1st-quarter-grades-part-1

1st Quarter Grades – Part 1

As we near the end of first-quarter grades for kids, there are several things that parents can do to give a boost to their kids and keep them going.

A primary consideration is to be sure that you have all the report card dates in your planner, as well as all the mid-term grades that your child’s school provides. I was always amazed at the number of parents who would come into my office without knowing how their kids were doing in school. Grades and attendance are available daily online for nearly every school in the country. Be sure that you are checking and talking with your child regularly, or at the least a couple of times quarterly.

Knowing the date that reports cards and mid-term reports are issued lets you know what date to expect to see them at home. As for them and be sure that your child knows that you hope to see them on the date the school has released them. It is a rare day indeed that schools change the date of report cards. If your child says, “We didn’t get them.” Automatically be very suspicious. Check online or call the child’s counselor.  Double-check to see if there was a delay for any reason.

By keeping up on a daily or weekly basis, there are no surprises. There should be no surprises for parents at all. If you know your child has a test coming up, then the grade for that exam should be recorded within a few days. Check online to see how they did; ask them when they get home about how it went. Questions like: How do you feel you could have studied differently? How could you have prepared over a more extended period rather than the last minute?

I will be addressing this all week this week, so look for Part 2 here, 1st Quarter Grades – Part 2 – Dr. Rich Patterson (pattersonphd.com)

Part 3 of this series is linked for you here, 1st Quarter Grades – Part 3 – Dr. Rich Patterson (pattersonphd.com)

Very Well Family has a post on What Happens When Parents Pressure Kids to Get Good Grades here, The Cons of Pressuring Kids to Get Good Grades (verywellfamily.com)

Yours for better parenting,

Rich