6 Ways to Help Your Teen Succeed in College

Parents can play a vital role in helping teens succeed in school by being informed and lending a little support and guidance. Even though teens are seeking independence, parental involvement is an important ingredient for academic success.

1.

Teens do better in school when parents support their academic efforts. Attending your school’s open day or back-to-school night is a great way to get to know your teen’s teachers and their expectations.

Attending parent-teacher meetings is another way to stay informed, especially if your teen has special learning or behavioural needs, but you can request meetings with teachers, principals, school counsellors, or other school staff any time during the school year.

2.

Knowing the physical layout of the school building and grounds can help you connect with your teen when you talk about the school day.

Use the school website to find information about such things as:

• the school calendar

• contacting school staff

• special events like dances and class trips

• testing dates

• parental portal for current progress, classes, credits, missing assignments, absences, behavioural reports etc

• sign-up information and schedules for sports, clubs, and other extracurricular activities

• student resources for life after high school.

Attend Open Days and Parent-Teacher Meetings Visit the School and Its Website 3. Support Homework Expectations

During the college years, homework gets more intense and grades become critical for tertiary plans. Amid all these changes, many teens are learning how to balance academics with extracurricular activities, social lives, and jobs. An important way to help is to make sure your teen has a quiet, well-lit, distraction-free place to study that’s stocked with supplies. Distraction-free means no phone, TV, or websites other than homework-related resources. Be sure to check in from time to time to make sure that your teen hasn’t gotten distracted.

Regularly sit down with your teen to go over class loads and make sure they’re balanced, and help him or her stick to a homework and study schedule.

Encourage your teen to ask for help when it’s needed. Most teachers are available for extra help before or after school, and also might be able to recommend other resources.

4.

A nutritious breakfast fuels up teens and gets them ready for the day. In general, teens who eat breakfast have more energy and do better in school.

Teens also need the right amount of sleep — about 8½ to 9½ hours each night — to be alert and ready to learn all day. Most teens also have a change in their sleep patterns, with their bodies telling them to stay up later at night and wake up later in the morning. Ideally, teens should try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. You can help by reminding your teen before bedtime to turn off the phone and limit video games and TV. Many teens try to catch up on sleep on weekends. But try to keep your teen’s sleep and wake times within 2 hours of what they are during the week.

5.

Learning and mastering the skills of getting organised, staying focused, and seeing work through to the end will help teens in just about everything they do. Teens can benefit from some parental guidance with organisation and time-management skills.

Creating a calendar will help teens recognise upcoming deadlines and plan their time accordingly. It also helps for teens to make prioritised daily to-do lists.

Send Your Teen to School Ready to Learn Instil Organisational Skills 6. Make Time to Talk About School

Because many teens spend so much of the day outside the home — at school, extracurricular activities, jobs, or with peers — staying connected with them can be challenging for parents and guardians. Parents and guardians are still their anchors for providing love, guidance, and support.

Make efforts to talk with your teen every day, so he or she knows that what goes on at school is important to you. When teens know their parents are interested in their academic lives, they’ll take school seriously as well.

It’s important to listen carefully, make eye contact, and avoid multi-tasking while you chat. Be sure to ask open-ended questions that go beyond “yes” or “no” answers. Besides during family meals, good times to talk include car trips (though eye contact isn’t needed here, of course), walking the dog, preparing meals, or standing in line at a store. When teens know they can talk openly with their parents, the challenges of college can be easier to face.