How do I get my 8 yr old son to try harder at school? hes lost all interest?

Answer 1

Reward him with a prize.Tell him if he get's 100 on his test he will be rewarded with something.

Oh and reward him with something he really wants!

Answer 2

I disagree with a lot of the responses to this question. Many seem to say ignore it, but that doesn't address the issue. Your son has lost interest in learning...and that's not a good thing. And someone even mentioned a treat as a reward. The reward should be that the child enjoys learning. Don't cheapen that by giving a treat. Plus, when the treat wears off, it will either have to become a bigger treat or it will completely flop. (One day, it's ice cream. Several years later, it is a BMW)

What I would do is find a tutor for him. Not someone that is going to teach him how to do his school work. Find a tutor that is going to get him interested in learning again.

I had a very bright student a few years ago that went to first grade and was just horribly bored. When he left our school, he was already reading on a 3rd/4th grade level. He actually set himself determined to learn every country of the world and got pretty darn close. He jumped right into math and was doing complex addition and subtraction of 4 digit numbers as well as multiplication and division (of smaller numbers). When he hit first grade, he was stuck reading small books and doing 1 digit addition.

His mom asked if I would tutor him. Not because he needed help in his subjects, but because he lost interest in the subjects. We had the best time. I let him decide what we learned. I even showed him how to make a simple website using HTML. (I wrote down the codes and explained what they do and helped him set it up. Then he went in and changed the colors, put different pictures in, etc.) I showed him how to do square roots of 4 digit numbers. We did that for weeks before he wanted to move into something else.

Because I got him interested in learning again, it got him to at least deal with going to school and getting through it. If you can find anyone to just spark that interest in learning (aside from you...he might need someone else besides mom and dad to help), it may work wonders.

Matt

Answer 3

The question isn't how, it's why. If you find out why he's lost interest, then the how will be evident.

Is he trying as hard as he can and unable to meet your expectations?

Does he have a boring teacher this year? Or one he hates?

Is he doing okay--getting C's or above? Remember, a C is fine--it's average. Somehow we've come to believe every student should get an A when actually, very few should.

And finally, are you a male or female parent? If you are male, remember how hard it was for you to like to study when you were 8? If you are female, know that it is entirely different for a boy. You simply cannot compare his enthusiasm with that of a girl. They are not smarter or dumber; they just learn and express themselves in different ways.

Answer 4

I do NOT like the sound of that. He has lost all interest? Something bad has happened. Please don't try to make your kid try harder, you have to be pleasant and sneaky with him now. See if you can casually chat with him about school and maybe he will say something illuminating. Pay attention to what he does say.

Does his teacher have any suspicions about what is behind this loss of interest? Ask her about the things your son is complaining about.

Check out the book, Overcoming Dyslexia from the library by Sally Shaywitz, M.D. See if the descriptions of the kids in the book match what is happening with your son. Being a poor reader will make any kid feel negatively about school.

Perhaps you could get his IQ tested. You could get the school to do it, but you will wait 6 months at least. It would just be smart to pay a psychologist $300 to do it to see if your son has a learning disability that needs to be remediated, and fast. Third grade? If he has LD, you need to get a move on.

It is not normal, despite what others think, for a 3rd grader to lose all interest in school. He's either bored stiff or struggling, or else having social probelms (maybe he needs some social skills training). In any case, something happened at school and you need to find out or get him looked at to see what hte problem is.

I would definitely not wait. School just gets more and more complicated as he advances in grade, and he will get farther behind. So start finding out today.

Answer 5

Do many of the things suggested above such as talking to the teacher and offering rewards and have his sight and hearing tested, but don't just ignore it. Once a child has learned how to switch off in class he will find it hard to switch on again in 3 years time. Try and find out what he is interested in and do some at home. It may be that he is clever and bored it my be that he is struggling and so is giving up. Give him attention by doing things together, for instance science, history, geography, but in a fun way and you will get a better idea of what he can do. Read aloud to him, then he can enjoy books at a slightly higher level than he can read. Don't

Answer 6

As others have suggested, try to find out why his attitude is what it is. What was happening in his life (at home, in the neighborhood, at school) when his attitude began to change? What has his teacher said? Can your son talk to you about it? He could be trying to mask a vision or hearing problem. or a difficulty with reading or math. Perhaps a teacher, although meaning well, gave him some criticism that felt too harsh. Maybe something happened to embarrass him at school.

The best motivator of all is SUCCESS. During the summer, have him work with a tutor, such as a young high-schooler (boy), who will also do fun things with him as a mentor. He will look up to the older boy and be encouraged by the success he experiences and the attention he gets.

Teaching for success means: Find out what the student already knows and then build from there, in small steps so that he is successful with his work. Acknowledge effort and each small success. If your child thinks he is "dumb" you have to change his feelings about himself!

Answer 7

I hate the 'reward' system. Works on some, others will only work for the reward. (even though they do have the potential to do the work assigned, or even above level.) Find out if vision or hearing is an issue. Bullies? A teacher that belittles him (makes fun of him or his work?) Or doesn't challenge him? Or spends time rewarding all the other kids, and he just can't get a 'reward'? Encourage your son to go out and explore the world. this means subjects he has trouble with may mean you need to get him outside of school and 'sneak' in some learning. Like counting change when ordering from McDonald's. Planning menus, finding bugs when spring comes (or is too cold still?) Outside learning will spark interest when material is presented to him in school. This means too, and this is hard for some people, is to TURN OFF THAT TV AND VIDEO GAME (COMPUTER). limit media (TV, computer, video) to no more than two hours per day. Excess media viewing by kids, especially boys, causes them to have difficulty in school. Kids who watch alot of TV or video games complain they are 'bored' in school and activities are 'dumb' or for babies. I can always tell which kids are 'media junkies' in my class by the end of the FIRST week of school. and by the end of the year, their grades start to really show it.

Answer 8

Why has he lost interest? you may need to find out if he's bored because they have too high expectations or maybe he's bored as its to easy!

Else you can try a reward system where if he gets a certain mark in a spelling test, certificate in something etc he gets stars on a chart towards a treat of some kind.

Otherwise try old fashion praise and attention for the times he does well and shows interest!

Answer 9

1. you have probably had a word with his teacher if not do so
2. I had the same problem when I was that age and it was my eyesight I needed something like a + 10 and had to sit in front of the front of the class for a while before i got my specs.

i feel I was slightly but only slightly disadvantaged. It was not pleasant being told to, " Go away you are stupid because you can not read" I've been called stupid many times since and occasionally rightly but that one still hurts over 50 years later
What I am trying to say is although things have moved on since then don't let it happen to your lad

Answer 10

If you would like your son to strive in school, what I would do is make rewards for him such as, "if you do all your homework this week...you'll reward him with something" Make sure the rewards aren't too big. But then again, he will strive and try harder if he has something to live up to. Right now he probably is not getting very good grades, but also you should tell him the value and importance of school, and how it helps you so much when you get older, such as high school, college, the different degrees. I know he is only eight, but you might as well start somewhere! Hope this helps, and good luck to him! x3

Answer 11

It may be that he finds it pointless, absolutely without point. i am in the same rock and hard place. It is not the end of world, just try to jazz it up for him. Ask his teachers if he is having any other problems. It will benifet him if you fix it now, not later when it is most important because "the devil uses idle hands" dont take that personally, but if he gets older he may do some stupid things to pass the time. Quiz him on things, if it is too easy for him try to teach him about some other important things in conversation.