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Seven tips for dealing with bad grades

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    Seven tips for dealing with bad grades, because a bad report is humiliating and disappointing for both children and parents.

    1. Stay calm and remember that it is “just” grades and not a disaster. Stand by your child; he or she is much more than just a student. If you find this difficult, consider whether a bad report card would still mean something if the world ended tomorrow.
    2. Think about how your child is feeling now. What does he feel and what does he need from you now? Even if your child seems cool, he or she cares about the grades. Stand by your child and tell him or her what he or she is good at. Write a “what-I-love-about-you list” and comfort him or her until the smile wins out again.
    3. Please don’t punish your child, because this is demotivating and you probably want to achieve exactly the opposite. People are motivated when they are interested in something, when they like to do something and are active. If your child likes to play sports or paint, encourage him to do so – this will help him to build up self-confidence again.
    4. Don’t blame your child, and remember that bad grades can have a negative impact on self-image. Your child needs positive experiences now. Give him age-appropriate responsibilities and let him make his own decisions so he can experience self-efficacy.
    5. If you are interested in a good parent-child relationship, don’t build pressure by setting unrealistic goals for your child for the upcoming school year. Your child probably doesn’t have a strategy for improving his or her grades; that will take time and courage. Maybe treat your child to support from a learning coach?
    6. Ask your child if he or she has ideas about how to move forward in school and offer your help. Tell about your own failures and how you always managed to pick yourself up. Show your child how to deal with low blows, be the rock.
    7. If your child wants to practice vocabulary on his or her own initiative during the vacations, for example, then twenty minutes a day is certainly not harmful. In principle, however, summer vacations are not meant for solving school problems, but for the swimming pool, for friends and for relaxing. Let your child have fun, so they can recharge their batteries and start the new school year strong.