Tutoring is it section 7?

[cashcow4ex]

My Ex would like to hire a personal tutor for both my children. Would this be considered section 7 expense?

[Coop]

It was deemed a section 7 for us.

[NBDad]

What's the cost? Why do they need a private tutor? Are they failing? What services are available through the school for extra help? Has this been discussed with the school/teachers and has extra resources been made available?

[cashcow4ex]

Originally Posted by NBDad

What's the cost? Why do they need a private tutor? Are they failing? What services are available through the school for extra help? Has this been discussed with the school/teachers and has extra resources been made available?

They are currently using the schools tutors for math and reading however the ex also wants them to get private tutoring at home. The cost is going to be around $20.00 an hour for 2 - 4 hours per kid per week. So I am now looking at an additional cost of $80.00-$160.00 per week. She has not discussed it with the school. She has decided this because both their report cards have lots of C's on them. They are 10 and 6 years old by the way.

[NBDad]

If it is not something that has been recommended by the school, then it's probably not needed. Most school districts DO have extra resources available for students seen as struggling.

If they were failing, it might be different, but wanting to do tutoring for children JUST because of C grades (which is an average mark) is a little unreasonable.

Depends on what kind of cash flow you are looking at really. On one hand it's in the kid's best interests...on the other, is it REALLY needed or just an attempt to pawn off having to do extra effort on a tutor as opposed to doing it themselves?

[cashcow4ex]

Originally Posted by NBDad

If it is not something that has been recommended by the school, then it's probably not needed. Most school districts DO have extra resources available for students seen as struggling.

If they were failing, it might be different, but wanting to do tutoring for children JUST because of C grades (which is an average mark) is a little unreasonable.

Depends on what kind of cash flow you are looking at really. On one hand it's in the kid's best interests...on the other, is it REALLY needed or just an attempt to pawn off having to do extra effort on a tutor as opposed to doing it themselves?

My issue with it all is if I was the CP, she would most certainly expect me to be the one tutoring them at night and not relying on a tutor. I have a decent cash flow, that is until the 1st and 15th of the month when she cashes the child support cheques .

I guess this is going to be a (why dont you tutor them) and a (so pathetic that their own father doesnt want the best for them) argument.

[Berner_Faith]

Don't allow it to turn into an argument... C grades are not horrible and the children are young.

Tell the ex you would like to have a meeting with school officials to discuss what else can be done at their end... you will also have to think about what effect this could have on the child...they go to school full time, receive extra help at school, most likely have some form of homework and then to add another 2-4 hours a week of additional study at home. This may start to take a toll on the children being forced to do all these studies.

You may find that school officials don't recommend more tutoring or have more to offer.

[frustratedwithex]

Originally Posted by cashcow4ex

They are currently using the schools tutors for math and reading however the ex also wants them to get private tutoring at home. The cost is going to be around $20.00 an hour for 2 - 4 hours per kid per week. So I am now looking at an additional cost of $80.00-$160.00 per week. She has not discussed it with the school. She has decided this because both their report cards have lots of C's on them. They are 10 and 6 years old by the way.

What sort of plan has the schools tutor put forth? Have they asked you to do homework with each child, or sent home worksheets?

I would set up a meeting with the childs teacher to discuss what concerns you have with the childs report card and what concerns the teacher has. If the school tutor feels the child is making progress, then a private tutor most likely isn't needed.

At this age, repetition and practise is usually what kids need, especially for reading. Reading to your kids everyday and asking questions from time to time about what is happening in the story, (reading comprehension), following the text with your finger are all good habits to do to help with reading.

I would say the same for math. You know, we use to practise our times tables and addition/subtraction everyday until we memorized them. Still a good practice I think.

These things don't have to be a chore. You can make them part of everyday. When you are at the grocery store, you say we need apples, you point to the sign above the apples and point to every letter in the word as you spell it out. You count the number of apples you put into the bag, etc. It just becomes part of your day.

Libraries usually have a program called 'reading buddies'. They are free, you need to call your local library and sign your child up and once a week you go to the library and someone sits with your child and reads with them. The reading buddie is a volunteer and has typically received some training before being accepted into the program. Like a tutor, they read to the child, the child reads to them, they talk about the book they are reading together.

I guess this is going to be a (why dont you tutor them) and a (so pathetic that their own father doesnt want the best for them) argument.

So you offer to spend the extra time the tutor would be spending with them because what is best for them, is to spend extra time with their father!

When I had a child in high school who needed a tutor, it was considered a sec.7 expense.

[mcdreamy]

A C grade is not an acceptable grade in our house. So I would be working with our kid, if she started bringing home C's. And I would expect my ex to work with her as well.

I would agree to a math tutor, one hour per week per kid. The 10 year old would be in Grade 5, right? That's just about the time that I started our daughter with her math tutor. I'm too old and have been too long out of a math class to even pretend I know what I'm doing in math anymore.

But I think 2-4 hours per week, per kid, is overkill. Our kid does 1 math hour/tutor per week. They review the in-class material and do extra problems to ensure she truly understands the concept before the class moves onto the next section. I pay $25.00 an hour.

And I wouldn't agree to a reading/english tutor, that is most definitely work that each parent can be doing with the children. And as other posters have suggested, there are reading buddies available, either in the school or at your local library.

[cashcow4ex]

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice.