3 Reasons Why Your Child Has A Bad Report Card

Image source: Today’s Parent

It’s that time of year again: SCHOOL REPORTS. Every parent wants their child to get good grades and to succeed in school, so report day is as nerve racking for the parent as it is for the child. Sometimes parents assume that their child will get great marks, but when they receive a bad report card it can take them completely by surprise. Bad grades usually start showing up around middle school, which is a time of change in a child’s life. It’s key that you talk to your child openly and try to identify what’s causing the bad grades together. It could mean anything from your child needs extra help with certain subjects or they have adopted poor learning habits, the main thing to remember is to not panic and/or get angry at the child. Here’s a list of some of the main reasons which could contribute to your child’s bad report:

Reading Ability

As a child moves from grade to grade emphasis changes from learning to read to reading to learn. If reading abilities are lagging it will affect every subject, even understanding homework instructions will be hard. Our main advice to all parents is to read to your children from a young age and encourage them to read to you as their reading skills develop. If your child is older and isn’t interested in books, try and find something else that they may be interested in. Do they like comics, many comic have a detailed story, what about newspapers and magazines? Sit down with them once a day and read together.

Focusing

We live in a fast-paced tech-driven world, which provides too many distractions for children. It takes children more effort to concentrate on any task compared to children a decade ago. Often your child will be on their cell, playing the playstation or on an iPad instead of dedicating time to homework. We suggest that during the week set out a “no tech time zone” where between the hours of 4 and 6 your child spends time either doing homework or non-tech activities like reading. They may kick up a fuss, but they’ll thank you in the end! Maybe reward them at the end of the week with a pizza night, for example.

Organization

Organization is key!! Especially in today’s hectic world where a child has numerous after school clubs, homework, various classes and an array of tech devices. It massively helps to establish a routine early on: same wake up time, breakfast, study time etc. Encourage them to keep an agenda and prioritize activities, obviously studying for test comes ahead of a swimming class, for example. We also recommend that you stay organized, children learn a lot from their parents so if you’re organized it will encourage your child to be too. Also keep an agenda of your child’s activities and test dates so that you can make sure they’re keeping on top of their work.