Parenting isn’t easy and most parents I know will tell you that. Anyone involved in teaching or parenting will also tell you that kids are not like they used to be. Children became more demanding from their parents and the environment while at the same time more hyped up with short attention, restlessness and impulsivity running their bodies and minds. All this kind of behaviour is often caused by various conditions children suffer from such as dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, dyspraxia or language delay, just to name a few.
In reality, it means that parents need to be more vigilant in spotting difficulties and struggles their kids face at and outside of school, which are connected to their learning differences or any condition they may suffer from. As parents, we need to step up our game and become our children’s spoke persons advocating for their rights and helping them all along the way.
Unfortunately, schools are usually underfunded (at the end of the day corporations need larger tax breaks and military needs more funding than education) and lots of children go under the radar and end up undiagnosed without extra help and support for years.
This kind of inaction leaves children not only struggling with basic learning principles but also affect their self-esteem profoundly, which makes them hate their schools, skip lessons and finally drop out as soon as possible, in order not to experience this total feeling of failing and shame that the child connects with the formal learning process.
If learning difficulties weren’t spotted at the right time and enough support wasn’t given to assist child’s growth and learning curve it can lead to a lifetime of misery, confusion and shame.
However, there is a solution to help all those kids growing up thinking that they are stupid. It requires parents and guardians to take charge of their kids’ education. It is parents’ responsibility to fight for their kids and the right education for them.
If you do nothing and don’t insist on working and co-operating with the school making it and its teachers aware of your child’s needs, your child will struggle. Besides, if you know that your child struggles you shouldn’t wait for the school to act ‘cos nobody said the school was going to.
If your child struggles in any way at school you should be their advocate talking to the school (I know I have said that already but this is very important), pushing the school to do more, also learning and gaining knowledge yourself. As a parent, you cannot leave educating your child up to the school only, especially when your kid reads or writes way below his grade level. Remember that schools are usually understaffed and quite often the teachers don’t know enough about your child’s condition or struggle to be able to help them. You know your child best and as a parent, you know what they need.
So get your ass off the sofa and get educated (there’s a lot of stuff online so no more excuses). Just imagine how your child must feel if they can’t read and/or write while all the kids in their class can. What are the long-term consequences they will have to deal with if you are not advocating for them? No one said that parenting was going to be easy, so start parenting and help your child.
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