All About Careless Children

[skkitty]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


I am having this problem with my P1 son constantly since he was K2.

He had this bad habit of rushing through his work and thus affected his handwriting. In addition, he had also been careless especially in his maths where he had lost quite a handful of marks due to careless as well as his penmanship.

I had been constantly reminding him, teaching and telling him he should check his work after he had done it and dont scribble through. Also been teaching him the tactic to write down what he had counted. But it doesn't seems to work. REally doesn't know how to help him to minimize this mistake.

Any parents can share your experience or methods how to overcome this problem? Thanks

[jedamum]

skkitty:

Any parents can share your experience or methods how to overcome this problem? Thanks

hi skkitty,
you must read http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=316&start=0 for tackling carelessness in kids.

and http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1939&start=0 about handwriting.

I am still struggling with the handwriting part.

skkitty:

Also been teaching him the tactic to write down what he had counted. But it doesn't seems to work. REally doesn't know how to help him to minimize this mistake.

My boy had only gotten back his english results of which i am very satisfied. He didn't make any careless mistake. Reason? Just 2 days before the exam, I flared up BIG TIME and told him that I am very upset that didn't make the effort to register in his mind what I had told him about checking to eliminate carelessness. After that, for the next few days, he seems to be very on the ball for checking....and English happens to be the first paper.
I that he did remember what I said when he was doing the Math and Chinese.
Yesterday did a simple math topic....and same....all those checking and working reminders all fly out of the window...

[skkitty]

Hi Jedamum


So what did you do or said when you flare up to your kid that makes him/she remember?

[skkitty]

So it was effective when you told him that you were very upset and he remember / registered that on his brain?

[jedamum]

skkitty:

Hi Jedamum


So what did you do or said when you flare up to your kid that makes him/she remember?

I said that I was very upset. As my focus on SA1 was mostly on checking and reducing careless mistakes rather than the school's syllabus (which was pretty basic and managable), I asked him if he realised that he has been wasting his own time if he take each revision only as a piecework and doesn't learn from his mistakes. I told him that regardless of how much revision we had done, if he didn't make the effort to recap what are the common errors that he had made when he was doing checking, it defeats the purpose of doing further revision. He might as well go to play for the rest of the week - and if his results is less than desirable, I told him that I just had to send him to tuition cos I had done my best, and perhaps the tuition teacher has a better method to make him remember (I 'threatened' him cos I know that he doesn't want to go for tuition).

He is sensible by nature...just that I need him to think through his past mistakes and go through his papers before submitting them to me.
While I flare up, I didn't shout at him. My tone is more of a sian mode...followed by quite a long period of silence. Then he kwai kwai volunteered to do another compre paper and this time, perfect score (tenses, caps, punctuation all in place, words copied from the passage also copied correctly), handwriting improved somemore.

But haiz...I think now he forgotten already...holiday mood.

[clarabella]

jedamum:

Then he kwai kwai volunteered to do another compre paper...

VOLUNTEERED to do another paper!!! jedamum, your son is a gem!

[jedamum]

clarabella:

VOLUNTEERED to do another paper!!! jedamum, your son is a gem!

He values my opinions (and his teachers ) a lot and is a very sensitive boy to start with.

But you must have missed this....

jedamum:

But haiz...I think now he forgotten already...holiday mood.

[clarabella]

Hahahaha! It just means that he knows when to work and when to play! Excellent!


So, jedamum, next time he'll bring his girlfriend(s) home for you to approve. Think how fun that'll be :lol:

[dilemma]

Hi Sskitty and all


I am facing the same problem. My girl is very careless too, she lost one or two marks in her maths test due to carelessness but lost many many many marks in her SA1 exam which upsets me very much.

I told her I am very upset, she cried. I felt bad. I tried the carrot method before the exams too, but it didn’t work.

Anyone know if abacus helps in their accuracy?

[skkitty]

Hi Dilemma


Yes that is what is exactly that is happening that upset me. Good idea, wonder if Abacus can train them?

Btw what is the carrot method? Can share?

Hi Jedamum

Thanks for sharing. Will try your method talking to him and see what he says. As you said, he will only listen for the moment and forget after that. He called me just now automatically and asked me which assessment book he can do!

Anyway to make them remember? sigh…