Is it normal for a 10-year-old to find school boring?

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10 year old DD finds school really boring. She’s found it boring for quite some time now. It’s not because she is really clever or really struggling, she’s very middling I would say.

truing to do the very small amount of weekly homework is an absolute chore, she’s not interested at all and wouldn’t submit her homework if it wasn’t for me. It’s just not engaging her. She loves art but of course that’s such a small part of her curriculum.

how on earth am I going to through the next few years?

is this normal?! I was so diligent at school I just not sure what to do!

What IS she interested in? What history topics, for example? What sort of books does she enjoy reading? What does she do in non-school time?

Well I did. And also at 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Dropped out of uni.

Yes lots of kids find school boring. It’s why inspirational teachers make a massive difference. Most disruption is borne out of boredom. At secondary school, you’ll likely find the most inspiring teachers are the ones that have the highest number of young people wanting to take that GCSE.

Inspirational teachers absolutely make or break a child’s experience but MOST disruption is from boredom is an absolutely wild thing to say and conveniently places all the blame on teachers 🙄

Id argue the vast majority of disruption comes from a lack of emotional safety or inability to regulate. SOME of this dysregulation is due to boredom.

Of course it's normal

I found it boring from that age onwards , thankfully no bullying or problems with the work just didn't like school and found it a chore up until i left.
Two out of 3 of my kids liked it a lot more than me but the 3rd one despite no influence from me was exactly the same and just didn't like it.
In response i think yes it's completely normal for a lot of 10 year olds.
At least she's old enough to reason with and perhaps reward ,even something simple like a treat in a cafe at the weekend.
What also helped my child was letting her see when school holidays were clearly on a calendar and doing a countdown til the next one.
You have my sympathies, i really believe one size does not fit all and school is not a happy place for many kids.

Why?

I don’t think that’s normal.

as others have said, it’s a combination. What’s home life, interests, day to day set up.

My children’s school ain’t perfect, but I have picked the battles and I think they would agree I am now accepted as helpful.

what would she like? Make it happen?

mine.

the library, so I dedicate an hour a week to sort it out.

farming, approach farmers, get tractors brought in.

activities, find someone to do what she likes. Ask them.

@VickyEadieofThigh mostly creative activities are her interest, we do a weekly art class and lots at home
I just want her to find school bearable and somewhat enjoyable!

Is it normal for a 10 year old to NOT find school boring?

And I should have added I absolutely love/loved work. Nearly retired now at 65. Noting I was pretty successful.

MIL loved, loved school. Says school was the best of her life, so great she became a teacher and golly did she moan about teaching.

I think if people look back on theor school days as the best of their lives, must go on to have pretty mundane lives.

@notnowmaud I totally agree re inspirational teachers. Perhaps the fact she has one teacher for everything including PE!

Well, yes, of course, it’s a rare child who enjoys going to school. Bit like how most people would rather stay home and not work if they could. Work is boring too. Sometimes we have to get on with it and do boring things.

But you can help her find exciting things she does like to do. It might be a school subject to explore in more depth or it might be trees or horses or skateboarding. She needs to find her thing, even if it’s not in school.