How do you accept you have slow learning kids?

Mrs_Weasley

I have had this problem with ds who is 7 he hated reading, a couple of weeks ago his grandma bought him a joke book (she did this with my brother) and he's off .....reading everything and anything, this last week everytime i look at him he has a book in his hand :T

Hope that helps

mrs w xxx

msb5262

When I mentioned reading to kids, I should have added that my dad read the WHOLE of the Lord of the Rings to me and my sister when we were small. He also read us several other big fat novels and we are both very keen readers, as it happens both with degrees in English. I've found that if I'm ever struggling with a book, hearing it read aloud is the key; even now I have audio book CDs in my car for my journey to work. As a teacher, I read aloud as much as possible to my class - if nothing else, it enables them to access books they couldn't read independently and whets their appetites.

tiamai_d

msb, and so much better than the hungry catterpiller every night for a month! :rotfl: chapter books are cool, gives them something to look forward too (and me).

msb5262

I'd have to say there's nothing wrong with the Very Hungry Caterpillar (and Dear Zoo, Rosie's Walk, Lucy and Tom's Day, The Elephant and the Bad Baby, etc etc etc) every night! But a proper book is a joy. A really good start is My Naughty Little Sister, which is short stories but presented like chapters. I remember my mum reading it to me and doing all the voices - I do this too; maybe why I love reading aloud!

alison999

my 5yr old is behind at school with her reading and everyday she comes home saying she was bored at school, i think she just has a v. short attention span.

it doesnt make you a failure/your child 'stupid' or anything. everyones different and learns at different speeds.

they dont walk/talk/get out of nappies at the same age so we cant expect them to all be at the same level at school either

shazrobo

my sons have adhd, and on the autistic spectrum, both had speech therapy as they struggled with words, fast forward, they are now 13, both are good readers, and both are brill at computer skills, they still need to catch up on writing skills. to me it is more important that children are happy, than to grow up intelligent and unhappy as i did. i was pushed so hard, and as a result missed out on friends, and was very unhappy, and suffered depression

cazziebo

I so agree with Shazrobo and so many of the other posters.

Academic ability is no prediction of long term happiness or life success - however that's defined. The most successful people aren't the cleverest - the most successful are the ones who use what they have to their best advantage. Richard Branson didn't do well at school, he pushes the boundaries and surrounds himself with clever people and lets them get on with it.

When my daughter was seven she had a reading age of 14 and had read 70 of the 100 most read books (according the to the BBC) by the time she was 14. Her school results weren't brilliant but she's happy, popular, a great communicator and wants to work in care. I am so proud of how respectful and caring she is of older people.

I was the only academic child out of a family of six - the only one who went to university - and my siblings all have far more material things and the trappings of "success" than I have. (two of them left school totally unable to read - as adults both diagnosed with dyslexia). I'd judge all of us to be successful in that we're all happy - well, most of the time!

OP - your kids are young. Encourage them to be all they can be - whether that be socially, academically, emotionally and physically.

Susan_Frost

My son always had difficulty reading and writing and had an hours private tuition each week from age 7. Just could not get it. Now enjoys reading and has been to uni and doing well in his profession.

My nephew is 7 and had difficulty speaking until nearly 4. In his first year sats he got 1A, 2A and 2B. He should have only been getting year 1.

Try not to worry. Keep them interested in life, keen to learn new things even if it does not seem academicly based at the moment.

Someone I know always says the A & B grades often work for the C grades.

They will do well in what they enjoy.

Firefly

DS2 was way behind his peers in the first few years at school. My main focus was not his academic progress but for him to be happy as we had a traumatic time when his father left. We did a whole range of activities together that built his confidence and self esteem. Teachers would nag that he wasn't achieving his potential but all that mattered to me at the time was that he was a happy outgoing little boy. His sister excelled academically and his brother got himself into trouble on a regular basis that led to his exclusion but we worked hard on maintaining confidence. He would look at books but it was down to me to read to him, which we did every single day.

As the years passed his confidence grew and when he changed schools at 11 he began to really flourish. He's now gifted and talented in several subjects and really excels at sport.

Each of my children are different and each has done well in their own field. I value their differences and strengths as this makes them the unique individuals they are. OK so DS2 won't read fiction still and this frustrates me because I feel he's missing out. He will read anything factual and yesterday came home to tell me how impressed he was with one of the Shakespere Sonnets he was studying for GCSE! Result!!

Love your children for their strengths. Somehow they'll pick up that you're disappointed and will become aware that he isn't acheiving like as you would wish. You need to compensate for this; spend time with them individually and find an activity that they enjoy. It could be that you're growing the next Olympic athletes, ballet dancers, artists, or designers.

DS1 is now a director of the company he works for, DD has a doctorate and DS2 hopefully has a very exciting future ahead of him in sport.

Increase their strengths and don't focus on what you see as weakness but most of all enjoy them!

rumncoke

I can understand where your coming from, but please let them be children at the moment & try not to worry about there future adulthood. Everyone has a talent, theres just might not be an academic one.

We are both avid readers & DS 18 loved stories & reading from a very young age. We are surrounded by books & always have 2 or 3 on the go at once. We did exactly the same with DD as a toddler & she just wasn't interested. Several battles with the school over "boring reading scheme" books. DH found it really hard to accept the she was below average with reading.

However her ability for drawing is phenomenal. At age 6 I used her Christmas picture to make cards & lots of people couldn't believe she had drawn it. She does now pick up a book & has caught up reading wise but her talent is definately in art.

It is only natural to worry over kids development, but do not write them off as they look to parents for encouragement & if all they see is disappointment & negativity they just wont bother trying anyway