How To Motivate Your Kids

Have you ever struggled to get your child to do something responsible like tidy up after themselves, do household chores or finish their homework?

Despite asking nicely and doing everything in your power to motivate them, they simply responded with misery and avoided listening to anything you had to say. You're not alone. Most of us struggle to motivate ourselves so trying to motivate another person, a child for that matter, can be really tough.

So how do you do it?

Some parents like Amy Chua (best-selling author of Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother) argue that it's best to give children no options, no treats or incentives for hard work. According to Chua's method of parenting, children have no choice and no power.

Whilst Amy makes a valid point in terms of understanding parental relationships, giving your kids no choice but to do what they say isn't always effective. Rather than follow the 'tiger mom' approach, you can take things into control without your kids deeming you a monster.

Here are some options:

1. Allow them to do chores/homework/duties whilst having fun. For example, I personally hate tidying up- I really do! However, there is nothing as fun as tidying up whilst listening to my favourite songs or watching a great film. Similarly, children don't mind doing hard things so far as they're doing them and having a bit of fun at the same time.

2. Give them options. So your son hates taking out the bins but doesn't mind mopping the floor? Perfect! Let him/her choose which chore or duty they prefer. In doing so you're allowing them to exercise their own judgement, be independent and you're also learning about what they do or don't like.

3. Don't bribe them or accept bribes. Teaching your child that bribing is acceptable is unhealthy and can cause them to believe that manipulating people is acceptable. Bribing might seem like an easy and effortless option but in the long run it won't pay off!

Your homework (yes parents get homework too!)

Practice implementing at least one of these three tips this week and see if it has an effect your child.

Let me know how it goes by leaving a comment below or by liking this blog post!

The Tutoress

Do You Need Qualifications To Become A Tutor?

Have you ever thought about becoming a tutor but questioned whether you were 'qualified' enough?I've heard so many people say things like, 'I'd love to become a tutor but I just don't think I have the right qualifications?

I always find it quite interesting when I hear such remarks because the truth is that...

you don't need ANY qualifications to be a tutor! Yes, it's true!

Tutors usually come from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. Some are Graduates, Qualified Teachers, Retirees whilst others are simply people who are highly skilled in a specific field or industry. For example, a mum who is awesome at teaching primary/kindergarten level maths but doesn't have a qualified teaching certificate or degree. Technically speaking, there's absolutely nothing wrong with her charging money to tutor maths to local kids. In fact, she might just discover that she's actually better at teaching the subject than most teachers.

If you're thinking about tutoring but feel unqualified, you're wrong. The tutoring sector is as diverse as the people in it. They come from all walks of life and many are good at tutoring because they're great educators.

I bet you're now thinking, 'how can I tutor if I don't have qualifications in the subject?' Well, in reality you shouldn't be teaching a subject that you're not confident in. For example, if you love maths and just can't get enough of the subject, then you probably should be teaching it and sharing your knowledge with the world! If however, you have a maths teacher qualification but hate the subject then you're definitely best off teaching a subject that you actually like!

The reality is that qualifications play quite a minor role in your ability to tutor. Your ability to teach, your passion for the subject and your willingness to become a student of the subject (the best teachers are the biggest learners) are THE most important factors in influencing how good (or great) a tutor you are.

So don't let qualifications (or lack of them) hold you back from pursuing your tutoring dreams! Go on and tutor! By sharing your knowledge and passion with the world, you're making a difference to someone else's life! Who doesn't want to do that? I know I do.

If you're ready to take the first steps to becoming a wealthy, high paid tutor, subscribe to my newsletter and get exclusive updates.

Move Over Beyonce...Boys Really Do Run The World

A level results have just come out and thousands of teenagers across Great Britain are either screaming in horror (because results are at a record low) or rejoicing because they've actually passed (congrats!) For the first time in 21 years, results have fallen and the cost of studying a three year degree in now a lovely £53k.

To top it all off, boys are actually doing better than girls by a whooping 0.1%. Whilst that figure doesn't sound high, the fact that boys are doing better for the first time in donkey years, says a lot.

What does it say?

• Firstly, it suggests that whilst girls might out perform boys at primary and secondary level, boys start to shine after the age of 16.
• This indicates that there's something very wrong with the current system. Is it favoured towards seeing girls succeed in the early years? Perhaps.
• Finally, it reflects the beginning of the end for girls. I know that sounds melodramatic but the reality is that whilst girls are encouraged to succeed in education, all we're really expected to do (in the long run) is bare children.

And it doesn't stop there. No matter how qualified, educated or talented we are, the reality is that almost all of us reach an age where we realise that we have to choose between being mothers and careerers (yes I know that's not a word)

The point I'm trying to make is that no matter how well girls do in our education, we're still fighting the same battle. It's career vs motherhood. This isn't a battle that starts at 25. It starts at 16 or 17 or 18 when we make that ever-so-pertinent decision to go into further education and eventually to university.

Boys are therefore doing better than girls because by the time they reach 16,17 or 18, they realise on some level that they are in charge!

They run the world. Their innate inability to bare children puts them in a far more fortunate position in terms of their careers, in terms of status and in terms of power.

Of course they'll out perform girls, they have no reason not to.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that girls can't succeed in education & career life (millions of us have and will continue to do so). Rather, I'm saying that girls are still to an extent disadvantaged when it comes to educational and occupational success. In a PC world where no one wants to talk about it or admit it, we're keeping our mouths shut and ignoring the fact that women still have a double burden and that burden is a difficult one to bare.

Think about it. Let me know if you agree/ disagree in the comments below.

Are you a pushy parent?

I used to think that 'pushy parenting' was a fallacy and that all parents shouldpush their children to succeed academically.

Nowadays however, my perspective has started to change.

I was recently teaching a lesson when a parent interrupted and started to moan endlessly about how lazy their child was.

As I nodded my head in approval, something hit me.

I realised that whilst some children are genuinely lazy and really don't care about their learning, this child wasn't one of them. This child did work. They worked incredibly hard and deserved a 'well done' or 'keep it up darling.'

I left the lesson and began to ponder:

Is it okay to constantly criticise children?

Is it okay to push, push and push your child in the bid for academic excellence?

Will constant pushing lead to success or will it just result in broken children who don't feel as if anything they do is good enough?

As a private tutor, is my role to simply nod in acknowledgement or to interrupt when parents are criticising their children?

What do you think?

Is pushy parenting acceptable or is it borderline abusive?

I'm starting to agree with the latter.

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

The Tutoress.

Are All Tutors The Same? 4 Signs Your Child's Tutor Is The Wrong Pick

These days it seems as if everyone (or every child) has a private tutor.

In fact, research shows that 25% of children living in London will receive some form of tutoring during their academic lifetime.

That means that 1 out of every 4 children are tutored in some way or another.

It's no wonder why tutoring is a £100 million industry (in the UK) and a multi-billion dollar industry globally.

With so many people offering tutoring services, how does a parent know whether a tutor is wrong for their child?

I've personally observed that many parents are focused on the wrong things when it comes to choosing a tutor for their child.

Here are four clear signs that signal that a tutor isn't the right fit for your child.

Pay careful attention to them because many parents miss these vital things.

Sign 1.

They are clueless about the curriculum. It doesn't matter if your child

is learning algebra, Shakespeare or calculus, their learning needs to fit around

some sort of curriculum especially if the child is sitting an exam on the subject.

Ask your tutor during the first meeting whether they are well versed on the relevant

curriculum for the subject they're teaching in.

Sign 2.

They're a know-it-all.

Remember those teachers at school who just rambled on and on about random things that were in hardly relevant to the subject?

The teachers who just went on and on and on and on but didn't actually break down a topic into bite sized chunks? Those types of 'teachers' aren't really that great.

In fact, they'll usually just chatter away for an hour or two talking about something that's irrelevant to your child's learning and will bill you for all that talk after!

Make sure you either sit-in on the first lesson or have a mini-interview (or even a casual talk) with your child's tutor so that you can decipher whether they're a chitter-chatterer or a genuinely great teacher.

Sign 3.

They are money-greedy.

Notice that I didn't use the word money-hungry? Money-hungriness in itself

isn't a bad thing (we all need to earn a living don't we?)

However, money-greedy tutors usually only care about one thing-

earning more money without proving a service that is valuable to their clients.

Signs that your tutor is money-greedy include things like not turning up to lessons whilst expecting to be paid, constantly increasing their prices without proper notification and

sending invoices for lessons that didn't take place (yes some tutors do that!)

The fourth and final sign is that they're not passionate about teaching!

Good teachers and tutors love educating others and genuinely gain at least a sprinkle of joy from their jobs.

Bad tutors hate their jobs and are only in it for the money or because they have nothing else to do or can't be asked to find another job.

Have you ever come across or hired a bad tutor? What did they do that was wrong? What signs did you notice that weren't great? Leave a comment below and share your experience.

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