Going to school is difficult for some kids. Some children love it but others find it to be the hardest time of their life. You are at a point where you are discovering who you are and who you want to be. There’s peer pressure to experience new things, good and bad; there’s planning for the future and being nostalgic for the past. Look around a school. Everything from the school LED signs to the football fields and the classrooms are designed to propel children forward into the next phase or step of their life. So much is changing all the time, it’s easy to forget how much the teenagers are going through at this point in their lives. Here are a few ways that you can help your child get through these later years of school.
Don’t Nag Them
It’s important to make sure that you push your child and challenge them and help them. Even so, you don’t want to nag them. There is a difference. Be sensitive to when your child feels like they need a break from you. You might think that you should be in charge and tell them when they need to do everything but this is when your child is learning how to be independent. The safest place for them to learn that is under your roof where you can still take care of them.
You can do this in little ways. For example, instead of constantly asking them if they have letters from school that they forgot to give you, call the school yourself or check the school LED signs or any outdoor school signs that might be up. They often have important information on them. Often times, electronic message boards for schools will be posted in the outdoor hallways as well.
If your child seems to be relaxing or playing games on a night when they often have homework, instead of assuming that they are procrastinating, ask them to help you with the chores. If they have homework, they’ll be sure to bring that up to get out of chores!
Be Available to Them
Teenagers around the world think that their parents don’t understand them so they find it hard to talk to them. Don’t pressure your kids to open up to you. Even if you know something is wrong, let them come to you. Even so, make sure they know you are available. For example, if you notice on the school LED signs that there is a dance coming up and your daughter hasn’t said anything about it, there may be a chance she hasn’t been asked or something else is wrong. Simply letting her know that you saw the sign about the dance and if she wants to talk about it then you are there is giving her the opportunity to open up but not forcing her to tell you what’s happened.
Get Them Thinking
Try not to nag them about the future but remind them that it is something that they should be thinking about. You can do this is little ways. For example, if your child shows an interest in politics and you see signs for government elections or something, you could joke with your child about being a senator or the president. From there, turn it in to a serious conversation. Ask them if they’ve ever consider it and point out their strong points and what would make them a good president. They might brush you off at the time but their confidence will be given a boost for one but they’ll also begin thinking about what it would take to get where they want to be.
Teenagers are very finicky beings. You can’t force them because they’ll push back. You can’t let them be because they aren’t mature enough to get things done right. You have to be able to find a balance that will encourage them to move forward and be responsible and grow up. You’ll only be driving up to those school LED signs and those classrooms for so long, don’t let this time slip you by. Do all you can to invest in your children’s lives while you can.
