What do you do for a 6 yr. old straight A student who has bad conduct grades?

Tammy - posted on 01/23/2010

i see some of the other ladies mentioned boredom and ADHD....thats what i was going to say. Maybe make an appt to sit down and talk with his teacher and the school counselor and see if they think he should be tested for ADHD?

Kerryn - posted on 01/23/2010

Bored, unchallenged, intellegent child. Find a school that offers extension programs.

Christina - posted on 01/19/2010

The only thing I can suggest is sit him down over a period of time and try and find out why he feels he needs to act up. Maybe because the work is so easy and he doesn't have to ask questions he doesn't get the teacher's attention by raising his hand. I don't know but your kid is obviously very intelligent so just try being patient and talking it out with him. Good Luck!

Maggie - posted on 01/19/2010

Just like a chores chart but a behavior chart, reward child with sticker for every day with good behavior and at the end of the week do something special with child or it can be a game night with the child or movie night or a treat.

Angie - posted on 01/18/2010

I have 3 children who are top of their classes. They have never had behavioral problems because we encouraged them to be helpful to other students. When they are done with their work they help students who are struggling - with the teacher's permission. We also asked their teachers if they could bring a book from home to read once their work was done. Speak with the teacher and see if these ideas might be helpful.

Kim - posted on 01/18/2010

usually chidren of that age who are usually well behaved and excel in school, don't change overnight unless something has changed them. find out what is bothering the child first it may be something very simple or it could be something serious either way your child is not communicating with you. and with children that young behavior is always the first tale tell sign that something is wrong and they don't know how to handle it.

Beth - posted on 01/16/2010

I have a 9 yr old that is a straight a student. President's list since 1st grade and got the highest test scores in the state of Maryland for the state exams, However her last report card her behavior habits was a 'c'. @ 1st i was shocked and then it all made sense. She is acting out because she is bored.. She is being challenged as much as she can in the school she is in.. I had the option to skip her a grade or put her in a private school w/ a full scholarship.. Well her father and I did the research and luckily he was getting ready to move anyhow so we ended up moving her to a different school with a much harder curriculum.. hopefully that will do it cause if they stay bored it will become a problem..

Willoe - posted on 01/16/2010

I have to agree with Karen. I myself have a son, now 7, who is flying through school, yet his behaviour is just ridiculous. I am lucky to have him in the Logo's program - and in a school where the entire staff try to work with the families to discover the problems. At first there was a lot of bad behaviour, but over the last two years he has simmered down quite a bit. He gets bored in class, and he loves attention - either good OR bad - so he will do whatever it takes for someone to focus on him. It took a lot of trial and error to figure things out, but now that we have, we work with the school to curb it. Whenever his behaviour is innappropriate - the teacher brings him into the office, where he and the principle call me, and I can discuss it with him at school. He then knows that he has no 'out' and that I know what is going on - long before he gets home from school.

At home, we have him do timeouts or extra schoolwork, depending on the severity of what he had done. I used to get calls every single day, sometimes a few times a day, and that has gotten down to maybe once or twice a week now.

The main thing is to talk to the teacher and your son, find out how things are going in the classroom and on the playground. Also, share what is going on at home, because these all influence how a child reacts. Their environment has SO much to do with their behaviour.

Hopefully you can find a resolution to this! I'm very grateful that I did! :D

Good Luck!

Karen - posted on 01/16/2010

ABSOLUTELY there need to be consequences at home! As a teacher, I work closely with the parents of children who struggle with their behavior in my classroom, and only when the kids know we're working together does any change really happen. (A parent this week referred to it as the "tag team approach") Yes, you should find out the circumstances of his/her acting out and what he/she actually did, but you have to be very clear that it won't be tolerated by the teacher OR by you. Children who believe that their parents don't care or excuse their bad behavior at school become little terrors!

My stepdaughter has had some problems being nice to other kids in preschool. If she has a problem at school, she can expect a consequence at home. We have a magnetic behavior chart for her at home and she really works for those magnets. If she gets all the magnets in a day she gets a sticker, and when she gets 15 stickers she gets to pick a reward...a movie, trip to Chuck E Cheese, etc. and boy does she work for those! Maybe some kind of positive reward system for your child would work as well.

Sylvia - posted on 01/16/2010

It's hard to know what to do without knowing what the problem actually is. What kind of bad behaviour are we talking about? Have you spoken to your child about it? Have you spoken to the teacher?

Several people have suggested additional punishments at home, but you want to be careful about that unless you know for sure exactly what the "bad conduct" was. You want to know you're being fair and that your child also understands that you're being fair. Not that after-the-fact punishments tend to work very well anyway, but they're especially ineffective when you don't have the whole story.

Erin - posted on 01/16/2010

when is your child acting out? you said he is a straight A student, does he sit and enjoy his work, then act out out of bordom while everyone else is trying to work? this used to happen to my brother alot. the only thing that ever seemed to help him was exta educational stimulation, usually provided by our mother. unfortunately because of the regularity of his disturbances he was labled a bad kid and as he got older his teachers almost seemed jelous and didnt like having a kid that may be smarter then them in thier class. maybe you could ask his teacher if she could have some extra worksheets or projects available to him that he could work on while he waits for others to finish, this is what my 6yr olds teacher does for her. she was acting out at home one day so i got out the paper mache and we built a volcano, she thought that was fantastic! good luck

Brooke - posted on 01/16/2010

My 6 yr old gets straight A's as well..and has N's for behavior and talking...but its all attributed to ADHD. Not saying it could be a problem, but might be worth checking into. Children with ADHD tend to be sooo intelligent that thier behavior is obviously effected by it.

Yvette - posted on 01/16/2010

I think this is a good age to catch this problem. I've seen a few friends and relatives with children who seem to get a pass on bad behavior because they are excelling in their grades and are very bright. I think it needs to be explained that while your very proud to be a mom or such a smart child you are deeply disappointed when they treat others badly or disrespect them. I don't think your child is too young to ask them what they consider a reasonable punishment for bad behavior. Also, when they treat someone kindly or express a concern with anothers feelings (or even the family pet!) this should be recognized and gently praised. As I see children who never seem to find compassion or understanding for others, they grow into young adulthood they become arrogant and detached. I have met more than a few adults in this catagory. I remind my kids, It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!

Candy - posted on 01/16/2010

Talk to your child's teacher to determine the exact problem. Then ask the teacher for their help and cooperation in working with the child.

Sabrina - posted on 01/16/2010

I think you start punishment at home with the explanation that what you do at school also effects what you are permitted to do at home. My 6 year old daughter is also a straight A student who from time to time brings home a "straight" or "frown" face in her agenda book. When she does-there are consequences at my house. I found that spanking her for her behavior doesn't work. With that said, if she is not included in game/movie night or some other things she loves to do she tends to get the "big picture". Take away the TV, video games, or whatever your child likes to do to unwind. Hopefully this will help you or give you come up with your own idea.