The document provides tips for incorporating study into everyday parenting routines for children of different ages. It suggests using nap time and feeding time with newborns to study in short blocks. It recommends reading textbooks out loud to infants for their development. For toddlers, it advises using meal times and play times for less attention-demanding study tasks and nap times for more intensive work. It also suggests creating flashcards that double as memory games. The document stresses finding efficient ways to spend time with children and work towards study goals.

1. social.usq.edu.au
CRICOS: QLD00244B NSW02225M TEQSA: PRV12081 2017.04.02 (14)
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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 ORYOUNG 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 list
American 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
over30hoursper week on
care giving*
¼of all
undergraduate
students are
studying
parents*
DID YOU KNOW?
*(Institute for Women’s
Policy Research, 2013).