Report cards are a summary of how your child got on during the year and while a disappointing one might not come as a shock, for some mums it might. How you handle both good and bad grades is important to ensuring your child is given both the encouragement and focus they need.
Here are five ways to deal with your little one’s report card:
Before you open it
Before you open the report, ask your child how they think they did throughout the year. Not only will this prepare you for disappointing marks, it also opens the floor for any problems they might have which could explain why they didn’t do too well.
Teacher’s comments
The teacher’s comments are a great way to understand how your little one is during class - whether they are chatty, shy or disruptive. Before you start to give out to your little one for bad behaviour, give them a chance to explain and listen to them, otherwise they might start to feel ganged up on.
Bad grades
If your little one came home with bad grades, it is important you talk to them about where they feel they are going wrong or how you can help them. If your youngster says they are really struggling with a particular subject, they might benefit from some extra one-on-one tuition, so talk to the teacher who might be able to provide this.
Focus on how to do better
While it is important you let them know that bad grades won’t be tolerated, it is also vital you focus on how they can get better, rather than how to punish them. A report card is a way to find out where your little one is falling down and how they can improve, not a list of things that they can’t do or just bad grades. Help them to focus on how to improve.
Don’t over praise
If your child comes home with a glowing report card, it is important you reinforce how their hard work has paid off and not over praise them. Try saying something like, “I saw how hard you worked, well done”. This way they will feel satisfaction from a job well done which is especially important if your child always comes home with good grades.
Report cards are simply a report on your child’s progress throughout the year, look to them as an indication of where your kid can improve and how well they are doing.
