Why Children Lack Confidence

If a child suffers from a lack of confidence, their situation shouldn’t be considered hopeless. There are a number of methods which can be used to help them cope with the demands of schoolwork.

Self-help tools, designed to boost confidence outside of the classroom, are readily available. Programmes like BBC Bitesize can easily be accessed online and offer mock exams to prepare students for the real thing. Revision guides, whether on, or off-line, are extremely helpful and allow students to take in information at their own pace.

Patience is essential. Support your child when they’re doing their homework, by explaining concepts and answering their questions patiently and calmly. Most importantly, try not to lose ones temper if your child is struggling to get to grips with the task. Regularly getting angry puts your child at risk of entering a negative, downwards spiral. Try and gain an understanding of the method your child has been taught at school and then use the same method. Alternatively, if you find teaching difficult or you’re pressed for time, consider hiring external help: TLC LIVE tutors are all fully qualified and CRB checked and available for online tuition 7 days a week.

All TLC LIVE tutors know the importance of building a relationship with everyone they teach. Students need to have the confidence to say ‘I don’t understand’ and ‘can I have help with…’ which is the first step to making a difference.

Students taking their lessons with TLC LIVE are able to use the extensive programme that has been developed, following the national curriculum, over many years.

Once you have a tutor in place, don’t be disheartened if they take your child back to basics. A good tutor will often do this in order to establish a secure groundwork to build upon. Think of learning as a wall. You need secure bricks at the bottom to confidently build on. If the foundations aren’t properly in place the wall will eventually crumble.

Confidence and Learning

Confidence is an attribute in children which has to be built slowly over time, but can be knocked quickly. If in a day a child receives 50 positive comments and one negative, you can guarantee it will be the negative that they remember and which has the greatest impact.

Effects associated with a lack of confidence

Once a child’s confidence has been knocked, the damage can have long-term effects for their learning and school work.

Pupils that lack confidence find pressurised situations difficult. In a school setting, the ability to handle pressure is vital as students will be placed under stress throughout their education (more so now than ever before). Consequently they may struggle in a number of areas. For example, exams such as Mental Maths taken during Year 6 SATS can cause anxiety, and students often end up fighting panic instead of answering questions.

Adults can help by encouraging children to accept, understand and deal with pressure in order for them not to be negatively affected by it. This is often easier said than done as anxiety and the urge to think ‘I can’t do this’ prevents them from absorbing such words of advice. It’s a negative mindset we see reflected every day in the people around us. People will tell you they ‘can’t do’ maths or art, this isn’t true, they just haven’t been taught correctly.

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