What your kids do that you don’t
The back-to-school anticlimax. Everyone feels it right?
This morning it was like trying to eat breakfast whilst riding a roller coaster - one hand gripping the bowl, the other hastily throwing the PE kit out of the folded laundry pile and barking random quick-fire questions and instructions like a drill sergeant with a caffeine addiction.
In my defence, no one wants to be that embarrassing parent chasing them in public waving a tinfoil-clad set of sandwiches that were forgotten in the chaos.
After the chaos?
You see teenagers shuffle into school like zombies on a low battery, heads dropping and feet dragging, each step a reluctant scuff as if the pavement was the world’s most inconvenient obstacle course.
Gone is the first few happy weeks of school after a sun-soaked summer of freedom and lie-ins. Gone is the excitement of catching up with friends again. Gone is the novelty of new teachers and classrooms.
Anticlimax.
It’s unsurprising as the numbers speak for themselves.
This year, more young people in the UK (ages 10-17) reported unhappiness with school. The Understanding Society survey has tracked this decline in school satisfaction since 2009/10.
One student summed up
If you’re not like everyone else in your class… being boxed in for 10 hours a day and told that you’re useless. Then going home and not being able to talk about that because adults don’t understand school because they were in school at a different time.
Source: The Good Childhood Report 2024
Sounds pretty damning, right? Even if your kid loves school, there’s still a smattering of truth behind the generational gap.
School has evolved enormously in just a few decades - that’s what your kids do that you don’t. They go to school. They get taught in the ways and methods of 2024. They want to turn to you for help like they would a teacher.
But that can be a sticking point.
All you need is a conversation starter, a nugget of interesting information, something that triggers an ‘oh yeah, we learnt something about that in science’ conversation, giving you an insight into their classroom learning.
So click below to sign up for my free newsletter and get a bi-weekly dose of interesting facts, conversation starters, and real-world examples linked to what your kids are learning in STEM. It’s the perfect way to bridge the gap between their school learning and your life experience - making learning feel relevant and engaging.
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In the spirit of exploration,
Nici
P.S. Don’t just be a bystander in your child’s learning - be their secret weapon! You never know, maybe even those school-day grumbles turn into genuine excitement.
