5 Red Flags to Watch for this School Year

Poor grades – Of course, the biggest sign that things aren’t going well at school is your child’s performance. An isolated poor grade shouldn’t cause major concern. However, are you noticing consistently low grades or that your child’s grades are dropping throughout the semester or school year? Don’t just pay attention at report card time. Keep tabs on daily and weekly assignments and projects and take note of any concerning patterns.

Homework taking a long time – Many teachers give a time estimate at the beginning of the school year of how much homework their students should expect each night. How does your child’s work time compare to this estimate? If your child struggles to do homework independently or consistently takes longer than estimated by the teacher to complete assignments, you should investigate. This might be a sign that your child doesn’t understand what is being taught in class or is having trouble focusing or understanding directions.

Change in personality – Mood swings are normal for any child, but keep an eye out for significant changes in your child’s disposition and attitude. Is your typically happy child becoming sullen or angry during the school year? Is your child slowly losing interest in school or even friends or activities they used to enjoy? In addition, are you noticing your child’s grades suffering?

Negative self-talk – Frustration with even small challenges could signify that your child has given up on a subject—and themselves. This is common with children who are lacking building-block skills to keep up in the classroom and acquire new knowledge. Does your child seem pessimistic about their abilities? Do they become easily frustrated during homework time?

Disorganization – Disorganization is a common problem for children, but does your child seem to struggle with it in more than one area? Pay particular attention to how your child keeps track of homework and assignments and maintains their backpack, desk and room. Lost homework and sloppy work are signs that your child lacks attention to detail, a challenge that will become more problematic in middle and high school.

The best way parents can help their child is to seek help when they notice one or more warning signs. Most school issues don’t go away on their own. Poor grades are an obvious sign of difficulties in school, but there are many other red flags to which parents should pay attention. Recognizing that something is amiss and taking action quickly could make all the difference.

If your child appears to be struggling, call Huntington at 1-800 CAN LEARN to talk about how we can help your child improve their skills, which lead to better grades.