If your child has recently become defiant, angry or frustrated, there may be a direct correlation to something happening at school. Talk with him and listen without judging. If your child will not talk with you, talk to the teacher about his or her observations and recommendations. Often, as school becomes difficult for a child, his self-esteem, confidence and happiness also suffer.
If your child takes more time to complete his work than seems reasonable, he may be experiencing one or more problems. It may be that he is not grasping concepts as they are taught in the classroom and therefore cannot do his homework independently. It’s possible that he is having difficulty concentrating. On the other end of the spectrum, if your child zips through homework too quickly, skipping problems and failing to check his work, he may not understand the purpose and importance of homework.
If you observe your child struggling to pronounce words correctly (or sound them out) or having similar issues, or if you see your child skipping or guessing at words he does not know, talk with the teacher right away. Together, you can determine how to prevent your child from falling behind as reading becomes more challenging and a bigger part of all assignments.
Most children need to constantly work on organization, so don’t panic if your child’s backpack or desk isn’t as neat as it could be. However, if your child’s work is consistently messy or unreadable, this may indicate a lack of attention to detail that should be corrected sooner rather than later. Similarly, extreme disorganization to the point that a student cannot keep track of important assignments or homework is a bigger sign of problems to come.
Some students are chronic procrastinators while others procrastinate when they dread the work ahead of them. If your child almost always puts off studying or homework until the last minute, start paying attention to the reasons. Is he avoiding doing his work because it’s overly difficult? Does he only procrastinate with a particular subject?
As a parent, it is important to take notice of potential signs of school trouble so that you can promptly address any issues. Stay alert for the warning signs, but also remember to maintain good communication with your child and encourage him to turn to you should things become difficult—in any area of his life. Let him know that you are there to support and help him and that no problem is too big to overcome.
By Dr. Raymond J. Huntington, a founder of Huntington Learning Center, which has been helping children succeed in school for more than 30 years.
