What is Holding Your Child Back?

What is Holding Your Child Back?

 

Last year, I wrote an article that talks about finding a system of education that works for one’s family, and the importance of identifying a student’s driving motivation, to help make the teaching process easier and also to help increase retention of material learned. Since there is evidence that a student learns better about subjects for which they have an interest, this is a practical strategy for making the education process easier for everyone.

 

Understanding a student’s struggles can be just as important as knowing what motivates them.

 

          There can be several different reasons why students may struggle to learn, even about things they should be interested in. It is important to address these as they are identified, and to try and mitigate them as much as possible, because they all feed into the amount of confidence a student has, and confident students perform better.

         

If your child struggles with learning, answering the following questions may help to isolate the problem so adjustments can be made.

 

Is the student getting enough sleep at night? More than that, are they getting restful sleep? It is possible that a child may be sleeping enough hours but not getting sleep that is making them wake up refreshed in the morning. If a child mouth breathes, moves a lot in their sleep, struggles with sleep apnea, or wakes constantly during the night, these things can be signs that they are likely not getting the sleep they need and it can lead to several issues involving focus, mood, regulation of emotion, and more.

For our children, we have done a variety of things to help improve sleep, including palate expanders (to open airway and make room for adult teeth); chiropractic care (helps improve nervous system function so signals can travel through the body with ease); limit screen time- especially before bed, magnesium supplementation in the form of Epsom salt baths or body butter on their feet (I make an all-natural magnesium body butter that works very well for inducing sleep in wired children and adults and it can be found here), limit sugar and caffeine (good health practices for total body wellness), and occasionally a relaxing tea, such as chamomile or lavender, or a homeopathic remedy like calcarea carbonica if their minds just won’t slow down.

Does the student have a different learning style than the one being used to teach them? Some students learn by seeing things, hearing things, or by participating in activities or moving. A student who learns best by seeing things will struggle to internalize information if it is only told to them. A student who learns by actively doing will not learn as well if they see it on paper or even in a video demonstration. Most students benefit greatly from hands-on, immersive environments because they utilize all of their different learning faculties in these settings and can come away with something regardless of their learning strengths. This is why we try to teach in a hands-on way whenever possible, whether it is through baking, talking about money management, good business practices, etc. There is usually a bigger picture- and end goal- and the smaller subjects are treated as a means-to-an-end, rather than an end in themselves. Understanding the context where something would be used can help greatly with retention.

This applies to children who are so-called dyslexic, or ADHD, as well. They may not do well with education in the conventional sense, but they have their own strengths that are amazing to witness when those strengths are recognized and utilized to their fullest potential. This not only reduces frustration, but also increases confidence for the student, and is especially important if the student has historically struggled to do things “they way everyone else does.”

Is my child afraid to fail? This can be a very difficult trait to identify because it can manifest in different ways- it can look like lack of interest, protesting when asked to perform, refusing to try, etc. Ultimately, it is a form of anxiety for the perfectionist child- the one who wants to be good at things but is reluctant to try for fear they may not be good enough. For our student who struggles with this, Arsenicum Album has proven to be very helpful to help overcome that anxiety so she’s more willing to try. We also make it a practice to remind our kids that we all learn through trying, and practice makes us better. No one is a master of anything the first time, and we also want our kids to see us trying things we aren’t good at so they feel like they can be bad at things, too. Our children watch us very closely, and our actions speak volumes, so it is essential that our actions match the words we are saying to our kids, even if it is a blow to our pride at times. I DON’T want my kids to think I know how to do everything; I want them to see me trying to learn new things and get better at the times I’m not very good at. Because, I want them to be brave enough to do those things, too.

         

You can find more information about these subjects and more in my book: The Science of Homeschooling

 

 

*Note: None of the information here should be taken as medical advice, it is intended as ideas for parents to research on their own in managing their children’s unique situations

** Contains Affiliate Links