What sounds like complaining might really be your child’s natural ability to understand the science behind learning.

So often parents and educators hear kids talk about school or about their schoolwork and it truly sounds like they are complaining. But sometimes the reflective and frustrated words of our kids have meaning well beyond what we give them credit for.

We collected common kid-speak, with examples from what parents and teachers have heard their kids say about why they are frustrated with school. We looked at those statements from a perspective of learning science and figured out that kids are really just sharing what they intuitively know about learning.

In the following we identify what you might hear from kids and share how what may seem like a student complaining is actually some very reflective opinions on learning that just happen to be backed by learning science.

I like to learn when I can be very happy and enjoying it.

If kids feel safe, happy, and fulfilled (cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally) they will learn better. Emotions like happiness have a positive effect on learning and overall academic success. Happiness is predicted by students’ satisfaction with school culture and relationships with peers, classmates, and adults…