12 year old child refuses to do work?

[Anonymous]

What to do when a child refuses to do there school work. She’s getting straight F’s. Her aunt is a university professor and tried to help but she won’t listen to anyone. Has any parents dealt with this? How to change her?

[Ninani]

I was a child who didn't do my homework. It was mostly because of emotional chaos, I just couldn't handle doing anything when I got home from a day of bullying to be scolded by my mom for being lazy. Your daughter might be going through something that she's keeping to herself, is afraid to tell you or don't know how to deal with. I'd go with a more gentle and supportive approach, make sure she feels safe and loved no matter her grades or lack of attention to other responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

Definitely go with being supportive of her. Do something just you and her that’s fun. Spend some time with her and show her you love her and care about her. Children can go through many traumatic events some of which we don’t even know about. There is nothing that love and support can’t fix!

[MTC29]

There is clearly a deep rooted problem well beyond her not wanting to do homework. She's lashing out, the question is, about what? In order to find out, she'll need some sort of professional counseling.

In the meantime, straight F's means that she'll be held back and full made to repeat what I'm guessing is the 6th or 7th grade. Having to staying in elementary school while her classmates move on to junior high school will be a social stigma.