3 Rules for Handling School Issues With Your Child

School can be tough on our children, and if we are honest, it can be tough on us. Here’s my best advice (gleaned from over 50 combined years of my own kids being in school!) for handling whatever this year throws your way:

1. Take a step back.

   Pause before you dive in to try and fix things. Look at the situation and decide if you just need to give the situation some time to work itself out on it’s own or do you need to get involved? Often times as a parent, we jump in too soon with school situations instead of allowing our child to figure things out by themselves. Keep in mind, school is helping prepare your child to grow up. If you always jump in and fix things, your child’s growth could be stunted.

2. Speak truth over your child.

   If you see your child not being kind or loving towards their friends, address the situation for sure, but always be sure to speak truth over your child. This means to call out the good that you “see” in them. For instance: “I know you are a sweet loving friend. I love your heart for others.” Our children need to hear the positive things we know about them and not simply correction or the negative all the time. God does that with us all the time! He tells us we are saints, we are his affection, he wants to have a relationship with us, we are dearly loved.

3. Teach that actions have consequences.

   Consequences can be good or bad and school is a great arena to teach this to your child. You don’t do your homework, you miss out on recess. You study hard for your test/you are prepared, you make a good grade. You break something, you have to fix it or pay for a new one. Don’t allow your child to skate through school without learning that valuable lesson!