When my child doesn't perform at school Parents often feel discouraged, disappointed and worried when their children do their best to perform at school, but when the report comes back, the results are not satisfying or what you expected. If the marks are not satisfying, keep calm. Look at possible reasons why your child did not achieve the marks you expected. Ensure that your expectations were reasonable for your child’s abilities. Keep possible situational factors in mind such as illness, changes in the environment or routine or any traumatic incidents that could have affected your child. Rule out the possibilities of e.g. depression, ADHD or likewise conditions. There are different other reasons why children sometimes fail to perform despite putting in a lot of effort, which can include the following. 1. Motivation and support Children who are not motivated to study will find it difficult to get started and stay focussed. They often need a lot of support. Help them to set reasonable goals to work towards and give adequate guidance. 2. Prioritising and relaxation Most children’s schedules are very busy and they might become overwhelmed with activities and schoolwork. Help them to plan and prioritise to get everything done on time, with the least amount of stress. Make time to relax. Children do get tired and an exhausted child can’t live up to his/her full potential. 3. Interest and aptitude A child who is not interested in the content of a subject may find it difficult to understand and study the information. Take your child for an aptitude test and choose subjects he/she will likely need in the future. Use colours or pictures to make the content more interesting and easier to remember. 4. Study environment The study environment should be quiet, well light with good ventilation and the child should sit on a comfortable chair and table. Avoid areas where there are unnecessary distractions. 5. Friends and bullies Friends have a big influence on children. Peer pressure might cause a child to neglect schoolwork to try to fit into a certain group. Be involved in your child’s life, know the friends and provide your child with the necessary skills to stand up against peer pressure and bullies. 6. Learning styles Children learn and memorise information on different ways. Although the main teaching style is through reading and listening, some children find it difficult to learn with these styles. Find out what style suits your child best and help him/her to use that learning style optimally. 7. Stress When children experience
stress or anxiety it can become an obstacle towards learning, memorising
and reproduction of the content. Ask them questions on the content
before a test. When children feel in control of the situation, they will
experience less stress. Teach them relaxation exercises to do before
writing a paper. |
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