Once the teenage years strike, parents often find themselves in one heck of a situation. Big changes are happening from your teen’s new-founded attitude to their sudden interest in falling in love, making parenting quite the challenge.
Another huge challenge parents often face is ensuring their strong-willed teens stay motivated in school. Late nights, more distractions, more complicated coursework, and a need to rebel and “fit in” could cause a teen’s grades to slump. But college is coming quickly, so if you want to ensure the best future for your teen, here’s how you can encourage them to do well in school.
- Help Your Teen Break Down Big Tasks into Smaller Ones
One important thing in life is learning how to handle challenges. That goes for any age. However, from a teen’s perspective, dealing with complex situations, like taking a difficult class, can be overwhelming.
Rather than avoiding situations that may be less than easy, it’s critical that our teens learn to take on challenges with grace. We can help them with this by showing them how to break down big tasks into smaller components that are easier to digest.
For instance, we might show our teen how to study in multiple segments to prepare for a big exam, rather than studying in one long session. This can make the situation less chaotic for a stressed teen and, not to mention, studying in this manner may help them better retain information for the test.
- Keep the Topic of the Future on Your Teen’s Mind
At their age, teens don’t typically think about the future and prefer to think in the present moment. Thus, they may make rash decisions they may sooner or later regret.
However, by frequently having talks with your teenage son or daughter about their future is important, it may instill the importance of staying on track in their studies. Talk with them about the college they may be interested in going to, the degree they want to major in, and other topics pertaining to their life after high school.
- Be a Good Example
Teens aren’t fans of hypocritical behavior. And, boy, are they the kings and queens of comparisons! “Dad, you’re one to talk! You didn’t even graduate high school!” “Well, you don’t even use math at your job, Mom, so why should I take math class seriously?” Sound familiar? Although there are parts of us we cannot change, what we can do is be a good example.
Showing our teens that we are hard workers and how us working hard has brought positive outcomes can inspire them. Even telling them stories of how we failed but kept trying can be encouraging. We can also lead by example by being positive, always being prepared, being responsible (e.g., going to bed early), and being on time.
- Intervene if You Must
There may be an underlying reason for your teen’s suffering academics. Being bullied, mental health setbacks, or medical issues (e.g., vitamin deficiencies) are common reasons for poor performance in Utah schools. Doing an investigation or consulting your teen directly may help you get answers and, thus, get them help. If all else fails, the school may have a game plan.
Conclusion
The teenage years are a difficult one. It’s a time for more freedom, new opportunities, and mistakes to be learned. However, it shouldn’t be a time when one begins to do poorly in school. With college opportunities arising in the near future, it’s critical that our teens stay motivated and perform well in school now.
