate and inspire your child is to make the learning fun! Sounds obvious, right? But it’s easy to forget that fun looks different to everyone, and it’s even easier to worry more about what is learnt rather than how it is learnt. 

If your child is interested in a topic but doesn’t seem motivated to learn it in a certain way, switch the learning up and try different methods. See what motivates your child to learn more, whether it be visiting more museums and attractions, watching documentaries or creating a project. 

11. Show an interest in what your child does

If you show an interest in what your child does, they’re going to feel good about it. More importantly, they’re going to believe that it actually matters to you — and if it matters to you, it matters to them. 

So, next time they start talking endlessly about something or show an interest in a certain hobby, be there with them to talk about it and spur them on. 

12. Master self-discipline together

Self-discipline is a hard skill to master, even as an adult, but it’s an extremely valuable skill when it comes to motivating and inspiring yourself. If your child has the self-discipline to make the right choices, eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep, their mind and body is going to benefit so much. These choices will help them to feel more motivated and inspired, so why not try and master self-discipline together and see what difference it makes!

Now hopefully you feel motivated to try and motivate and inspire your home educated child! Remember, if your child is interested in the method of learning as well as what they are actually learning, you’re already on the right track. Motivation and inspiration come and go — that’s just human nature — but trying different ways to stay motivated and inspired is key.