My child is struggling in school – what can I do?

Are you frustrated with seeing your child struggling in school?

He works really hard at school but doesn’t seem to succeed. She has so much potential but she just won’t put the effort in. He’s such a gifted sportsman, but if he ever hopes for a bursary he needs to somehow improve his academic results. She has so many barriers that prevent her from really succeeding.

Mommy, I see you. I hear you. And you’re not alone!

My child is struggling and I feel alone!

Maybe you’ve seen your child struggling from day one. The teachers have alerted you to areas where your child is having a hard time. Maybe you have no clue why but you know they’re just not coping. Maybe you know that your child has some learning challenges.

Either of those scenarios can make you feel super isolated. And then the mom-guilt kicks in.

Have I done enough? What if something I did or didn’t do made them struggle like this? Would it have been different if I had been a stay-at-home mom? Or if I’d rather been a working mom and rather sent them to school?

We can get so bogged down with those feelings.

I am here to tell you today that YOU. ARE. NOT. ALONE.

And as your child’s mom, you might not be an expert in development or education, but you are an expert on your child. You’ve known them from the very beginning and you would do anything to see them achieve their greatest potential.

So you can do this – you can be the support they need.

If that’s daunting, it’s ok. You’re in the right place.

I want to help my child who is struggling, but I don’t know how!

Everything in us as moms makes us want to help the tiny (maybe not so tiny anymore) humans we call our own. Here are 3 practical ways to help them to succeed academically.

1) Be their biggest supporter.

Your child is most likely feeling as alone and concerned as you are – whether they show it or not. They know something’s up; they see that they’re not attaining the results they want to or expect to.

Knowing that your love, your care, your commitment to them is not dependent on their success or failure is what will make all the difference.

They need to know that you’re in their corner! 100%.

But they also need to know that that means that

• You’re not going to condone or support their lack of effort.
• You’re not going to look for excuses when the responsibility rests on their shoulders.
• You’re not going to sit back and wait for it to fix itself.

Being their biggest supporter means that you are going to do everything in your power, even the tough stuff, to help them reach their potential!

2) Get resources to tackle the content they’re struggling with.

One of the most useful things you can do is provide your child with tools and resources that

• Re-teach content they’ve missed.
• Close gaps in their understanding.
• Allow them to practice and master the concepts they are a bit cloudy on.
• Challenge them to push themselves a bit further out of their comfort zone.

Finding resources can be a daunting task though – let’s be honest. There are SO many out there

Does it comply with the curriculum? Does it meet my child’s needs? Will it have the effect on their performance that I’m hoping for? Does it actually tackle the areas my child is struggling with? This subject wasn’t my strong suit, so how I can actually teach my child something I don’t know!?

My aim is to equip you to help your child succeed. You will find the following tools and resources, right here on this blog:

• Printables to inspire you and your child
• Printable tools designed to develop study and organization skills
• Worksheets
• Practice tests
• Videos teaching various concepts
• Courses to master various topics
• And much more!

Having these resources will equip you to help your child one-on-one or if your child is older, they can work through the videos, printables or courses on their own.

3) Find someone else to help them.

Being your child’s tutor can be incredible. But, sometimes, it just doesn’t work for them, or for mom (or dad) to be the tutor.

After all moms and dads know nothing right! (rolls eyes)

But besides that, if you only get home at 6pm you don’t want to spend the only 2 hours you have with your son or daughter struggling through a Math test or worksheet!

Sometimes having a tutor is simply the best thing!

I had a parent come to me and tell me how having a tutor had restored her relationship with her daughter! I was stunned! What could she possibly mean!?

She went on to tell me that Maths was the bane of their relationship. And the more she tried to tutor her daughter, the more they pulled apart. As a mom, her heart was to help her daughter to reach her full potential, but she lacked the knowledge, skill and patience to be an effective tutor.

Sometimes it’s most effective to just hire someone else to do it. Finding the right tuition options can be a challenge, and I think that topic deserves a whole post to itself!

Let’s wrap it up…

Those 3 practical ways to help your child succeed will be a great starting point to helping your child achieve academic success.

You are doing an amazing job! When the doubt and guilt and lies start flooding your mind and heart, you need to remember this:

No one else can do what you’re doing with the children you call your own.

You have been entrusted with each one of them.

You have been blessed with each one of them.

By reading this post, by linking into this community, by using the tools and resources here, you are taking the first steps in helping your child succeed and that means…

YOU. ARE. AN. AWESOME. MOM.