Where we're at...

I wanted a heart-to-heart talk with Danial yesterday, so I left the office way earlier than I normally do, intending to continue doing work at home.

When I got home, he knew he was in trouble. But I told him to let's take care of the day's homework and then I'll help him pack his schoolbag for the next day. He showed me a test paper he just got back from his teacher; he was just a couple of marks from getting a full score. Once we got homework done, I started with the talk. He burst into tears. His exact words were, "Mummy I have so much homework from school and from the tutor. I have no time to play and I feel so stressed." I gave him a big bear hug and fought my own tears.

So anyway, we sat down and talked about how homework is really part of the school experience and that it is necessary. I also reminded him of the pride he had when he gave me his test paper which he did really well in. That's possible because he was diligent with his homework.

We got down to planning his day, hour-by-hour and I showed him that he had plenty of time to rest and relax, in between homework, revisions and prayers. I was glad that he was able to see that he could strike a balance.

The teacher said to me that Danial had problems focusing on his work at school and that's why he's disruptive to his other classmates. I agree he is easily distracted but I don't think he has problems focusing. I think he gets too engrossed with the task at hand that he doesn't realise he's spending way too much time on it. He can sit and try to solve a picture puzzle for hours. The same applies when he is reading, playing or watching TV. So I hope with the new time table at home, he'll be better with this.

I don't think all is well with this. I think there's some ways to go yet to make sure he doesn't feel overwhelmed or pressured. But at least this is a step in the right direction, at least I think it is.