STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  Many parents want their kids to be verse in these areas of study and do not even mind paying a lot of money to ensure the kids have adequate education in these areas. It is also unfortunate that many kids are struggling to get educated in these areas. 

Even if you are not proficient in these areas as a parent, you can still help your kids to become proficient in it and it will help them a lot in the future considering the fact that many areas of human endeavor require adequate knowledge of these subject areas.

Most of the knowledge in STEM required for the future will be acquired at the o-level stage, which is why it is essential for parents to ensure that their kids have adequate knowledge of the subjects taught under STEM. 

You do not need to have knowledge in STEM before your kids can be proficient in the areas; you can always hire a teacher to help the kid acquire the right kind of knowledge. Hiring a tutor capable of handling the subject areas is the way to go.  Even if you struggled in the subject areas while you were in school, you can help your kids to be proficient in the areas so that they can make headway in life. 

A student with the sound knowledge of STEM can be expected to make impact in various areas of human endeavor. So, you will be doing your kids a great favor and also fulfilling your responsibility as a parent if you encourage them to take STEM seriously at the early stage of their education. 

In this informative piece, we will enlighten you on how you can help your kids to become ardent lovers of STEM.

Be a role model

While teachers will be responsible for teaching your children the subjects under STEM, you can play a huge role as a parent in the learning system. If you encourage them to be more focused on their studies, it can go a long way in making them better STEM students.  STEM is a wonderful area of study but it can also be time consuming and energy sapping.

Learning the various subjects under STEM can require a lot of effort and many students are forced to give up along the line. Your kids will never be among those who give up untimely if you give them all the encouragements you can muster at home. Your encouragement as a parent will inspire and encourage them to focus more on the subject area. 

Give them more time

As a parent, you should encourage your children to dedicate more time to their studies. The teacher can only do so much when the kids are in school. Once they are out of the classroom, their studies become your responsibility.

If you do not have adequate knowledge of STEM yourself, it will be difficult or you to teach them about the subjects. However, encouraging and allowing them to dedicate more time to studies can help then to cover up and get better understanding of those areas where they are lagging.

Instead of sending the kids on errands to many times after school hours, it will be better for parents to allow the kids some free time to enable those children spend more time with their books. Repetitive learning can go a long way to help a child get better academically. 

STEM toys can help

Children love to play with toys and you can use this as an opportunity to make them love STEM. How can you do this? By buying STEM toys for them. The STEM toys can encourage them to become better in this area of study.  STEM toys will also get them started early in life loving STEM. By the time they start learning about STEM at school, the toys will help them to perform better since they would have opened their eyes to the beauty of this study area. 

The beauty of it is that STEM toys are useful for children of all age groups. So, there is no restriction to the category of children that can learn from the toys. There is no way you will not find the perfect toy of your choice to help your kids to get better in this subject area.

Some of the categories of toys that can encourage your kids to get interest in STEM are:

•    Mechanic kits
•    Legos
•    Building blocks

Museums can help

One other way to encourage your kids to take interest in STEM is by taking them on a visit to a museum. A visit to a museum has a lot to offer since it is an outdoor activity that will open the eyes of your kids to many exciting things about STEM.  

The visit to a museum may not be every time but is should be included as a part of your plan once or twice in a year.  A visit to a museum can promote STEM education and encourage your kids to get interested via hands on learning. It will even make them see STEM in an entirely new light, compelling them to be more interested in it. 

There are so many museums in Nigeria today. If you check well, there may be one available in your state. If there is no museum in your state, you can consider checking the neighboring states for one. Entrance fee for a museum in Nigeria is not much.   

Get a tutor 

If your children are struggling with STEM at school, one of the best ways out is to hire a private tutor for the children. Make sure, however, that the private tutor is adequately knowledgeable about STEM.  Before hiring a private tutor for this purpose, properly investigate he individual and also read reviews about the person.

Check the credentials provided to ensure the private tutor is knowledgeable in this area. A private tutor that had been helping other kids in STEM learning for many years can be trusted to help out and take your kids to the next level in STEM education. 

It is always better for the private tutor to teach your children about STEM following the curriculum used in the school your children are attending. This way, the children can learn STEM in a way to help them perform better at school.  

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