Baby Mama School Drama - How to Help Your Child's Dicipline In School

The 2012 school year started out with a bang for my daughter, well a bang is an understatement. For months she had been so excited about going to big school, only to be crushed in the first week! L is a child that like to push people and situations to the max, and school was no exception. The first few days started her on a journey of misbehavior and bad days. I am in no way in a dream world where my child is perfect and never misbehaves, but I know my child well enough to know that she is not that bad.

I set out on a journey to find out what I can do to help my child have her first school experience be a good one. I realized that I can not and will not leave her education up to a over worked, under appreciated teacher. This teacher was one of those that made everyone experience her pain right along side of her. Or some (me) would say she is taking it out on the children, specifically my child and a few others.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, I encourage you to get involved. Here are a few of the the things that worked for us. We have taken all these steps to get to place that I feel comfortable about, that my child is getting the education that she needs/deserves.

• Talk to your child - L was the best indicator of what was going on a day to day basis in the class room.
• Keep an open mind - Your child will not always be a prince/princess, with the best manors, and best behavior. Something to keep in mind.
• Talk to the teacher - I am sure he/she will enlighten you as to how they see your child's behavior daily.
• Talk to other parents - They might be experiencing the same problems you are. Other parents are a great brainstorming resource.
• Work with the teacher - Ask questions, talk about plans to encourage good behavior. The world of technology is amazing. A quick email back and forth during the day, can make for a better start to a conversation with your child at the end of the day.
• Involve the administration - In our situation, the teacher was not helpful. She did not want to try to work on a plan to correct behavior, even after several attempts on my part. I gave her fair warning that I would be involving the administration since I did not see any give on her part. I found once we had a meeting with the principal, her responsiveness to me improved greatly.
• Work on it at home - L responded well to a reward system. In our situation, if she had 10 good days in a row (2 weeks) she got to play indoor put-put golf. This had been something she was super excited to do, so the incentive was there. There have been several more since then, but the important thing is to keep them motivated.

You are your child's best advocate, and most likely their only one. It is your responsibility as a parent to ensure that they are getting the best education possible for them. I encourage you to stay involved, and not let them fall through the cracks.