When Kids Struggle At School: How Parents Can Help

School can be hard for a lot of kids. Even when they get good grades and are otherwise well behaved when they’re in the classroom, it could take all the focus and energy they have to maintain this attitude. Discovering this, and finding a way to help them enjoy their education again, is key to keeping them on the right path.

However, what can you do as a parent? You’re not the one in charge of the class, and they spend a good portion of their week in a school environment – how can you get involved to change their experience? By bringing learning home, and finding out how their school handles classroom issues. Along the same vein, here are a few other tips to keep in mind.

Let Them Talk on Their Own Terms

Never force your child to talk about their struggles. If you do so, it could cause them to shut down and retreat further away from ever approaching the issue again. Instead, let them know you’re there for them and ready to talk when they are.

Tell them you’ve noticed they’ve been having issues with school, and that it’s never bad (or weak) to talk about the problem. The more you reinforce this idea, the easier your child will find it to open up. Once they do, you can start working on the issue together – but never rush them, even though you only want to help them.

Talk to the School

If your child has told you they’re struggling to learn something, or they never understand what’s going on in science or geography, it’s time to talk to the school. Are they aware of your child’s issues in class, and does it present in a certain way? If not, make them aware, and ask them what they can do to help.

Often this means a little extra one to one time with their teacher, or doing more homework on a certain topic, but at the very least it’s a way to have learning made more accessible for your child. If they don’t agree to make accommodations, it’s time to look into the methods below.

Look into Tutoring

If your child doesn’t get on with a certain method of learning that their teacher employs, or they don’t seem to like a subject and thus can’t get to grips with it, hire them a teacher. Math is a common trouble subject, and hiring geometry tutoring or someone to help with calculus could be the best solution to the problem.

Of course, you should check with your child first and see how they feel about having a tutor to help them out. Depending on their age, they may be able to tell you whether they feel this would work for them or not, but try to be open minded and consider the decision properly.

Investigate Signs of Bullying

There’s always a chance your child’s issue with school could be a result of being bullied. This is a horrible realization for a parent, but it’s a necessary one to think about if you really want to help.

If you think your child is being bullied, it’s best to do some further investigation and find out what’s really going on. First, think about when these issues started. Also, have they mentioned any new friends recently, or stopped talking about a friend they used to love? Ask some simple and easy questions so as not to overwhelm your child and then go back to the school with your suspicions.

Think About Changing Schools

If you find the school can’t help, you’re not sure what else to do regarding educational issues, and there’s even a bully to top it all off, it’s worth it to think about changing schools.

Not all schools are the same, and some do their best to offer support to less advantaged or differently abled children. Similarly, some stamp out bullying as soon as they get a whiff of it!

Don’t give up hope yet! Go on a few tours and see if there are schools like this near you.

When you find out your child is struggling at school, it’s easy to feel helpless. You’re not sure what you can do to support them, and you’re not even sure if the school will do anything to help either. But don’t fall into this trap; there’s a lot you can try to find out the root cause of the i

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