Scholastic Problems may present through faulty academic behavior like inattention, lack of interest in studies, exam failure, to emotional expression like aggression and belligerence with school peers, physical complaints particularly in the school hours or absolute reluctance and refusal to attend school. You may observe that your child:

• Has stopped writing notes in his class and seems unmotivated in spite of punishment
• Is being labeled as extremely forgetful, nonetheless this is more of absentmindedness
• Is bored with studies these days and makes excuses when he or she is asked to study
• Has dropped low in academic grades (now significantly lower than the grades before)
• Seems very aggressive and moody at times or withdrawn, distant and lost at others
• Complains of a stomach or headache in the mornings and refuses to go to school

Poor performance in schools can be attributed to emotional trauma, physical problems, low self-esteem, or more complex problems such as learning disabilities and mental retardation. Not uncommonly, a medical problem like a visual or hearing deficit also contributes to poor school performance. Sometimes a seemingly insignificant factor like change in residence or change in the school may influence the child adversely because children are tuned in their specific setup and may resist that change. If the child does not like his/her class teacher for any reason (she seems too strict or she may have severely punished your child sometime for some reason in the past) he or she shows rebellion by refusing to focus on studies.

Children can never express with ease, what is going on within their mind. In majority of the cases a school going child gives the first signal of emotional trauma by failing in the exam. That acts as a warning sign for the child’s parent or caregiver to look into the matter and do something about it before the problem gets out of hand and the studies begin to get very negatively affected. The focus must always be on the child first and after that, the academic behavior. Parents need to understand that. Many a time the child is reprimanded and even threatened to study without estimating the severity of emotional conflict that is tormenting the child from within. Academic performance merely acts as a symptom. Treating the symptom is not possible without alleviating the underlying problem. It will only assure that the problem resurfaces that too with worse symptoms each time. Children want their parents as well as teachers to pick their cues; it is imperative that those in contact with the child always take cognizance of their cry and rush for their help to prevent matters from getting out of hand.

Academic difficulties may be a reflection of an underlying emotional or behavioral problem, which altogether negatively influence the child’s development. There may be many reasons contributing to the poor performance of a school-going child. The best (rather only) solution is to treat the primary cause. It may be slightly difficult for parents to identify the root cause always. They see the outcome and try to deal with it insensitively at times. In such a scenario it is imperative to use professional assessment to find the cause and use remedial measures to solve the underlying problem before it gets too late. Schools lay the founding stones of a children’s intellectual, social and emotional prowess. Helping them when they subtly ask for it is the duty of parents. We provide study skills training for children and parents to assist in the academic and socio-emotive development of children in school.