Signs your child may need a tutor

Nowadays children are busier than ever- they have increased studies, busy family and social schedules all whilst trying to ace their exams and get into their choice of university. Sometimes life can get so hectic that it’s easy for kids to fall behind or need some extra study time. Individual one-to-one tutoring can be extremely beneficial and can help build academic success in the future. As parents, it’s important to recognise if your kids do need the help of a tutor, so we’ve put together few key things to keep an eye out for.

Slipping grades
If you feel as though your child’s grades are slipping or their teacher has noticed a lack of focus, it’s probably an indicator that a private tutor may be helpful. If this is the case, consulting with teachers is vital as they’ll be able to highlight what your child needs to work on. Gathering this information will also be helpful for a tutor and ensure they concentrate on the areas your child’s struggling with the most.
Unable to manage time
If your child is constantly putting off completing homework or working on projects, it may be because they’re struggling to keep up with their workload. Constant procrastination can also indicate other larger issues such as lack of time management skills and bad study habits. Hiring a tutor can be a proactive way to provide your child the assistance they need. At Tutor Doctor our tutors specialise in improving study habits and work with your child to develop essential skills such as time management and organisation.

Lacking confidence
If you notice your child is really lacking confidence when it comes to their performance at school or they’re getting stuck on certain skills time and time again, hiring a tutor may be beneficial. Not having confidence to participate in the classroom not only makes kids feel rubbish, but often demotivates them further. A tutor will work with your child to help them become self-assured and build up the knowledge and confidence in the areas they’re lacking.

Being confused
Sometimes kids underperform because they’re not understanding the work. If you see that your child is repeatedly puzzled by their assignments or certain concepts, it may be because they’re not keeping up with their grade expectations. Make sure you talk to them about whether they’re finding the work a little tricky or if they don’t understand at all. This will help you see if their homework is just testing their knowledge, or if some extra tutoring time is needed to help get their grades back to where they should be.

How can Tutor Doctor help?
Here at Tutor Doctor we offer an affordable, one-to-one home tutoring service that is tailored to suit your child’s abilities, learning style and personality. More importantly we aim to help students grow into independent learners and teach them key X-skills such as organisation and time management that will be sure to stay with them throughout their adult life.

3 ways to motivate your kids to do well at school

Navigating through school is hard for any child, meaning staying motivated can sometimes be tricky. Not only are kids attending 4 or 5 different lessons per day, they have a multitude of homework to complete, exam worries all whilst trying to maintain friendships and grow up. Combined it can be extremely overwhelming, which can leave kids feeling demotivated, especially when they don’t have the right tools to be able to cope. Here’s some ways you can start to encourage your children to get back into the swing of school and achieve the academic success they deserve.

Set small step-by-step goals
Being successful can feel unattainable for many kids, especially as it can be tricky not knowing how to tackle all the different assignments, projects and exams. Big workloads can also cause children to feel extremely demotivated when it comes to school. To combat this, we recommend breaking assignments or revision into smaller realistic tasks, which should help with motivation levels. Start by sitting down together and creating a small list of goals that your child can tick off as they reach each one. For example, instead of writing for hours on an assignment, encourage them to break down the task into smaller blocks. This could be as simple as researching the idea, writing a rough draft and editing the final draft. Doing this not only makes the assignment easier to tackle but it provides your child with a starting point.

Focus on a customised learning plan
Forcing your child to study in a set way when they learn better using other techniques may be frustrating and hinder their progress at school. Instead tune into the way they learn best. Do this by consulting with teachers or perhaps consider a private tutor, so you can create a customised learning plan that highlights your child’s skills together. For example, if your child is an auditory learner, you could record them reading key facts for an upcoming test aloud so they can listen back to them. We guarantee if they’re studying using their strengths, it will help them have a positive attitude towards school and enable them to feel more confident in their studies. To find out key characteristics of auditory, visual and kinesthetic learners, check out our helpful post here.

No pressure
Even though you might not think it, your kids will already have a lot of pressure placed onto them from teachers, peers and even themselves to be successful at school. Avoid putting even more pressure on your child, especially by expecting them to achieve straight A’s or be top of the class - it’s only going to demotivate them further. Instead, find other ways to encourage them and listen to what your kids actually want to achieve. Discuss realistically how they can do this and empower them to be successful.