In this episode, I talk to Licensed Psychologist and Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist Dr. Nicole Beurkens about how to run a business while your kids are in online school.

“I actually understand what everyone is going through as a parent myself with kids online at home and running my own business,” Dr. Beurkens says…

“One of the biggest things I’ve been focusing on with parents is to step back and focus on what is manageable and what is meaningful, and not feel like you have to do every single thing and do it well,” she tells me, “because there’s no way to do that. We’ve got to find some balance.”

She gives several tips and strategies you probably didn’t know you could use to help your kids learn better and reach their maximum potential.

 

Parents Have More Flexibility With Online School Than They Realize

Most of us will just say This is the way it is, these are the rules, and we need to follow them but as Dr. Beurkens tells me, “It’s important to remember that this is new for schools too.”

So, if your kid is struggling with what was provided, you have the flexibility to see if there’s a better way for them to learn it.

“There’s a lot to be said for giving kids the freedom to do other activities,” she says, “They don’t need to be strapped to the computer with us over their shoulder in order for them to learn.”

She says you can also work with the school on your ideas for how your child can learn the online school material.

“As parents, we can be more flexible and determine what is and what is not working for our kids since this is new to the school as well,” Dr. Beurkens tells me.

The key is to map out a different approach so that your child doesn’t fall behind and still learns the material. Get to the root of why your kid is struggling before contacting the school though.

Here’s one of the biggest keys to all of this… 

 

If You’re Frustrated, Your Kids Will Be Frustrated Too

“How you respond is how your kids will respond,” Dr. Beurkens says.

In other words, if you’re frustrated with all of this, they will be too. If you have a GSD attitude, they will too.

It’s so important to have the right attitude and see this as a positive opportunity, just like you’re doing with your business. When you do this, your kids will copy you.

You can actually make this fun and make it a great experience for your kids. You can still be honest, but “constant complaining and constant negativity will seep into how our kids experience it.”

Pay attention to your behavior just as much as you pay attention to theirs.

 

Online School Teaches Kids What To Learn Not How To Learn

One of my favorite books is Limitless by Jim Kwik. 

Kwik says, “School teaches you what to learn, not how to learn.” As the parent teaching this material at home, you have a greater challenge…

On top of teaching your kids what the school wants them to learn, you have to figure out how they learn so the material sticks.

“Parents are a child’s first and best teacher,” Dr. Beurkens says, “You’ve been doing it naturally since the day they were born.”

 

Teaching Kids How To Learn With Real-Life Activities

“Learning can happen in so many different ways,” she says, “which means you have more freedom to help them learn skills that are more meaningful and incorporate real-world activities.”

You can teach them math through budgeting, for example.
Have them write a story out of the grocery list.
Find ways for them to apply their material to real-life situations.

“Building those skills of initiative, problem-solving, reading and writing and math in everyday activities, those are the things that we can really argue that have been lost,” she says, “and this is a great opportunity to reclaim those things.”

Another great thing to do is have your kids learn knowing they’re going to have to teach it to someone else after. When you teach, you learn the material over again.

For me, I have 4 kids. So when my oldest son learns something new on the piano, he teaches his little sister and now my son just learned it twice.

“When kids can present material it proves to them, not just you, that they comprehend the material… it sticks,” she says.

On top of that, Dr. Beurkens says it’s a good idea to incorporate movement while learning.

 

Kids Need To Move In Order To Learn Better And Faster

I thought this part of the interview was really valuable… 

“One of the key things that’s going to help kids learn better and retain information better is you gotta get them up and away from the screen pretty regularly,” Dr. Beurkens tells me.

“I have parents tell me all the time He won’t sit still! I can’t get him to stay in front of the computer! – Right! What he’s telling you is that his brain needs movement… so let them stand, let them walk… or give them a stability call to sit on—children even more so than adults need physical movement to activate learning and development in the brain.”

So if they’re moving, that’s telling you something about what they need and how they need to learn.

It’s why when we take important calls we get up and walk around or pace. We need a secondary distraction in order to focus and retain the conversation we’re in.

This is just part of this incredible interview. If you want to help your kids reach their full potential while still being able to focus on growing your business, you’ll want to watch this entire interview.

Dr. Beurkens and I answer a ton of questions and get more into the psychology of learning, development, and how you can turn this into a positive experience for the rest of your child’s life.

Watch the full interview in the video above and go to our YouTube Channel and Subscribe and hit the Notification bell to get more episodes like this.

Let’s GSD!