If you really hated school, for no particular reason....

[Norpeth]

No bullying, no Sen, not struggling academically ect.... What do you wish your parents had done? Or what would have helped you like/cope better at school?

[BlueMoonOnce]

I don’t think my parents could have done anything different to be honest.
Schools don’t suit a lot of people, it’s that that needs to change.

[mondaytosunday]

Nothing. There were no other school options either (other than private but unaffordable). I don't think changing schools would have made any difference anyway.

[Pascha]

I wish my parents had sat me down with a routine, encouragement and clear expectations from day one secondary school.

My parents assumed because I was clever I would just learn to study all by myself but I never did understand and nobody made me sit and do homework or show me how to research or revise so I just never did.

Not blaming them, they were busy but I understood I was never high on their priority list. I was assumed to be just getting on with it.

I hated all of secondary school.

TLDR: I wish I had been taken notice of and listened to by my parents, maybe it would have turned out different.

[MistyBerkowitz]

Changed school to one where being clever wasn’t anomalous. Provided a quiet place to do homework (which would have meant having far fewer children and not living with extended family).

[FloofyBird]

I didn't hate it but avoided a lot of lessons due to anxiety about things so had a lot of time off. Realised in my late 30's it was anxiety related and turns out I'm actually autistic.

[HellonHeels]

@Pascha

I wish my parents had sat me down with a routine, encouragement and clear expectations from day one secondary school.

My parents assumed because I was clever I would just learn to study all by myself but I never did understand and nobody made me sit and do homework or show me how to research or revise so I just never did.

Not blaming them, they were busy but I understood I was never high on their priority list. I was assumed to be just getting on with it.

I hated all of secondary school.

TLDR: I wish I had been taken notice of and listened to by my parents, maybe it would have turned out different.

Edited

Pretty much this. Thanks for posting @Pascha

[FlowersInAFlowerBed]

Let Me change schools. However my son hates school and people have told me he must have Sen because NT children don't dislike school 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[PhoneTheHelpline]

As I truanted from secondary because I was just overwhelmed by it all, teeny primary into massive secondary 2 bus rides away I had an ongoing talk about school through primary and secondary with my children.

I told that them that education is education, not a fun fair, it will often be tedious and not entertaining but it serves a purpose and to quote one of my favourite authors, the only way out is through. I would help with anything they wanted or needed to get them through it although to be fair we chose the school because it was amazing, taught them how to research for homework, and taught the parents the same, great pastoral care and HOY who follows them from year 7-11 for continuity.

I would sit with them and guide them through homework, I would be at their beck and call for lifts to and from school, to mate;s houses, I would have their back and made sure they knew I wanted the best outcome for them. When Ds showed a lot of fear doing new things we came up with strategies to help him overcome it, breathing exercises, going through all scenarios, fake it till you make it, how to handle bullies both physically if he was attacked and he was and verbally.

And most importantly I feel, I listened. Listened to fears never dismissed them, asked them what they feel would help to give them some control and ownership of the whole thing, didn't solve it for them but nudged them toward solving it themselves. My youngest is year 13 so he is almost out.

[Catinmyshedoh]

Wish they'd home educated me tbh. It would never have been recognised at the time because academically I did well and didn't cause trouble but I have autism and ADHD and the school environment wasn't right for me.

My own DC are home educated.

[Merrow]

I wish they'd let me change schools. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference, but I would have thought they were listening to me. My mum wouldn't let me as she felt I just wasn't suited to school, so I'd be unhappy at any school, and the one I was at suited me academically.

She did see school as something to get through with the best marks possible, and was unhappy herself at school, which probably influenced her decisions.

[muggart]

this might sound odd but i think a multivitamin might have helped, and more sleep. i was always run down and exhausted.

also, my DM was very critical so i never took any pleasure in anything or had any ambition because everything i did was wrong. I never had a 'thing' i was good at or passionate about. Any extracurriculars i did were forced upon me and were things i was bad at, so my whole childhood was basically just spent feeling shit about myself, despite getting top grades and having friends so ostensibly I seemed fine on the outside.

[SugaryKrush]

I didn't hate it but it was a rough school with a bad reputation and people were negative towards me for going there so I kind of g x be up and didn't try as hard as o could have done as I thought it was pointless if I was going to be written off any way

[Eloraa]

Helped me fit in. I never had cool trainers/ bag/ whatever. Not because of a lack of money, but because my parents didn’t think it was important. They were right long term, but it’s tough to be 12 with sensible M&S shoes.

[Greywitch2]

There wasn't anything my parents could have done. I hated school because I was bored. I was bright and interested in learning stuff, but I went to school in the 1970s where the majority of my teachers were middle aged, unenthusiastic about teenagers and basically droned at you whilst you copied stuff down.

That was the teaching style. Chalk and talk. Dull stuff. There wasn't anything my parents could have done to change it. I was bored shitless for my whole time there.

[coffeeisthebest]

@muggart

this might sound odd but i think a multivitamin might have helped, and more sleep. i was always run down and exhausted.

also, my DM was very critical so i never took any pleasure in anything or had any ambition because everything i did was wrong. I never had a 'thing' i was good at or passionate about. Any extracurriculars i did were forced upon me and were things i was bad at, so my whole childhood was basically just spent feeling shit about myself, despite getting top grades and having friends so ostensibly I seemed fine on the outside.

I feel similarly to you. I also wish they had cut out the sarcasm and jokes at my expense which left me feeling achingly shy about trying anything new. Just wish they had seen that most of their 'jokes' made them look like dicks. And also their cutting comments about everything gave me such a negative view of the world that it has taken a long time to shift through.

[IlesFlottante]

Just be a bit more emotionally supportive. I needed someone to talk to but they were loving but closed off. I don't think changing schools or anything practical would have helped.

[Denou]

I hated school. Nothing wrong with the school, but I just detested that feeling of being completely controlled. My parents didn’t need to do anything. I got on with it, passed my exams and left. No job has ever been as awful for me as school which now seems ridiculous. School is only 6.5hrs long with an hour for lunch!