What to Do if Your Child Brings Bad Grades

Bad grades

The end of the school year is a scary time for parents as well as children: this is when exam results come out!
In the majority of cases, a failing grade will slip onto a report card and the class will have to be made up in September. In any case, we must avoid two behaviors that are more common than we think: we must not think of bad grades as a serious failure that will tarnish our child’s lives forever; nor must we let it slide and act as though bad grades do not matter. In both cases, let us be aware of the fact that we are underestimating the efforts of our son or daughter.

For a bad grade, there is no solution at the time. What’s done is done, but all is not lost: remember that there is still the opportunity to retake in September. We must have the determination that we can (and we say it in plural) overcome this difficulty.

First of all, we must identify the cause of this bad grade. Is there something that makes our son or daughter lose interest? Is there some tension in the classroom? Or is it something simple like the amount of effort he/she is inputting does not produce the required results? From here, there is an array of solutions to choose from: talking to the teacher, the personal tutor or the course counselor.

But we are going to put ourselves in the shoes of our child who has given this exam their all and not gotten the results he-she was hoping for. Last month, we spoke about creating a pleasant study environment, but it’s likely that this alone is not sufficient. What should we do?

We insist: we don’t yell at them, but nor do we treat them like a “buddy”. In these moments our child needs his/her parents, neither as a severe judge nor as a carefree friend. Behaving in this situation can be as easy as thinking “how would we have liked our parents to behave when we showed them our grades?” From here on out, we need to emphasize the following:

Believe in your child’s ability: encourage them to make an effort and let them know that, in any moment of difficulty, they can count on us.

Help your child to organize their study time: it’s not enough to simply say, “Study more!” you need to make sure that they organize their time. And remember, above all, that now and again, they’ll need a study break.

Allow your child to see that they still have time to study between now and September, there are still a few months left, but it’s not a lot of time so they should start ASAP.

Make sure not to pressure your child, but at the same time, it’s important not to let the days slip past. The best thing is to do a little bit each day and get used to doing it from the beginning.

Of course, we speak as parents, but our tips are not foolproof because every child is different. But we want to put our two cents in the resolution of a problem that, lest we forget, has a solution if we apply ourselves.


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