Boys will be boys: how to encourage your son to focus at school

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“My son hates studying, he’s the opposite of his sister.”

“Why on earth does my son hate reading so much?”

“Honestly, boys are so much harder than girls.”

These are some of the most common complaints I hear from parents who are struggling to understand why their son isn’t the academic ange  l that they’d hoped for.

The truth is that boys and girls are different. We live in a world that doesn’t always acknowledge these differences and sometimes tries to blur them. However, there’s no hiding it. Boys and girls are not the same. They think differently, they behave differently and they learn differently.

Therefore, the way you should teach your son is vastly different from the way you should teach your daughter.

Their minds, thoughts and actions are not the same so how can their learning styles be?

Instead of expecting your son to magically behave and learn in the way you want him to, it’s better to be a bit more open-minded and try something new.

Here are three effective ways to help your son become a better learner.

Acknowledge and leverage his differences

If your son isn’t a readaholic or bookworm, don’t fret. Instead, identify his unique qualities (write them down if it helps) and start creating a plan for how these qualities can actually work in his favour. For instance, if he hates reading, is obsessed with football, and you’re longing for him to improve his reading and comprehension skills, why not look up some football or sports inspired books and see if he’ll read them? Chances are, he will. Instead of throwing a pile of Charles Dickens books at a football-loving child, give him material that he might actually enjoy. Autobiographies are great for this.

Support His Talents

I see so many students who are wonderful at sports, music or other extra curricular activities and their parents often ignore their accomplishments in these areas because they’re focused on their child’s academic progression. If you want your son to show more enthusiasm towards his academic studies, it’s vital to support his extra-curricular achievements as well. By doing so you’re sending your child the message that you want him to be a well-rounded individual who possesses strong academic and social skills.

Spend Time With Him

Many parents wonder why their child hates studying or going to school but few have actually spent enough time investigating why this is. If your child absolutely despises studying, there might be an underlying reason for this. Do they find lessons at school boring? What makes it boring? Is your son an auditory learner but is being taught visually? Is your son being bullied or teased by classmates which results in him not wanting to contribute or focus on class? Spend some time finding out exactly what’s stopping your child from enjoying their learning and see if there’s a way to help ignite their passion for learning.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment below sharing one thing you’ll do to help your son to be more focused and passionate about his learning.

Here’s to your child’s success.

The Tutoress Team.