Learning problems? Fix the Cause not just the Symptom.

Many parents try to fix the symptoms of their child’s learning problems, not what causes it and as a result their child never gets better at learning.

You know the scenario, your child gets a low grade in math so you send him to a math tutor.  Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn’t.  What you are doing is trying to fix the symptoms of your child’s learning problems not the cause.  Fixing the symptoms may bring  some short term relief but if the problem is still there you child is going to continue having trouble learning math.

It is like having the doctor prescribe Tylenol for a headache caused by a brain tumor. The headache may go away for a while but the tumor is still there waiting to cause trouble.  This may be a bit of a scary analogy but I really want to stress the importance of finding out why your child is struggling to learn and trying to fix the cause of any learning issues rather than only treating the symptoms.

What happens if you only try to fix the symptoms?

Your child will waste a lot of energy trying to do work that he cannot do. He will concoct a variety of ways to get the work done, none of which are the correct way, and none of which help him understand what he is learning.

I have spent too much of my time trying to undo some of the ways children try to do their work, undoing a bad way of working is twice as hard as introducing the right way to do things.  The only good thing that this has shown me is that children are endlessly inventive in the ways they try to solve problems.

If your child struggles with math find out WHY.

Perhaps he doesn’t know what strategy to use, perhaps he cannot organize his work, perhaps he has missed a vital lesson.

If your child hates doing homework, find out WHY.

Maybe he doesn’t know what to do, or he has too much to do, or he thinks he will get poor marks, or he keeps forgetting his books or … or …

If your child can’t make friends at school find out WHY

Perhaps she doesn’t know how to share, or she lacks language skills, or she is frightened of the teacher because she doesn’t know what to do, or … or …

If your child is unmotivated and appears lazy find out WHY

Does he know how to be responsible for his work, does he realize how much effort he has to spend on work, does he understand why he goes to school … …

If your bright child gets low marks for his essays find out WHY

Perhaps he lacks the ability to pay attention in class perhaps he has no idea what a good essay should look like, maybe ha has no idea what the teacher expects him to do, or … …

Remember, only when you find the cause of the problem can you can start to fix it.

What would you rather do, help fix your child’s symptoms or the cause of their learning problems?

I know which one will work best.