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Four Serious Mistakes Parents Make That Hinder The Academic Progress of Their children

 


Why do parents sometimes spend so much in educating their children but later get disappointed? Well, maybe parents could be unconsciously making certain mistakes that needs to be corrected immediately.

The wish of every parent is to see children succeed in life. No wonder most parents are willing to spend their hard-earned money in educating their children. Parents in a bid to help children succeed, unconsciously make some serious mistakes that affect childrens' academic progress. In fact most parents have no idea the damage they have done to their children. The following are four Serious mistakes parents make.


1. Choosing Careers For Kids

The last thing a parent would want to do is to decide for children what they should become in future. Most parents unfortunately decide for children what to do in terms of career choices. The only role parents can play here, I believe is to give guidance and support. Parents are obviously experienced and their advice on career choices can be priceless. Am not against parents assisting their children to choose a career but I believe it would be better for the child if the final decision on a particular career choice is left for the child without any undue influence.


2. Making Unfair Comparisons

Parents sometimes unfairly compare their children to other kids as far as academics is concerned. I call this an abomination, comparing two unique individuals is very unfair.The result of such comparison is low self-esteem and loss of confidence on the part of the child.

Children should be praised for what they have been able to achieve irrespective of the grades they make. Academic grades do not determine our success or otherwise, do they?


3. Punishment For Poor Grades

Most adults today were victims of severe punishment from their parents because of poor grades. Such punishment is not rare in Ghana and I believe other African countries too. Punishing children for making poor grades do not only kill childrens' spirits but also teaches children to wrongly believe that grades are everything.

Children should be encouraged to appreciate their strengths and guided to work on their weaknesses. Punishment for poor grades is rather draconian.


4. Lack of Time for Communication

Quality time for communication is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Most parents today are either too busy or tired to spend some time with their children. After four years of teaching, It has become very obvious to me that parents do not really know their children as I have come to know some of them. This is a clear evidence of poor or no communication at all between parents and children.

Parents, in spite of thier busy schedules should be able to make time to communicate with their children. Children can only relate well and create stronger bonds with parents if there is good communication. Parents on the other hand would be able to know their children better when communication is effective.

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