10 Common Mistakes Parents Make in Their Child’s Education Journey
(And How to Fix Them)
Every parent wants their child to succeed at school, but good intentions sometimes lead to poor outcomes. Many common parenting practices can unintentionally derail a child’s educational progress, especially in the critical grade school years (Grade R to Grade 7).
The good news? Most of these mistakes are easy to fix once you know what they are.
This blog is intended to highlight 10 errors that parents frequently make – and offers 10 practical, empowering things you can do instead, especially if your child is struggling.
10 common mistakes parents make
1. Focusing only on marks not learning
When children start believing their worth depends on their marks alone, this builds fear of failure and increases anxiety. You can avoid this mistake by praising your child for effort, improvement and curiosity rather than actual marks in tests and exams.
2. Over-scheduling the child
Your child has a busy enough time at school without adding in sports, tutoring and other extra mural activities. Such a busy day would be challenging for most adults, let alone a kid. Remember children can burn out quickly, so balance structured activities with unstructured downtime. Remember that rest helps brains grow.
3. Ignoring early learning challenges
Waiting too long to help, or feeling that it’s not your place to intervene just delays support and adds to the child’s problems with literacy and numeracy. So jump in at the earliest possible moment if your child is showing signs of struggle — speak to the educator or to a specialist.
4. Speaking negatively about school at home
Comments like “Your teacher doesn’t know what she’s doing” don’t just undermine respect for the teacher, they undermine respect for the whole idea of learning. Express your concerns privately and always support your child’s connection to their classroom. Remember that what you hear about the classroom comes from your child – probably not the most unbiased witness!
5. Inconsistent routines at home
Children need structure in their lives, even more than adults do. Without such structure children will always struggle to develop self-discipline, so set a regular time and place for homework and quiet reading every day.
6. Using punishment to force performance
You cannot force a child to do better at school. Fear-based motivation may work initially, but it quickly leads to resentment and anxiety. A better plan is to help your child set realistic improvement goals and then encourage them to achieve their goals. And don’t forget to praise them when they do!
7. Comparing your child to others
Comparisons to lower achievers achieves nothing other than to give your child a false sense of achievement. And comparing them to higher achievers simply crushes confidence as well as straining relationships. Chart your child’s progress against their own past performance, not against others.
8. Not reading with your child
South Africa is in the middle of a reading crisis. Skipping reading at home makes it worse. Read aloud together — in any language. It builds vocabulary and memory. Recent studies show a clear link between parental reading and the child’s success in later life.
9. Avoiding uncomfortable conversations
Nobody enjoys dealing with topics like bullying, anxiety or friendship trouble, but avoiding such discussions allows stress to build in your child. So grasp the nettle, but remember to ask open questions, remain calm and listen without judgment.
10. Waiting until high school to get serious
The longer you wait, the harder it will be to close the gaps. Treat Grade 4 as a turning point – especially if your home language is different from the learning language the child is suddenly faced with in Grade 4.
10 Things You Can Do To Help (Especially If Your Child Is Struggling)
- Stay calm and patient – frustration fuels fear.
- Ask gentle, curious questions – “What part of this is tricky?”
- Praise effort, not perfection.
- Make learning active – use colour, drawings, flashcards, voice notes.
- Create a calm study space – even a small one.
- Keep routines predictable – kids feel safer with structure.
- Use fun learning tools like MyExamSlayer and XMWZ’s videos.
- Speak with teachers regularly – not just at report time.
- Be honest about your limits – “Let’s figure this out together.”
- Take school refusal seriously – investigate causes before reacting.
Why it matters
The foundation years shape everything that comes later. Early stress, confusion or bad habits can have long-lasting effects. But with support, consistency and the right tools, every child can thrive.
Our online course, MyExamSlayer, was designed to make that support easy, effective and even fun. With six short lessons and 14 animated videos presented by XMWZ, the Exam Whizz, your child can learn:
- How to study
- How to plan for exam day
- How to stay calm under pressure
And more.