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Most parents’ first instinct when they see a failing grade is to yell and punish their child. However, this strategy might cause more harm than good. As parents, you should be sensitive in dealing with these kinds of situations since your children are at a stage where they’re still capable of holding grudges. Although a bad grade is a red flag for a potential child concern, it does not measure your kid’s overall worth.
Listed below are some of the tips on dealing with bad report card grades to help parents like you who are still unsure of what tactic to use in these kinds of situations.
Praise Your Child
Do not just focus on the negatives. Make sure that you still acknowledge their well-mannered attitude, good attendance, and high grades in some subjects. Tell them that they have done an excellent job and that they have made you proud. This strategy will give your children a boost of confidence and will inspire them to do better in the areas that they have not excelled in.
Understand The Grading System
Before reacting, ensure that you have read and fully understood what the numbers and letters in the report card are all about. Each school has its way of grading their students. They have different grade ranges and cut-off failing grades. Knowing the ins and outs of the grading system will give you a brief idea of how good or bad the situation of your kid is.
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Schedule A Consultation Time With Your Child
Yes, it might be tempting for you to air your concerns once your child shows you his or her report card. However, this might not be for the best. If you express your frustrations on a heated moment, chances are you’ll only offend your child and result in a screaming match. Nothing productive will come of this situation.
What you can do is to wait until both you and your kid have calmed down a little bit and schedule your consultation time. You may opt to talk with him or her after dinner or after he or she is done doing homework.
Calmly Discuss
Take note that kids do not absorb lectures. Instead, they are more receptive to open discussions. You can start your talk by asking them what they think happened and what kinds of problems led to this situation. From here, you can then come up with specific strategies which will help them overcome their challenges.
For example, your kid tells you that their teacher talks too fast, and he or she cannot understand what they are saying. Knowing this, you can phone the teacher and air this concern to him or her.
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Identify Motivational Patterns
Do not punish poor grades; instead, identify their motivational patterns and bank on this. Let’s say that they are visual learners. Your best approach in this situation is to create PowerPoint presentations or let them read books with a lot of pictures so that it will be easier for them to absorb the topics.
For every failing grade, there is most likely something that you, as a parent, can do to improve the situation. Don’t be caught up with your emotions. Take the time to listen to them, analyze the case, and slowly address the problems. Letting your child know that you are still there as a support system will build their confidence, which will more likely translate to an excellent performance in school.