My Child Struggles to Keep Up at School: Is There an App That Can Help?
When Learning Feels Like a Battle
Every parent knows that quiet worry—the kind that bubbles up when your child comes home weary, defeated, or frustrated because school feels too hard. Maybe your 8-year-old stares blankly at homework for hours. Or perhaps your 10-year-old bursts into tears when it's time to study for a test. You see their potential, their curiosity, and their big heart, but the classroom seems to work against them.
So many parents feel helpless in these moments. You’ve tried sitting with them, gently coaxing them through math problems or spelling words. Sometimes you lose your patience, sometimes they lose theirs. You wonder: is it them? Is it you? Or is it just the system not quite fitting the way your child learns?
Why Traditional Learning Doesn’t Work for Every Kid
Not every child learns by reading from a textbook and filling out worksheets. Some understand better when they hear explanations out loud. Others retain information by doing and interacting. For many children, what looks like a struggle is actually a mismatch between how they learn and how they’re being taught.
Take Sofia, for instance, a bright 9-year-old who adores animals but hates history class. Her mother, Emilie, noticed she wasn't absorbing her lessons—even though she seemed engaged during homework sessions. Then she realized: Sofia thrived on narrative. If she heard a good story, she remembered every detail. When her history lesson about the Middle Ages was retold to her as an audio adventure starring her as a time-traveling explorer, something clicked. Facts stuck. Names and dates had context. For the first time, she could explain what she learned without prompting.
This kind of breakthrough isn’t magic—it’s about shifting the method, not the message.
Finding the Right Tech Tools to Support Learning
If the way your child is being taught at school isn’t clicking, one thoughtful way to support them at home is to introduce tools that align with their learning style. Not just more practice, not just more pressure—but a different path. One they might even look forward to.
For auditory learners or children who struggle with attention during traditional study sessions, there are educational tools now that can bring lessons to life. Apps that turn school content into interactive quizzes or audio stories can make a world of difference.
One parent I spoke to, David, uses the Skuli app on long car rides. His daughter Anna listens to her French and science lessons as personalized audio adventures—where she's the hero, exploring abstract concepts through fun challenges. While she still struggles with written comprehension, she's now excited to review school material because it's told in a format that resonates with her. “It's like bedtime stories,” he said. “But she’s learning without realizing it.”
Skuli lets you upload a photo of any lesson and turns it into an engaging format tailored to your child. That flexibility means you're not introducing more academics—they’re just repackaged in a form that makes sense for your family rhythm.
Creating Small Wins at Home
Helping your child doesn’t necessarily mean overhauling their school routine. Start small. Think about the times of day they’re most calm, most open. Is it right after school with a snack? In the car on the way to soccer practice? Bedtime?
During those windows, try introducing gentle, playful learning moments. If they’re reviewing vocabulary, turn it into a goofy quiz game. If they’re struggling to remember what they read in science class, try playing an audio version while coloring or building Legos. Learning can—and should—be flexible, even fun. We dive deeper into this idea in our guide on making studying fun for a 7-year-old.
Children thrive when they feel successful. The moment they feel a sense of control, even pride, everything changes. Instead of “I can't,” they start saying “I got this.” That spark only grows when we meet them where they are.
Listening to What Your Child is Telling You
Behavior is communication. If homework takes hours or ends in tears every night, your child isn’t being lazy—they're telling you something’s not working. The challenge may stem from issues like processing speed, attention differences, or anxiety, but the message is the same: “I need help in a new way.”
Introducing the right app, technique, or rhythm can be part of that new way. If you’re curious about other options beyond Skuli, we’ve written a full breakdown of the best learning apps that support different challenges, from reading delays to math anxiety. What matters is that the tool understands your child as an individual, not as one more student in a standardized system.
When in Doubt, Stay Present
No app or tool replaces the steady comfort of your presence. Your child may forget multiplication tables or the date of the French Revolution, but what they won’t forget is how you sat beside them, how you believed in them, and how you found new ways to cheer them on, even when things got hard.
If you're considering trying technology to support your child, this reflection on helping your child learn differently might be a meaningful next read. It offers ideas that feel respectful of your child’s personality and gentle on your already-full plate.
You don't have to fix everything at once. Just one small shift—a new way of telling the story, a new way of listening to the lesson—can be the handhold your child needs to keep climbing.