Is School Stressing Your Child Out Too Much?

Why do kids stay silent about having problems in school? Think back to when you were a child and experienced struggles in school - we all did at some point. Why did you suffer silently? Sometimes, kids are afraid of letting their parents down or may be ashamed or too scared to ask for help. Sometimes, they (as we all can be) are in denial about their situation and are hoping against hope that their struggles will just disappear before that report card comes out.

Words aren't the only way a child can tell you if he or she is struggling in school. The most significant tell-tale sign of trouble is increased stress levels. Those warning signs are often pretty similar to how adults react to stress. Watch out for any of the following:

• Withdrawal from daily activities or interactions with others. When we all feel stress, our first instinct is to retreat. Fear makes us take a step back. If your kid is retreating more often in their video games or books or other kinds of distractions, it could be a sign of stress, especially if your child suddenly becomes quiet and uncommunicative. 
• Trouble concentrating. Increased stress causes increased distraction in adults and children alike. Trouble keeping up in one class causes excess (bad) stress that leads to a child falling behind in all of their subjects, leading to an overwhelming amount of stress. At Mathnasium, we've noticed that when a child starts to feel more confident in math, you can see the effects across all of their subjects.
• Trouble sleeping. Disrupted sleep patterns - we all know that's a sign of stress. But in kids, it's not just sleepless nights, tossing and turning. Kids manifest trouble sleeping as insomnia or oversleeping and nightmares or bedwetting. How do you help your child with this? Find out what's causing the stress and help teach your child how to cope with stress. Calming bedtime routines and schedules can help too.
• Unexplained illness. Stress = stomach troubles, headaches, breakouts in rashes...Does any of that sound familiar? Check with your doctor first, but if there's no clear cause, ask about if stress could be the cause.
• Increased aggression or anxiety. This is usually caused by feelings of helplessness. Again, here, talk to your child's doctor. Increased aggression and anxiety can result in children harming themselves or others. 

What Can Parents Do To Help?

Check out the rest of this article for ideas on how to help. The sooner parents are able to recognize and address their child's signs of stress, the sooner your whole family can move forward confidently. 

And if math is where your child is struggling, come talk to us. Give us a call and set up a no-obligation meeting. We're here to help, listen, and offer solutions. 

Don't forget to come on back and check out our Word Problem Wednesday blog posts! Come on back to our blog every week - stretch your mind and test your word problem comprehension skills!

Word Problem Wednesday: Pour Some Sugar on Math

Word Problem Wednesday: Do You Wanna Build Some Math Skills

Word Problem Wednesday: Cookie, Cookie, Cookie Starts With 'C'

Word Problem Wednesday: 12 Parsecs and a Scoundrel

Word Problem Wednesday: 12 Parsecs and a Scoundrel

Word Problem Wednesday: You've Got a Friend in Me

Word Problem Wednesday: A Mad Man With A Box

Word Problem Wednesday: Math Just Keeps On Slaying

Word Problem Wednesday: Fly, My Pretties, Fly!

Word Problem Wednesday: Who You Gonna Call?

Word Problem Wednesday: When Harry Potter Met Math

Looking for some more math fun? Call us at Mathnasium of Cave Creek!