Every school year, loads of parents discover that their children are beginning to drop the ball academically. Some other parents are worried that although their children have never really performed well at school, they haven’t recorded any significant improvement either. Instead, the scores keep hitting the ground. Before we begin a serious analysis, it is worthy of note that not every child likes school and they have very little regard for grades. Left alone, they would rather spend time doing all else asides school work. So the onus lies on us as parents to help them understand the importance of school. This motivation might just be all a child needs to restore their interest and put in the required effort at school.

If you have done this, as much as possible, and the scores are still not improving, it might be due to many different factors.

1. One of the factors is that some children have organizational challenges. This means that they are not able to plan their time, forget when an assignment is due, are a little clumsy during the change of lessons while moving from one classroom to the other. Being well organized is needed if a child must do well at school. You may need to help out with a planner and teach them to follow it.

2. Another reason like the above is over-scheduling. A child might be loaded with activities and things to do that their mind is always preoccupied with how to get them done. Unfortunately, there is only so much that a child can handle. A child involved in three or more different activities may find that they have a hard time balancing them all. So, you want your child to learn how to code and also take swimming lessons after school. You may want to consider letting some things go. Not many people get away with eating their cake and having it at the same time.

3. This one may sound a little bit funny. But if your child is still in the elementary school and is beginning to perform poorly, it may be as a result of a personal dislike for their teacher. It is very important that children are comfortable with the teacher before them. Otherwise, it may be difficult to reach out to them. It is worse still if the teacher does not understand the child’s language. The child will gradually build a brick wall which makes it increasingly difficult. So, engage your child in discussions after school to find out what happened at school. This way, you know when to come in. This daily reflection with children is what many parents miss and they gradually leave their children at the mercy of unprofessional teachers.   

4. Finally, poor performance can be a result of learning disabilities. This is no fault of the child. Some learning disabilities are easy to detect and diagnose while the case is not the same for others. Either way, try to find out if your child has difficulty with numbers (dyscalculia) which might negatively impact their Mathematics, or dyslexia which impacts the ability to spell words and express themselves in writing. In this case actually, the letters usually jump and are confusing. There are a number of other learning disabilities whose presence may affect your child’s grades. Good news is, you can seek help.