Solving School Problems

Be proactive if you suspect your child is having school problems

Now that your child is well into the second half of the school year, he may be having some difficulty. The workload is greater. Teachers have more material to teach and the pace at school is much faster.

If your child had any problems with schoolwork in the first part of the year, they may increase now.

A veteran child psychologist advises parents to be proactive. Don’t wait for the problem to get worse or for the school to call you. If you suspect your child is having trouble, follow your intuition.

Take these steps to intervene:

• Be your child’s advocate. No one can do this but you. Contact the teacher to get information about where your child is having problems.
• Help build communication and a good relationship between your child and his teacher. Discuss learning styles to see if there are options for how your child tackles the material.
• Let your child know you support his efforts. But don’t do your child’s work for him.
• Find a tutor for an older elementary child. Don’t try to tutor him yourself. You could add to his stress. Check with the school to find out about tutoring services.
• Don’t give up. It may take more than a week or two to turn things around. But remember, solving the problem now may prevent it from returning next year.

Reprinted with permission from the March 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2007 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Robert A. Gruenberg, “Winter Time (School) Blues,” parentStrategy.com, www.parentstrategy.com/cgi-bin/ps/update.cgi?file=WinterTime(School)Blues.tip.