When your teen is really showing signs that they’re struggling at school and not being able to keep pace with the rest of the class, that can be pretty worrying for you. You want to make sure that they’re able to get the grades required to go on and achieve more in other areas of their life. After all, no parent wants their child to fall short at the high school level.
This is the age at which they have to start really thinking about their future, their college education, and what they want to do in life going forward. That’s why helping them to stay on track and ultimately fulfill their potential in terms of educational attainment is so important for you to do as a parent. But what does that look like and how do you approach it?
That’s what we’re going to discuss today. So if you’re looking to make sure that your teen goes as far as you know they’re capable of going in their education, read on now and make the most of the ideas and options we’re about to discuss.
Make Sure You Support a Good Morning Routine
Morning routines matter a lot when it comes to helping your teen through high school and helping to achieve the things you want them to. A good morning routine sets them up for the rest of the day and helps to stay focused and energized. So try to work with them to fix their sleep routine and to get out of bed as early as possible. That way, they won’t be rushed and they’ll have the time to eat a healthy breakfast before they set off for school.
Keep Their Daily Lifestyle Healthy
It’s important that you do your part as a parent to help your teen lead a healthy lifestyle from one day to the next. Of course, as they get older, you have less influence over these things, but cooking healthy meals and encouraging them to be active will help them to stay in better shape, not just physically but mentally too. It’s important to keep that in mind if you want to ensure they stay healthy and able to focus on their schoolwork. Sending them off to school with water so they’re able to stay hydrated and focused during lessons can be an important thing too.
Get to the Bottom of Problems Quickly
If there are problems that are stopping your child from making solid progress in their studies, you should try to get to the bottom of those things sooner rather than later. There are lots of problems, from simply needing some eyeglasses to stay on track in the classroom to dealing with issues such as bullying. It’s essential to get your child to open up and not always assume the worst because there’s often an understandable explanation at the core of these problems.
Seek Extra Information from Their Teachers
It might also be helpful to get more information from their teachers about why they’re struggling and what might be going wrong. It definitely makes sense to stay in regular contact with your children’s teachers whenever you have children, whether they’re struggling at school or not. You can help them better and get them back on the right track much more quickly when you have the full picture of what’s actually happening at school. And their teachers are in the best position to give you that information.
Help Them Keep Their Schedule Organized
Organization and structure are among the things that high school kids often struggle with the most. So it might be something that you try your best to help them with. If they can’t stick to a study routine and their documents and papers are in no real order, you can help advise them on how to change that. It might sound like something very simple if it’s something that you’re used to thinking about and paying attention to, but that’s not always the case for everyone, so try to help them if this is holding them back.
Offer Help with Studying
You can also offer some help and assistance with studying. This could be as simple as buying them a new desk and a chair that they can use to study at in peace. Making sure they have the right study environment really can be one of the most important things of all when it comes to their educational attainment. You might also be able to assist them in other ways, but that’s something that you’ll need to discuss with them directly because everyone studies in different ways.
Keep an Eye on School Attendance
If they’re not showing up to school when they should be, that’s worrying for a couple of reasons. First of all, it means that they’re not attending lessons and they’re not going to be getting the information and learning that they’re clearly going to require. In another sense, it’s also worrying because it means that they’re doing things away from school that they probably should be, and this might also be why they’re not focused on performing well at school. So keep an eye on attendance and do what you can to make sure they’re always at school when they should be.
Find Tasks for Them to Work on Outside the Classroom
There are always plenty of tasks that you can find for your teen to work on outside the classroom if you feel that their learning requires that extra reinforcement. Some teens simply don’t grasp all the ideas put in front of them right away, and that extra practice and familiarity can help the ideas stick and become established in their minds. That’s often all it takes. You can make use of options such as these high school worksheets if you’re in need of extra study materials for your teen to use.
Create Routines
Routines are helpful for a lot of reasons, especially for young people who might not have the structure they need in order to perform as they should at school. The routines you help them to put in place will ultimately help them to start achieving more at school. A little stability can go a long way, especially for young people who might be lacking it. It’s one of the fundamental things to have in place in order to enable them to achieve all of the things you know they’re capable of achieving at school.
Make Expectations for Effort Clear
It’s important that they understand that you do have certain expectations of them when it comes to their school work. This is not about placing pressure on them or making them feel that they have to please you. It’s about making them realize that their future is in their own hands and they’re the ones that are capable of achieving the things they want to achieve in life. Showing them that they need to take control and progress properly will help them in the end.
Try to Keep Them on the Right Path
When you notice that your teen might be straying from the right path somewhat, that’s a sign that you need to take steps to get them back where they need to be. There are always going to be times when they start to focus on other things and their grades slip. That’s why you need to step in and remind them of what they’re capable of and why it’s worth their time and effort to keep things on the right path.
And Seek Professional Help and Guidance If It’s Needed
Seeking professional help and guidance might be needed if there are some things that your teen is really struggling with and these things are holding them back in terms of their education. Don’t assume that you need to struggle with problems alone because that’s not the case and it’ll ultimately make it difficult for them to get over whatever problems they’re contending with. Counseling and other forms of support are out there, and you can talk to their school about gaining access to extra support too. There’s always more assistance out there than you realize.
Reward Successes and Improvements
When you start to see your teen improving and heading in a better direction with their school outcomes, you should celebrate and reward that. It’s all about reinforcing their positive behavior and letting them know how proud you are of their successes. This will help them to stay on that same track and carry on achieving the things that they want to achieve in the long term. So as things improve, let them know that they’re doing well and reward them occasionally.
In Conclusion
It can certainly be tough when your teen is really struggling at high school, but it doesn’t have to be something that holds them back and stops them from getting to where you feel they should be. All of these challenges can be overcome, and you can play a key part in making that happen.
