TUTORING: IS IT RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD?

As a parent, one of the most challenging experiences is noticing that your child is having a tough time with learning. However, once you recognize that your child might benefit from additional assistance, your child may actually begin to enjoy learning!

So how do you know if your child can benefit from having a tutor? For starters, s/he might start disliking a school subject, allowing his grades to slip or stay low, and show increasing evidence of frustration. You might also see signs of low self-esteem during homework sessions.

Consider the following behaviors to help you decide whether a tutor would be helpful for your child:

1. Avoids talking about certain subjects. A youngster who's struggling with math or science might refrain from talking about those particular subjects. When you ask him about a subject you're concerned with, he might even pretend he didn't hear you.

2. Dislikes specific school subjects. If you hear comments like, "I hate math! It's so boring!" ask your child more specific questions about it. Also, get his book and ask him to show you the parts he "hates" about math. * If these remarks occur on a consistent basis, keep tabs on his grades in these subjects.

3. Grades are dropping or consistently below average. Maybe you've already tackled a school subject together and thought you had it handled. When your daughter's grades are lower than a C over a months' time even though you worked on helping her improve, you may want to consider a tutor.

4. Increasing frustration at school. If one of your kids shows signs of unhappiness or frustration with school, inquire about what's bugging him. Hopefully, he'll tell you. If he doesn't, keep observing and watch for other signs on this list.

5. Shows signs of low self-esteem. A child who's struggling with learning will likely begin to lose confidence in himself. He may make statements like, "I'm so dumb" or "I can't do anything right."

6. Exhibits troublesome behaviors around homework. Although this sign by itself doesn't indicate the need for a tutor, misbehavior during homework time indicates a need for paying closer attention. * These behaviors can be a diversion from him actually completing the homework in a particular subject. The child's goal for the misbehavior is to prevent him from having to deal with the subject with his parent. S/he might even fear that his parents will learn that he doesn't understand the subject matter, so to avoid being "found out," they misbehave.

If you're in tune with your child, you'll most likely notice when they might benefit from having a tutor. A tutor can help your child learn to study the subject that's challenging them. Furthermore, tutors are trained to understand the intricate connection between self-esteem and learning.

So, not only will getting a tutor help your child with their grades, but it may also increase their confidence level. Use the behaviors above as a jumping-off point to help you determine whether your child would benefit from a tutor. Even if academics aren't your kid's greatest strengths, learning confidence early on in school can lead to greater success later in life.

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