It’s frustrating for parents who know their kids are capable, but they consistently come home with bad grades on their report cards.
It’s natural for parents to worry about a child’s future. What do you do when you see your child destroying their future opportunities for employment or higher education.
Many parents will use nagging as a form of motivation, but they are only making the situation worse in most cases. Parents aren’t powerless when it comes to motivating their kids to try better at school, but understanding why they are getting bad grades is the first step.
1. Too Many Distractions
Children today have many more distractions to cope with than their parents, with technology like smartphones and laptops are a distracting influence for more than 50% of students.
On top of the technological distractions, kids are still dealing with the age-old challenges of talking classmates, posters, and cluttered workspaces.
The home also creates many distractions, including, house visitors, pets, and video games. They all add up to less time for focused study.
If your child is getting bad grades, your first step should be to minimize the number of distractions as much as possible.
2. They Feel Like They Need to be Perfect
It’s a competitive world, and too much time on social media can make teenagers feel like they need to be perfect to be successful.
Children with an overwhelming fear of failure can feel discouraged enough to give up trying at the first sign of failure.
Teach your children to value their mistakes as learning experiences and that failure is a part of life. When teens understand that they don’t have to be perfect, they will be more motivated to hit the books.
3. They May Find School Too Easy
If your child is repeatedly saying that school is boring, don’t assume it’s because they are lazy and lack motivation. Sometimes, a bored kid is not challenged enough at school. The result is they get bad grades even though they are very intelligent.
Talk with your kids and their teachers to find out if the course material is at an appropriate level. If not, more challenging projects may be a good way to boost their motivation levels.
4. They Have Too Much To Do
The later years of secondary education can create quite the workload for a teen, especially if they are also working part-time.
Teens may cope with an overbearing schedule by skipping critical assignments or missing out on sleep. Some may also cope by escaping from reality with video games or TV.
Teach your teen important time-management skills, help them create a timetable, and show them how to plan their days and weeks.
Managing their schedule ensures busy teenagers will always have time for the essential things, including socializing and having fun.
5. Give Your Child Some Freedom
Children who have control over their academic studies can feel more motivated than those who are nagged all the time.
Of course, there will need to be boundaries, but as long as children understand and abide by their responsibilities, the nagging will stop.