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Home › Expert Q&A › School and Academics › How can I rekindle my daughter's interest in school work?

Expert Q&A

 

By Ann Kearney-Cooke
Psychologist

My daughter doesn't want to do her homework. She's 12 years old and used to be really interested in school, getting excellent grades. Now she doesn't seem to care about school work at all. She just wants to talk on the phone with friends. It's driving me nuts and I'm worried she'll develop bad habits when it comes to school work. I saw this happen to plenty of smart girls when I was her age -- like their academic aspirations just dried up. I don't want that to happen to her. Any advice?

In many ways you are experiencing the normal changes of adolescence. For most girls your daughter's age, talking on the phone with friends becomes more important than getting homework done. What I would encourage you to do is to sit down with her and acknowledge that she is getting older and you understand that talking to her friends is important to her, but you are concerned about her schoolwork getting done.

Negotiate with your daughter a time period each day where she will focus on homework, and a time period where she can talk to friends on the phone.

It is important that we teach our daughters to take themselves seriously enough to continue to develop scholastic skills during the teen years, but also honor the fact that developing close relationships with peers is important to their development, too.

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