Secondary school can be both exciting and nerve-wracking for your teen. On one hand, this is the time when your child is slowly forming her identity. And on the other hand, while your child is forging her self-identity and image, there's the natural need to fit in with her peers. All of these, while balancing her home and school life.
As a parent, your goal is to provide ample support for your child while giving her enough room to discover things for herself. Here are a few ways that can help you achieve those goals and solidify your relationship with your teen.
Help her cultivate the right mindset for school
If your child is skipping school or engaging in activities outside of school without your direct knowledge or permission, you can see signs of these in her report card. Check for a sudden decline in grades as well as her attendance. If you notice something different, contact your child's school.
With too many things vying for your teen's attention, it may be tempting for her to stay up late at night. However, it is imperative for her to get ample sleep especially during school days. Set a time when everyone in the household should turn in for bed.
Encourage your child to put in her best effort at school. Sometimes, teens fall into the trap believing that a particular subject is irrelevant or that their final year in secondary school is useless. Banish these thoughts from your teen's mind and teach her the value of hard work and perseverance.
Teach her time management
Although your child can certainly do a lot of things on her own, the volume of work teens have to deal with at school can daunt even the savviest professionals. As such, you'd like to help her map out her week. This will allow her to pace herself as she ticks tasks off her to-do list while still giving her ample time for sports and recreational activities.
It would also be beneficial to create a room devoted for quiet study, a place free from distraction. Just make sure that the room is equipped with everything that your teen needs.
Make your teen know that you're there for her
Often, parents and teens find themselves in a situation where there's a dramatic shift in the attention given by the former to the latter. Perhaps, parents think that their teens need less time and guidance or perhaps they are simply busy at work.
Whatever your reason may be for spending less time with your child, you can reverse that. You can start out by listening to your child. Encourage her to tell you about how her whole day went and avoid passing judgment on her without her telling her side.
Apart from academic work, teens can learn a lot of stuff from extra and co-curricular activities. Encourage her to join her peers and engage in activities that she loves.
It would also be useful to regularly talk with one of your teen's teachers. This will allow you to be alerted about noticeable changes in your child that you may have missed.