Do you constantly need to push and shove your child to do his or her assignments? Are you struggling with lack of motivation in your child?

Many parents and teachers don’t think a child can acquire an education without an external source of pressure that will compel them to do their studies.

But there is another way.

You see, every child has already an in-built learning machine that is designed to help them successfully complete their own growth and development. All parents have to do is assist, nourish and disciple the child during this natural learning process, and it will unfold all by itself.

True education can only happen when it is pursued by the student himself. That is how we were designed to learn.

Force will also teach its lessons, but they will be the wrong ones. And they are powerful to change a child’s disposition from exuberant passion for learning to utter lack of motivation.

Force is the number one motivation killer. It will teach your child:

• That learning is lifeless and boring
• That learning is what others require of you
• That fun starts where learning stops
• That I don’t have to learn in my free time, that is when I want passive entertainment to relax from my learning efforts
• I will only make an effort when it is required

During your children’s education there must be a healthy balance between the discipline and correction of the “how,” and the freedom and passion of the “what.”

How they learn:

Children must be taught how to learn by introducing them to the basic learning skills like reading, writing and arithmetic. This is where discipline and instilling of good learning habits is necessary.

This stage can be very frustrating for some children, especially if they are pushed beyond their level of ability. It is of vital importance to constantly monitor the child’s learning process, and adjust the requirements so that the child can always experience success in these areas.

In this stage you are teaching your child the tools he or she will need to educate themselves.

What they learn:

But, once they have learned to use the tools, they need freedom. This is where you let go. Children need much more freedom to pursue subjects of their own interest.

Let go of your children. Let them delve into a subject of their choice. Let them focus on an area that is relevant to their lives. Once they discover how they can find out more about the subject they are passionate about, nothing will stop them from becoming an expert in it. And, voilá!…Your child has reached the culmination of any healthy learning process!

And don’t be afraid of learning gaps! The biggest learning gap there has ever been is that of a child who has lost the passion for learning by himself.

Once your child has figured out how to study any subject of his or her own choice, he will be a life-long learner, —instead of arriving at age 18 burnt out with excessive study he could never relate to personally.

Nevertheless, none of these methods reach the heart of the child. They can be used to force the child to comply, but they will never motivate him or her to learn with passion.

So how can we possibly make them learn all they need to learn for life?

We can’t. And that is where most educators and parents miss it. True education will only occur when children learn to educate themselves. This happens when they genuinely live and experience what they are learning.

Traditional education has the tendency of viewing the child as a passive recipient that is to be filled with knowledge esteemed important by others.

The problem is that humans are not designed to learn this way. We were created to learn with passion. It is our natural inquisitiveness to explore the world around us that leads us to a powerful learning experience that will always be pursued with zeal.

No doubt there is a need for discipline when we instill good learning habits, but let us never forget to inspire them to pursue knowledge that is relevant to their life by themselves.

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Even now, as I think of my father, I view him sitting in his favorite armchair, totally absorbed by some book he was reading.

Yes, I can definitely say that books influenced my life in a significant way.

Cradles of Eminence studied common factors in the childhoods of 400 eminent men and women and concluded:

“A rule of thumb for predicting success is to know the number of books in the home”

They were all brought up in a print rich environment.

Without a doubt, reading is a life-changing habit.

But not all books are good. There is a lot of trash out there.

And we as parents have to be able to wisely discern the good from the bad, especially when it comes to picking out books for our children.

Following is a general guideline for choosing story books for your children:

Books you should avoid like the plague:

These are stories that portray evil as good, and good as evil. They tend to enhance wickedness in the reader’s life. Many horror stories fall into this category.

Books that need parental guidance:

These stories accurately portray evil as evil and good as good, but evil wins. Such books are not edifying, but you can motivate the child to imagine a possible solution to fix them.

Books you should always buy:

These are the stories where good is good, and good wins. Incidentally, these are the kind of books that stand the test of time. Most of the classics are in this category.

If you want your child to become a self-directed learner who loves books, read aloud to them from an early age, let the child see you read, and show your children that books are valuable to you.

That way you will instill a love of learning in your child.

Visit http://www.Self-DirectedLearningForSuccess.com for tips and tools to successfully develop your talents and those of your child. Discover the power of a dynamic learning process in my FREE e-book: “The Power of Self-Directed Learning”, and my FREE e-course: “Seven Steps to Consistently Change Your Life.”