Are you worried that your child is struggling to learn at school or keep up with the kids in the rest of the class? If that’s the case, then you need to make sure that you are taking the right steps to help them. There are lots of reasons why a child might be struggling to learn. But there are also various options available to worried parents. Here are some of the possibilities we recommend you explore that can help get your child back on track.
Different Learning Materials
First, you might want to think about exploring different learning materials that you can use to help your child. This is worth thinking about if you are able to provide them with extra time for learning outside of the school day. There are lots of different learning materials that you can explore which are available online. This includes key options such as interactives which are perfect for ensuring that the learning experience is far more engaging overall.
Tutoring
If your child is having trouble learning at school, then it can be worth considering an option like tutoring. Tutoring can be used to fill in the gaps and ensure that they are keeping up with the rest of the kids in different lessons. That’s important and most children will benefit from some level of tutoring because not every child is going to excel in every subject.
When you are thinking about a tutor, it’s important to find an educational professional that you can trust. You should select a tutor with the right qualifications and experience to guarantee that they do deliver the service your child needs.
Speak To Their Teacher
It can also be worth speaking to their teacher in school. This is something that you should do if your child is showing signs that they are finding it difficult to learn. It’s likely that a teacher will be able to arrange for them to get the extra help, care and support that they might need. A teacher might also be able to alter their teaching methods to ensure that it fits in more with the needs of your child. Once you open a dialogue, you’ll be able to explore lots of different avenues that you can use to help your child.
Explore Different Learning Methods
You might also want to consider exploring different learning methods that could be beneficial for your child. Children learn in a variety of ways, but only a few can be implemented in a school setting. If this isn’t how your child understands information it can lead to issues with their learning experience. Options such as tutoring can fill in the gaps but you should also encourage your child to explore different learning methods independently. There are lots of choices worth exploring here.
For instance, you might find that your child specifically has an easier time absorbing verbal information. If that’s the case, then you can help them create audio files that they can listen to throughout the day instead of studying a book. You could also think about whether your child finds it easier to understand interactive information such as the material that we discussed earlier in this post. It’s all about looking at the different options available and finding the right fit for your kid specifically. This will typically involve at least a little trial and error.
Check Sensory Issues
Do be aware that if your child is having trouble learning, this could be related to a sensory issue. For instance, your child could struggle to see what’s on the board at the front of the class or they may be finding it difficult to hear the teacher. When they are older, kids will be able to put two and two together, essentially, alerting you of an issue like this. But when they are little kids won’t realize that they are having issues with their eyesight or hearing. They might simply complain that they are tired at school or struggling with pain behind their eyes or in their head.
If you do notice signs of this and your child’s learning isn’t at the level that you would expect, then it’s always going to be worth checking for sensory issues with eyes and hearing. Indeed, you should arrange an eye appointment for your child about once every year. This will allow you to keep a check on a problem and ensure that it doesn’t go overlooked. A child’s eyesight can change quickly when they are young. Hearing changes are less likely but it’s still something that you should be aware of.
Connect It To An Interest
Next, you should think about exploring how you can connect learning to a passion or something that they are interested in. This is useful if you are trying to ensure that your kids continue to learn outside of school. For instance, you might need to ensure that they focus on their studies through the summer drought. There are lots of different ways that you can connect learning to their passion or interests. If you are exploring different learning materials, then you might want to check whether they overlap with interests that your child already has.
If you look online, you may also find that there are themed educational games that are based around popular children’s characters, TV shows, and films that you can use too. This is always going to make your life a little easier as a parent. Once you find a way to connect something like Math or English to something that your child is interested in, you’ll find it far easier to get them to learn. You might even discover that they are better at understanding more complex subjects and problems.
Give Them Motivation
Finally, it’s important to understand that some children struggle to learn because they lack the motivation to do so. Not every child wakes up in the morning eager to go to school. Some kids find the structure incredibly difficult and when they are younger, others don’t want to leave home because of attachment issues. Some kids are also simply unable to find a reason to focus on school and learning. That’s why as a parent, you may need to focus on providing the right level of motivation.
We’ve already discussed some of the ways that you can motivate your kid. For instance, you can think about connecting learning with one of their passions. However, you can also introduce a reward system or strategy. You might think that this is cheating but the majority of schools use reward systems to encourage kids to learn. So, there’s no harm in parents doing the same. One of the ways that you can do this is by rewarding hard work or fantastic levels of achievement with something like a game or a trip. Do this and you might see a significant uptick in their ability to focus on learning.
We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you can take if your child is struggling to learn. By taking the right steps here, you can guarantee that your kid gets the extra support they need. Remember, there are lots of reasons why your child might not be hitting the milestones in class. For instance, they could be being bullied. Research shows that more than 70% of kids will be bullied at some point before they reach the age of eighteen. It’s not as rare as parents would like to believe. That’s why it’s always important to explore what’s going on. Bullying in particular can be a significant distraction during school and may play havoc with your child’s mental health as well as their ability to learn.
