Don’t your kids want to do their homework either? There are at least 5 reasons for this. For this reason, papers writers tell why children procrastinate with reading and what parents should do about it.
A child believes in his laziness.
How so? The line does not exist. Experts are convinced. There is some specific reason behind the name. For example, when parents or teachers want to prevent laziness, they constantly repeat: “Do not be lazy. Or any failure is explained by, “You don’t want to do anything. And the child starts to believe that he was just lazy from birth.
There is a phenomenon – if someone is expected to do something, he changes his behavior so that the expectations come true. For example, suppose examiners are given false information about the high intelligence of some students and the low intelligence of others. In that case, they inflate or undervalue their grades, and not without reason. After all, those looked upon with interest and friendliness answer better than usual. And those who are listened to disapprovingly, “inattentively,” mumble something. Parental cries of “Down with nothing you want to do!” only reinforce the chances that things won’t budge.
What to do? Impose the opposite. Yes, it works. Try it! Repeat to your child that he is a hard worker at heart. Look for strange evidence: “It must be hard for an active kid (girl) like you to sit at the computer all day? But you go from level to level in the game. Hence you are persistent.” Remember how your son or daughter helped you, did something with inspiration for a long time. Don’t force, don’t demand for at least a few weeks. Please wait for the words to begin to work their magic. And then try to transfer the positive image of the hard worker to work on homework. Say, such a stubborn child here tasks – for half an hour. Does the schoolboy think that the lesson is big? Then make a challenge, but also with a positive attitude: “I bet: will you finish math in an hour? With your temperament, you can win.
The child’s performance is uneven.
How so? Many outstanding people were called lazy at school: for example, the brilliant scientist Albert Einstein, the inventor Thomas Edison, the Nobel Prize winner in physics Wilhelm Wien. Perhaps your child’s problem is not indifference to schoolwork, but an asymmetry of the brain’s hemispheres, with the rights being more active. Of course, this is far from always a sign of genius. It can bring problems in life, so a visit to a neurologist wouldn’t hurt. But it’s not an illness. People with imaginative thinking and such a bright “right hemisphere” contributed to art and science. However, such a child cannot live up to a schedule, especially if pushed.
“Right hemisphere” has given rise to many myths: it is unrelated to emotions and certainly not strictly female specificity. But such a child’s activity depends on natural cycles much more than others. Planned a bunch of cases, and today – magnetic storms, forces at zero, so he is “lazy.” But in moments of energy inflow, the student can move mountains. The school schedule for such a boy or girl is a severe ordeal from which, at least at home, they want to have a rest, specifically from plans and timeframes, but not from intellectual activity.
What to do? Forget the advice: “Don’t take up an activity until you finish the previous one.” Monotonous activities tire such children, and effectiveness is reduced. Let him go from one thing to another, no matter how strange it may look. Solved two math examples, did a grammar problem in a language notebook, and watched a biology video. And then math again. The main thing is to switch attention between different learning activities and need a break every 45 minutes when the child moves, walks, and goes out on the balcony for air.
To avoid problems with the lessons, help the pupil study the fluctuations of his activity during the day of the week. The energy level can be depicted in a graph or denoted by different smiley faces. This technique is called time surfing. The athlete on the board is always ready at sea – waiting for a return wave. The student can be taught to do the most difficult items when the wave “carries” and the rest when the strength declines.
The child has conflicts at school.
How’s that? Bullying, fighting with peers in a new class, and a significant conflict with a teacher can lead to school “allergies.” During the day in class, the child somehow hangs in there. But at home, textbooks and notebooks remind of painful experiences, so the feeling of security in one’s own home disappears. Therefore the son or daughter unconsciously tries to eliminate any mention of school.
What to do? Establish a trusting relationship, and talk about what is going on at school. It is always better to ask about the child’s school routine informally, not limited to what grades he got, be interested in his friends, relationships with classmates, events, and even seemingly small things to adults. Then you will be able to understand in time if something happens.
In any case, check this version. If the child talks frankly and joyfully about school life, cross out this reason. If conflict or bullying is confirmed (read about how to distinguish one from another), you should deal with it, not just the child. You may have to talk to a teacher or a psychologist. If the case is even more severe and long-term, perhaps we are talking about bullying. You will have to go to specialists and school administrators.
How is it? Such a child does not differ from his peers. Their intellect is average. He doesn’t run around the room. He copes with the school program. Is it hyperactivity? But any external stimulus (a new subject, person, noise) knocks out such a student. He was doing homework, was distracted by a friend’s call… He returned not to his notebooks but started to clean the room as if he had forgotten what he was doing. If there are many such stimuli, he is overexcited and quickly gets tired, but he cannot stop and rest. Such a schoolboy can be compared to a car driver with broken brakes. Structures of the brain, which inhibit physical and emotional activity, work weakly, and those responsible for activation – a hundred percent.
What to do? Only a specialist can distinguish hidden hyperactivity, so you should consult a neurologist. There is hope – with the right approach in the teenage years, the child can “outgrow” the problem. Do you want her to get things done? The right prescription: more physical activity, walks in the fresh air. First, send her to the yard and the sports section and remind her about her homework. Oddly enough, such a student needs a little physical fatigue to ground herself, to focus on one thing.
The child is behind in the program.
How’s that? Note that we are not considering the options when, for example, a child doesn’t want to do the math but reads history willingly. There are many more reasons why a student avoids a particular school discipline. Maybe she doesn’t like it or finds it hard to do. We are only considering the situation where a child puts off doing any homework, and if you force his mood drops dramatically, tears and complaints may begin.
Why might gaps in a child’s knowledge in all subjects and learning results be worse than those of her classmates? She may have been sick for a long time, skipped classes, and generally needs a slower pace of learning and extra explanations, and her parents don’t have time for that. Perhaps the school has changed, or the student has moved from elementary to primary school, and the requirements are higher here? Ideally, there should be continuity in teaching material at different levels of education. Still, it happens in life that in 4th grade, they let a child read almost word for word, and in 5th grade, they expect the child to master significant texts independently and understand them deeply.
What to do? Help your child catch up. Awareness has already been written about how to do this.
You can arrange with the teacher for individual lessons or hire a tutor if the father and mother do not have time. It is essential to understand one thing: until the pupil has not mastered what he has learned before, you can not expect him to succeed and complete tasks. Why is this important? The child will have to work twice as hard: study the old material and do the current homework. It’s already a lot of work. If mistakes or not-so-high scores for the assignment will cause criticism from parents, the task for the child will also become an impossible burden from a psychological point of view. Promise not to make damaging remarks until your schoolboy catches up with his classmates in the program, and keep your word.
