How to Get Your Child to School

Source: UNSPLASH

Children with school refusal have a very difficult time getting to school and/or staying in school, usually due to some type of anxiety. School refusal can mean that children have trouble going to school – or that they don’t go to school at all. Children who refuse to go to school usually spend the day at home with their parents’ knowledge, even though their parents try really hard to get them to go.

If your child refuses to go to school, you might feel that school mornings are a ‘battle of wills’. Your child might:
>> have crying episodes or tantrums
>> hide under the bed covers
>> refuse to move
>> beg or plead not to go
>> complain of aches, pains and illness before school, which generally get better if you let your child stay at home
>> show high levels of anxiety
>> make threats to self-harm.

Here are some things you can do:

1. Check for physical causes. If your child is complaining of physical symptoms, have her checked by a physician.

2. Talk with your child.  Talk about what's bothering her, while at the same time making it clear that a plan will be made to return to school. Keep in mind, though, that some children can't describe what is bothering them. Don't force conversation if it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The most important message to convey is this: you believe your child can conquer this problem, and you'll be there to help her through it.

3. Don’t lecture. Avoid lengthy discussions and debates about the importance of going to school. Lecturing won't do any good, and it may actually make matters worse. Any attention, even negative attention, can reinforce and maintain a problem.

4 Keep an open mind. Don't assume the teacher or the school has done something wrong. Similarly, teachers should not assume the problem lies with the parents. When stress levels are high, it's natural to want to point the finger and blame someone, but it doesn't do much to solve the problem. It's important to make sure that any reality-based fears, such as bullying, are addressed and corrected.

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Effective Tips on Getting Your Children Do Homework

Even though kids do not like doing homework, they have to endure the process until they graduate high school if not college. Getting into a rhythm of great homework habits is difficult to start but it is achievable. However, you must take the extra effort to help your kids on this task before they can do it on their own.

Use a planner – This will be useful in planning out your kids’ tasks daily. When their homework are itemised in a planner according to deadlines, kids will not feel overwhelmed and so they will be encouraged to finish them bit by bit.

Stir clear of after school activities – It is important to face the fact that homework requires many hours to be completed. Thus, your kids must be free of after-school activities which eat much of their time and energy. If they have music lessons or sports, schedule it during the weekend.

Have a routine – Believe it or not, kids are comforted by routine. Routine makes them confident that they are in control of everything. After getting home from school, let your kids eat and rest for a couple of hours. Then, prod them to do their homework.

Create a homework  area – Do you have a study room in your house? If you don’t setting up a study area would be fine. It can be in their room, kitchen or living room. Just make sure that it’s free from distractions like computer games, loud music and TV.

Include breaks – Doing homework for long hours is strenuous. Allow your kids to stand, stretch and break away from their desk for a few minutes. Short breaks will keep them from getting bored or exhausted and losing concentration.

This video might help if you need more insights on this topic.

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Nagging Kids about Homework: Is This Advisable?

It is very tempting to nag your child when he’s not accomplishing all his homework. Before giving in to this temptation, pause for a second and understand that is common among kids to dislike doing homework. Primarily, this is due to the fact that they’ve already stayed long hours in school. They would really want to relax after school and spend their remaining energy on something enjoyable.

Nagging is not the solution to your child’s lack of motivation to accomplish his homework. Why? Nagging puts premium on the value of the homework and not on the value of your child. It may seem that nagging disciplines your child. But the truth is he simply completes his homework so that you can quit nagging him.

Nagging can also conditions your child you not to follow your orders the first time you said them. In effect, he will not do his homework until you remind him about it ten times. Such a situation can also lead to more serious issues like power struggle and irresponsibility.

Instead of nagging, allow natural consequences to happen when he has not done his homework. This will give him a taste of his irresponsibility. If ever he does his homework on time and receives positive consequences from doing so, encourage him to keep up the good work that he has started.

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Tips On Encouraging Kids To Love Reading Books

Reading books is deemed as a chore by most kids these days. They no longer enjoy the feel of holding a book, flipping its pages and understanding its content chapter by chapter. Thus, making kids treat it as   fun activity will require much effort on the part of the parents.

The best way to make your kids love reading is to read aloud to them before bed time or whenever you have time to spare. This also means that you must love reading too. Instead of holding your gadget and browsing through ebooks, let your kids catch you holding your favourite paperback book and reading it in between household chores. If possible, limit the number of computers or mobile gadgets in your house.  A desktop or laptop for the whole family is enough especially when your kids are still young. 

Walk your kids to the nearest library in your locality. Kids can be thrilled with the idea of being surrounded with a lot of books and reading them with other kids. By frequenting the library with your kids, they will have a bigger chance to meet a reading or library buddy. Your kids will have new friends besides a new found love for reading.

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