Every parent wants to see their children succeed in school, and few things are as heartbreaking as watching a little one struggle with academic subjects that are difficult for them.
These struggles can manifest themselves in a variety of ways, however, and if your child is facing learning obstacles, it can take months to find out.
If you want to know whether your children have the support they need to master their curriculum and develop their own sense of self-confidence, here are three signs that they might need extra help.
1. Reluctance to Go to School
Every child responds differently when school starts up in the fall. Some are excited to be back with their friends, learning new things. Others might be mournful about the passing of summer, but fundamentally content to start new classes with new teachers. Still others may not want to return to school because they prefer other activities.
But once the school year starts, most children develop a sense of routine. They have things they look forward to, and things they don't like, but they are more-or-less willing to get their backpack on in the morning and head out the door.
One sign that children are struggling with school is if they start to show marked and consistent signs of reluctance about attending classes at all. This could indicate that they are feeling overwhelmed by specific challenges, and don't know how to deal with them.
In many cases, this reluctance stems from a feeling of inadequacy regarding a particular subject, math being one of the most common. In such situations, you may want to hire a Math tutor to help them overcome their intellectual obstacles and regain their confidence.
2. Misbehaviour
Misbehaviour on the part of children can have many roots, but if a normally well-behaved child suddenly starts acting out, it is usually because a stress has been introduced to their life that they are unequipped to handle.
For example, kids who start misbehaving in a particular class may be doing so because they are unable to follow the lessons and are trying to deal with their feelings of shame or ignorance by externalizing them.
If children are having behaviour issues at school, it is a good idea to meet with their teachers and talk to the children themselves to find out whether struggles with curriculum are at the root of it, and then take appropriate steps to provide them with the learning support they need.
3. Spending an Excessive Amount of Time on Homework
Not all children withdraw or act out when confronted with obstacles. Some become overzealous, spending hours studying or working at tasks that should take significantly less time.
This is kind of behaviour is often hardest for parents to interpret. What mother or father is going to complain about a child who wants to do homework?
The problem is that children who desperately want approval may feel, when confronted with material they don't understand, that they have no option but to push through on their own. This can be incredibly anxiety-inducing and alienating, and can lead to serious self-esteem issues.
If your children love doing homework, it's a good idea to make sure they aren't secretly sending out a cry for help.
Children, and especially young children, are still learning how to interact with the world around them. This means they are often at a disadvantage when it comes to confronting problems head on, which is why paying attention to your child's patterns of behaviour is the best way to catch learning issues in time to deal with them productively.
