social.usq.edu.auCRICOS: QLD00244B NSW02225M TEQSA: PRV12081 2017.04.02 (14) Graphics © Shutterstock

HOW TO INCORPORATESTUDY INTO EVERYDAY

PARENTING ROUTINES

NEWBORN

Nap time = study time! Be prepared to study in blocks of time while your baby naps.

Feeding time can be a good opportunity to listen to lecture recordings.

Be realistic about how much you will be able to get done. Studying with a newborn is difficult, but even being able to commit 80% of your focus at a time to study is better than 0%.

Read your textbooks out loud to your child. They may be too young to understand the content, but research shows that reading to children from birth can help brain, literacy and language development (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014).

TEENAGER

Establish daily routines when you and your teenager study and complete homework together.

Proofread each other’s assignments.

Make shared study session time fun, by preparing snacks for you both and agreeing upon a reward if you can each stay focused.

Use meal time to talk about what you’re both learning with your teenager to test your knowledge and share your study resources.

TODDLER OR YOUNG CHILD

Study tasks that don’t require 100% of your attention (e.g. compiling a list of research resources) can be completed while your toddler is eating dinner, playing in a playpen, or watching their favourite TV show.

Study tasks that require more attention (e.g. writing an assignment) can be completed during their nap time or, if you juggle study and family life with a job, during your lunch break at work.

Create flash cards that can double as a memory game you can play with your child.

Once your child starts getting homework of their own, set up their own ‘homework’ station near your own study space so you can study together.

Reference listAmerican Academy of Paediatrics (2014). Literacy promotion: an essential component of primary care pediatric practice. Council on early childhood. [Policy statement]. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/06/19/peds.2014-1384

Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2013). College Students with Children are Common and Face Many Challenges in Completing Higher Education [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED556715.pdf

Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2014). 4.8 million college students are raising children. [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/college-students-raising-children.pdf

No matter how old your child is, these tips will help you utilise your time efficiently so you can spend time with your child as well as work towards achieving your study goals.

For more tips to help you be a successful studying parent, check out USQ’s Social Hub.

Make the most of your flexible study options by downloading your lectures and listening to them while you’re exercising, doing chores around the house or while you’re in the car waiting to pick the kids up from school. Having a ‘study bag’ with all study essentials will mean you’re set to study at a moment’s notice, wherever, whenever you have a spare moment.

BONUS TIP

40%of studying

parents work full-time* Studying parents spend

over 30 hours

per week on care giving*

¼ of all undergraduate students are

studying parents*

DID YOU KNOW?

*(Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2013).