My child doesn't enjoy school

[heyhoe]

My child join P1 this year and doesn’t enjoy school. He gave reasons like he’ll miss us, or the teachers are fierce etc. However, I think the root of his problem is he’s bored.


After many talks, I discover that he find lessons very boring as he can’t play and he already knows what is being taught. He came from a playbased childcare, thus I’m wondering how to help him.

Any ideas, please share with me. Thanks!

[sashimi]

Not an easy situation to address, but I sympathize.


One suggestion I can think of is to see if you can somehow get him to find and enjoy the company of his classmates, as a reason to enjoy school.

My DD hasnt really complained about p1, but she also feels (and has said so a few times) that childcare is more fun than p1. But this is within expectations. Fortunately, she seems to enjoy the company of her p1 friends, and P.E.

[sleepy]

Perhaps help him to see from another perspective. Since school is easy, use this opportunity to hone his leadership & interpersonal skills?


If he’s good in his classwork, teacher may assigned him to be subject leader or monitor, etc
He can also offer help to other classmates who are weaker in certain subject or topic & make more friends

[yjjjj]

my son has the same problem too, he’s not stupid, but he selectively chosse what he wants to learn. If he’s not interested, he totally shuts it out. How to trigger his interes? especially n languages, chinese and english! HELP!

[csc]

Hi


From my own observation of my kids, the reason they love going to school (even when they are sick) is due mainly to the following factors:

One - they love the company of their friends.... whom they play with and chat with..... for my son, it's the football games during recesses and yes, PE, of course.

Two - they love their teachers - my daughter adores her pri one and pri two teacher (the same one) and till now, in pr 6, still speaks fondly of her.

So, parent concerned may want to speak with the child's teacher regarding the issue. Hopefully, the teacher can play a part in making the child feel welcome and help her \"gel\" into the class.

Parents also need to continue to encourage their children to be positive , to make friends and to enjoy school.. School is not just a place to acquire knowledge .It is also an avenue where a child can acquire skills such as leadership or interpersonal skills , values such as obeying authorities and serving and caring for others and interests can be discovered and developed in school too.:D

[heyhoe]

Thanks for the replies.


Yes, I've been encouraging him to make more friends. Kinda desperate to the point of every friend he makes, he gets 5 mins on my handphone (play games). He \"gels\" with 2 friends who love \"Ben 10\". Thinking of inviting some of his classmates over the weekend for get together but not sure how to cope with his 2 other siblings.

Also, talk to his form teacher. Teacher said he's fine and talks to the kids around him.

Really no idea how to encourage him further. He usually drags his feet to school with a sad face. I feel like I'm forcing him to go to school daily.

[MMM]

In my P1’s case, he has a fierce teacher who is P1 level mgr and she teaches him maths and english. He is "scared" of her but fortunately for us, he still enjoys school and is learning to cope with his fierce teacher. I think these are what makes him like school and how we help him :


1) Talk positively about school. Eg. we told him that his sister (P2) enjoys gg to school becoz she enjoys playing catching with her friends during recess time.
2) Talk about forthcoming fun activities in school so they will feel excited about going to school. The school does have activities from time to time eg. performance,etc…
3) Offer some indulgence. Eg. The kids like to visit the bookshop and snack store in the canteen. They look forward to such places in school. I loved the bookshop when I was young too : )
4) We also joke about his fierce teacher with him. So as to help him cope and realise that teachers are human. He just need to learn how to adapt and cope. He also need to understand the rules eg. if he don’t misbehave, she will never pick on him.
5) Talk to the teachers and let them know what you are observing. They will be able to help. eg. this fierce teacher, I spoke to her and she is a very nice person just that she has to "put on a strong front" to the kids.

In our case, I felt that their pre-school also helped to instil that learning is fun and school is fun though they can’t get away from the academic aspect. We also try to choose enrichment classes that conduct lessons where they enjoy and find it fun so that learning does not become boring and tedious.

I think it’s a trial and error thing based on understanding of your child. Good luck.

[buds]

Heyya heyhoe,


Yes, i agree with csc.
Teacher shud know abt it.

So far, what you’ve gathered on this disliking of school
via your son… that’s only one side of the coin. Get
feedback from the teacher too, to find out how he is in
class… his participation, his work attitude, his interaction
with frenz (if she can name a few she has observed - even
better!) Lest, you’ll be feeling helpless on how to help him
from here…

Dun worry, his playbased cc experience will help him make
more frenz soon. As playbased cc tends to have more of
group activities. Mebbe he hasn’t gotten used to rote learning yet…
Nevertheless, i hope the situation with your son will improve soon.

Do update yeah… I’d love to know how his teacher can help play
an active role to handle this kinda scenarios.

Take care.

[heyhoe]

Thanks for the encouragement. I will definitely, put in these useful suggestions.


I agree on a point that the teacher looks fierce but I spoke to her before and she seems okay thru the phone. Anyway, will be seeing her for parent teacher meeting on Feb 21st and hope to get more insights.

Cheers,

[csc]

Hi heyhoe,


Allow me to share one more point. I think children must also know and learn that it is their responsibility to go to school and study to their best ability regardless of circumstances. Just like Daddy or Mummy has the responsibiltiy to work to support the family whether it's to their liking or not.

We live in an imperfect world and our children must learn to adapt to imperfect situations. Not easy.. but can be done.

Press on and all the best!