by Melissa Crossley

Created on: August 11, 2009

There are several tools a parent can utilize when trying to keep their child's grades up while they are in Elementary school. As a mother of a soon to be second grader and a freshman in High School, I have had to try many different things to help them. I will share the best of my experiments with you.

Motivation: One of the main reasons for bad grades is your child's motivation. If they feel like they are working their butts off and not getting anywhere, this will make your child unwilling to do their work. One way to fix this problem is to find out how to relate what they are learning to something they really enjoy.

An example of this would be: Your child is struggling with his math homework, yet he enjoys skating at the skate park. One afternoon, set aside an hour and take him to the skate park. Bring along his math, and have him add up the people who are skating. Make up examples of math and integrate the skating. This will help him focus and actually enjoy doing the work.

Another way to motivate your child is through earnings. Some parents have issues with rewarding their children for good grades, but you can use the same principle without resorting to money. An example of this would be: If your child comes home and completes all his assignments, they can have an extra half hour of play time. Or can stay up an hour later on the weekends. This will provide them with the motivation needed to stay on task and complete their work. It helps them feel like they are getting something back for putting in all the work.

Set a Routine in Stone: Another big problem for parents is there just isn't enough time in the day between work, home life and everything else in between. This is not your child's fault or their issue. As parents, we need to take a more hands on approach to problem solving. Set a routine in stone, one that you must stick by regardless of what is going on.

For example: School gets out, child comes home and does ALL the homework before everything else. If they don't do the work, there is no T.V., outside play, computers or friends. This schedule helps your child with learning good time management skills while showing them responsibility. It also allows them to make their own choices. If they choose not to do their homework, they lose out on all the stuff they enjoy.

This step has been the most effective but it's also the hardest for most parents to follow because of the time issues involved. You have to be willing to stick to it, even

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