School can be incredibly difficult for some children. People often say that school is going to be the best years of a child’s life. However, this isn’t always the case. It depends on the child in question. For instance, they could absolutely hate the structure of school life. Or, they might struggle with the sensory issues that are connected with the school experience. If you are worried about issues like this, then it’s always going to be important to put the right measures in place. However, first you need to recognize the signs that your child is struggling at school. Once you do this, you can figure out the right path to take.
They Don’t Want To Go
One of the most surefire ways you will know if your child is having problems at school is that they won’t want to go. You will have many screams and reluctance in the mornings from your child. It is important that you don’t force your child, but you also need to get them there. It can be a whole swings and roundabouts scenario when it comes to school refusal. School refusal is the term used by professionals when children don’t want to attend school. It can be incredibly traumatising for both you and your child. People might not believe you about how bad it is until they witness it for themselves.
Try and make it into a game, if you have a younger child then you could race them and see who can get dressed in the fastest time. This tackles the first issue of getting the uniform on, making sure they win and this will give them a much needed boost in confidence. Second, how to get them to school. There are many different techniques for this, some succeed and some don’t. Find whatever works for you and your child without causing too much stress, anxiety, and upset.
They’re Not Getting Enough Sleep
It’s possible that your child isn’t getting enough sleep and this is one of the main signs that they may be struggling at school. On average, your child will need eight hours of sleep each night to function effectively through the school day. If they don’t get enough sleep each night, then they may wake up exhausted, emotional or they could simply refuse to get out of bed in the morning. It’s possible that your child isn’t getting to sleep because they are worried about school the next day. This can be more than enough to keep your child up each night. Unfortunately, this is only going to make the situation worse overtime.
That’s why you need to make sure that you do focus on fixing the issue. One of the ways that you can do this is by improving their sleep environment. While this could be due to problems with their mood, it might also be a problem with where they are sleeping. For instance, you might want to think about getting them a new bed or a new mattress. It’s commonly assumed that a soft mattress is the best option. However, this is not the case. In reality, if your child has issues with their back then they might need a firm mattress which provides more support overall.
You could also find that your child is getting to sleep at the right time but is struggling to get the right quality of sleep. This can be the case if they are tossing and turning throughout the night. One of the ways that you can avoid this is by making sure that you give them a banana before bed. Bananas are rich in potassium so they can help regulate the body.
Physical Signs Of Stress
Watch out for any physical signs of stress in your child as this can be a clear sign that there is a deeper problem than just typical changes. Physical signs of stress can include things like scratching themselves unconsciously, breakouts of spots all over their body, picking at their fingernails, pulling at their hair, tapping their legs and so much more. Any small sign of stress could be an indicator that they are struggling, especially if these are most prominent when they are heading to or from school. Make sure to keep an eye on them at these times, and when they are completing homework, as this is when it is most likely to be visible.
Issues With Mood
We also want to say that issues with mood are a common indicator that your child is struggling with school. An example of this would be if your children start to become moody, more irritable than usual, and snaps at you. In some cases, it might feel as though you have a completely different child to the one that you are used to, and this can be disturbing for parents who have never been through this before. It’s important though that you sit down and understand that this could just be a reaction to the stress of struggling with school.
In order to help them, you should try to get them to open up about the problems that they are facing. It’s not going to be easy, especially if their mood changes are due to this, but you just have to chip away at the wall brick by brick. Try not to take their mood too personally as at the end of the day, it’s nothing really to do with you.
Do note that problems with mood can be due to frustration that your child is experiencing because they don’t understand a lesson or a certain subject. As such, the best way to help your child will be to provide some extra support with lessons like this outside of school. For instance, you can get worksheets for kids that could provide huge benefits here.
Complete Isolation
If your child is struggling with school, they may end up completely isolating themselves from you, as well as their friends. This can be down to stress, or anxiety that they are not going to do well and people are going to be disappointed in them. It’s often easier not to say anything than to admit that they are finding things difficult and risk people making fun of them. As such, it’s important that if you notice your child withdrawing from you and the things that they love, that you check in with them.
Struggling with school is actually quite common for kids, even if this is only in one area. Ideally, you should be asking them about school every day when you sit down for dinner. Ask them if there is anything that you can do to help, ask them if there is something specific that they are struggling with, and genuinely be interested in the answers. Your kids are much more likely to open up to you if they feel as though you’re not going to judge them. This is why you need to provide a judgment free household, as the last thing you want is your children to bottle up their emotions.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the signs that your child is struggling with school. It’s important that you look out for any and all indicators that your child is struggling in one or more areas of school, and then take the correct measures to help them. Too many parents believe that school is the teacher’s domain and home is the parent’s, but this is not always the case. As their parent, you need to be interested in all aspects of their life, including their schooling.
