If you are a parent of a student who is now a high school senior, you are possibly experiencing some of his or her tensions, angst and procrastination. You probably understand that your teen needs more privacy, and it is unacceptable that you hover over him/her.
It is natural to snoop into the affairs of kids and come to terms with his evolutions towards being an independent individual. If you have developed parenting skills to understand your kid completely, you are in a good space. However, if you have not still figured him/her out well even at this point, you need to know a few things about your high school kid.
- Listen to your kid
Once your kid is ready, he will begin to arrange his own high school process. It can be disorganized and haywire at first. You should learn to enquire some questions, and then listen to them.
Rather than advising them about what they should have done, you need to try asking them whether they can tell them something about the new course, the things that they learnt or the things that they are thinking of doing the next year.
- Help your kid
Rather than worrying about particular colleges, you should assist your kid to identify the features of different colleges where your teens will learn and be able to flourish the most.
Do they need a lot of options or an extremely structured educational course? Analyze whether they are kinesthetic, auditory or visual learners? Find out which type of community will be able to enhance their spirit in the best possible way.
- Take their style experimentations in your stride
If they are experimenting with new hairstyles, keep in mind that is its only hair and will soon grow back. Over a few months, you are likely to see various styles:
- Dreadlocks
- Mohawk
- Green pink
- Buzzed
- Shaved
- Bronzed and more
Try not to make a moral judgment about the character of your teens on the basis of their appearance.
- Do not bother about behavioral differences
It is usual for kids to behave in one way at home and in another way at school. Keep in mind that school is the place where teens enter their journey into young adulthood and assume new identities. You should try to make your home a safe spot where your kid can still be a kid at least now and then.
- Remember the fast evolution of the higher school landscape
High school happens to be the path for your kids to college. It is right at thehigh school where they will know about:
- New approaches to education
- Online programs
- New academic skills
- Newer technologies
- Newer ways of learning
As a responsible parent, you should help your kids in these aspects and help them begin a lifetime of learning, both in and out of high school.
- Have standardized tests in proper perspective
You should assist your teens to determine which of the standardized tests they should take prepare it for them and help them to finish the tests. Plenty of students appears for these tests repeatedly, instead of concentrating on other aspects of their lessons and planning for college.
- Talk about money
High school seniors are often concerned about how they will pay for their college education. You can make the task easier for them by clearly discussing with them about the amount you can pay, the amount that they have to earn in the form of scholarships or the loans that they have to borrow in order to finish college.
You should stop guessing about the numbers. Each college is supposed to come with a net price calculator, such as FAFSA, which can help your kid to determine the actual expense of attending a college on the basis of the income of their parents and their own academic profile.
- Encourage independence
At any time you find your teens coming to you to help them out, give them your advice and encourage them to tackle the task on their own. If you kids bring some of their problems to you, show your happiness at their faith on you and the fact that they are sharing their issues with you. However, you should not fix the problem.
You should encourage them to push their limits, go beyond their classroom needs, try out various new things and pursue all that they actually love. Be tolerant about their disagreement with you, as they can have different opinion and viewpoint than yours.
The more you teach your teen to be independent, the more he/she will feel confident about tackling various tasks. Encourage them to select only those things that really matter to them.
- Take care of your kids
High school is a time for stress, and your kids are sure to go through a tumultuous period, both within and without. As they continue to grow in mind and body, and come across different people, ideas and members of the opposite gender, they are likely to lose themselves now and then. You should take care of your kids and do everything possible to keep them nimble and balanced.
Ensure that they eat healthy and nutritious items, exercise, meditate and sleep consistently. Do not talk with other parents about your high school kids and the problems they are facing. These can filter back to your children and increase stress and sense of competition for them. You have to make the academic journey fun for them.
- Do not make grades be-all and end-all of life
- Although you might view grades to be very important, they are not so actually. There are many other aspects of high school that happen to be more vital than getting straight A’s. These include assisting your teens to discover their passions and interests as well as how to adjust with fellow students.
- You should guide them about how to handle disappointment, which is supposed to be an important skill that students should pick up from high school.
- As a parent, you have to ensure that your kid has a strong foundation for his moral character. Once they leave home for college or work, your support will not be there – but your advice will go on helping them in each of life’s challenges.
- You should turn yourself into a reliable resource they can come back to. You have to help them to find out where they are actually
- Rather than being preachy, you should guide them gently past all the inevitable obstacles that they are likely to encounter in their journey. Do not retreat from their side, and you will provide them with long-lasting benefits and payoffs.
- Even if your kid fails an assignment or a test, it is better if they experience the disappointment for their first time in the high school rather than in college.
- Do not give up on your kids if they get poor grades. Grades alone do not define who your kid is. You have to focus on the all-round development of the character and personality of your child first, and the grades will come afterwards. With such an approach, you can be assured of the success of your kids in life.