Entering high school for the first time can be scary thing for new incoming freshmen. There are new teachers, new students, new rules and new classes to get used to, which can cause a lot of anxiety and stress. Sadly, you can’t take this away just because you want to. However, there are ways parents can help their teens adjust to high school.

Be Understanding: During this time, it’s normal for teens to have frequent mood changes and act a little out-of-character. Just understand that they are stressed. Take into consideration how your mood changes when you are dealing with numerous changes at work, home or your life in general. Stress and anxiety can cause us to be irritable and even withdrawn sometimes, therefore, give your teen a little slack during this time. He/she will snap out of it as the year progresses.

Show Your Support: One of the biggest changes incoming freshman have to deal with is coming from junior high where they were the oldest, most looked-up-to students, to high school where they are now the youngest, not-so-popular students in school. This can be hard on some teens and cause them to doubt themselves and their decisions. Therefore, it’s important for parents to continue to show their support. Let your teen know that you believe in him/her and that you support him/her in the decisions that have to be made.

Be There: Parents often think that as their kids get older, they need them less. However, this isn’t the case and it especially isn’t the case for new freshmen. As your teen tries to find his/her way through the social maze of high school, it’s important that he/she has someone in their corner…like mom and dad! Make sure you are there for your teen to talk to whenever he/she needs too. When you see your teen in the evening, ask how the day went at school and listen to what he/she says. Just be there for your teen during this time!

Have Rules: Although your teen is in high school, it’s still important for you to have rules. Actually, the teen years may be the most important years for parents to have rules for their teens to follow, especially a curfew. When a group of teens get together for long periods of time, trouble generally follows. Therefore, make sure you know where your teens are after school and on the weekends, and that they have a certain time they have to be home by. This reduces your stress and will help keep your teen safe too.

It’s easy to become exasperated and want to give up when kids get older, and when they enter high school, this is especially true. However, when you are able to calm down and put yourself in the shoes of your teen, who is a new freshman, it’s easier to understand what he/she is going through. Following the tips above should help you help your teen adjust to high school better.

As a parent, you are probably dreading your child’s first day of high school just as much as he/she is. Of course, your reason for this is because the years have flown by way to fast and you can’t believe that high school is already here…basically, you want time to freeze for a few more years before this day arrives.

Your teen, on the other hand, is nervous about the first day of school because he (or she) doesn’t know what to expect. There are a lot more kids to get to know, new teachers, harder classes and higher expectations. All of this can be stressful and cause a lot of anxiety for teens entering their freshmen year. Below are a few tips you can share with your teen to help him prepare, and adjust, to high school.

1. Schedule Classes Carefully. Scheduling classes is a big deal for new high school freshman as some are harder than others. While your teen will have some mandatory classes he has to take, there is flexibility with other classes. Try to stress the importance of not overwhelming himself by taking all hard classes this year as he “gets the hang” of high school.
2. Balance Work and Fun. This tip is just as much for parents as it is for their teens. When your teen starts her freshman year, the expectations rise. Not only is she under new pressures at school but you have been stressing the importance of getting good grades since it goes on her record for college. While doing homework is important, keep in mind that your teen should be studying all the time. She needs to balance the time she spends doing her homework with the time she spends participating in extracurricular activities and/or relaxing.
3. Get to Know the Student Advisor. Most larger high schools assign incoming freshmen to a student advisor who will help them start planning for college, etc. Therefore, it is important that your teen gets to know his advisor and, if possible, makes friends with him (or her). This will make your teen’s freshman year easier, as well as, his entire high school career.
4. Talk to New People. Encourage your teen to reach out and talk to new people in her classes. Many teens feel like they have to stay in with the same group of friends they had in junior high. However, high school is full of new people and opportunities to make new, additional friends. You teen will have a great freshman year if she is able to make new friends in her classes.
5. Steer Clear of Drama. High school is filled with drama and it’s easy for teens to get sucked into it. Talk to you freshman about this and reiterate the fact that high school is not the end of the road. Life is not about high school. Therefore, there is no need to get caught up in all the rumors that fly around or blow up when you and a friend have an argument. All this does is cause unnecessary stress.

Although your teen is probably a little nervous about adjusting to his/her freshman year of high school, the tips above should help. The most important thing you can do, as a parent, is talk to your teen and keep the lines of communication open. Believe it or not, you play a big role in how easy your teen adjusts to high school his/her freshman year.

For more information on helping your teen with high school, click here.

Most adults understand the importance of learning how to properly manage time. However, what many adults, especially parents of teens, forget is how and when they learned to manage their time effectively. Learning how to manage time isn’t something that just comes naturally to kids. It’s something that has to be taught and reinforced on a daily basis.

The majority of parents get so used to telling their kids what to do and when to do it that they continue this habit throughout junior high and high school. Therefore, as your teen prepares to enter high school, you may want to start helping him learn how to appropriately manage time. Below are a few ways to do this.

1.      Help Establish a Routine. There are a lot of parents who are just as disorganized as their teens are, but don’t understand how their high-school students find it so difficult to get their homework done by the due date. Establishing a weekday routine at home is the first step in helping your teen learn how to manage time.
 
Now, it’s not your responsibility to schedule in your teen’s homework. This is something she needs to do on her own. However, having a set times for when errands should be ran, when dinner will be ready and when “lights out” is will give your teen some structural guidelines to base her own nightly routine around.

2.      Enforce Curfew and “Lights Out” Times. While many parents believe that high school students don’t need a strict curfew or “bed” time like younger children do, this isn’t true. Especially on week nights. High school students have a lot more demands than younger children do and they still need adequate sleep. Learning how to plan time for sleep is very important for high school students.
 
3.      Ask Questions. Your teen shouldn’t be expected to remember everything on his own regardless of his age. Therefore, help them out occasionally with time management. An easy way to do this is to greet them when they come home from school and ask if they have any homework. Or, you can wait until later in the evening just in case your teen forgot.
 
4.      Talk About the Daily Agenda. Finally, you can help your high-school student learn how to manage time by keeping the lines of communication open. Talk to your teens in the morning when you see them about what they’ve got planned for the day and evening. Sometimes just discussing the day’s events in advance will help your teens manage their time more effectively.
 
5.      Let Them Fail. I know, this sounds like such an “un-parent” type of thing to do. However, allowing your teen to fail is sometimes the best way to teach valuable lessons. This is especially true for teens who are driven and have high-goals for themselves but still rely too much on you for their time management needs. For instance, if your teen refuses to go to bed at a decent hour and you’re always having to wake her up for school – just stop waking her up. Let her oversleep one morning and go on to work. Call the school in advance and let them know what happened and that your teen will have to suffer the consequences the school and/or teachers deem appropriate. Yes, your teen will be mad, but more importantly, she will learn the importance of time management.

More help and information is available in Aurelia Williams Real Life Guide: Helping Your Teens in High School.

Making the leap from middle school or junior high school to high school can be an exciting time in your teenager’s life. However, it can also be stressful too as your teen knows high school will be different, but doesn’t quite know what to expect. While a lot of your teen’s old friends will probably be attending the same high school (unless you have recently moved to a new school district), there will be many more kids at the school who your teen doesn’t know. This, combined with having new teachers and the new expectations that come along with high school can cause your teen a lot of stress and anxiety. However, there are a few ways you can help minimize this.

Go to the School’s Open House. Most schools have an open house shortly before the school year begins. These events usually only last a few hours on a prearranged date and allow the interested parents and teens the ability to come to the school and visit with the teachers and tour the classrooms your teen will have during the school year. This can help minimize anxiety in teens because they will have had the chance to get a “feel” for their teachers and where their classes will be located.

Help Create a Schedule. With all the changes going on around your teen, having a normal schedule at home can help make the transition a smoother process. You don’t have to have a complex home schedule, but just have some type of regular routine that your family is consistent with. For instance, things like making it known that everyone is expected to be in the house and ready for dinner at a certain time, rules regarding phone calls and internet chatting hours and having a “lights out” time all help. Whether kids, especially teenagers, admit it or not, they do need some structure at home that they can depend on as it’s probably the only stable thing in their lives during this time.

Communication is Key. The third thing you can do to help your teen make the transition to high school is to constantly communicate with him. You may not get much of a response from your teen, but by making the effort to talk to your teen, you’re letting him know that you’re there for him when/if he needs you. Parents often think that because their teens don’t come to them, they aren’t needed and don’t make much of a difference. However, studies have proven that teens who have a supportive family at home often do better in high school (and afterwards) than those who do not.

It’s important that your teenager is able to make a good transition to high school as these years are usually the years when teens dropout of school. The above tips will help you do this. However, remember that the most important thing you can do is encourage and support your teen during this time.

Further help and information on this topic is available HERE.

Although it may have been a long time ago for some of you, more than likely you can remember a little bit about high school and the challenges associated with it. While our views may have changed a little over the years, the truth is that while we were in high school, most of us experienced times when we didn’t think we’d make it through. After all, high school and all that went on there was what our lives primarily consisted of.

Teens are under a lot of pressure in high school whether it’s to make good grades, perform well in sports or measure up within their circle of friends. Therefore, it’s important that parents keep encouraging their teens when they’re at home. Your home should be like a safe haven for you teens. A place where they can come and know they are accepted for who they are.

It’s important that, as a parent, you help your teen stay focused on the “big” picture and not just on what is going on in high school. This can be difficult because, as previously mentioned, high school is all they know right now, so it seems like high school is life. However, we know it’s just the beginning of real life. Therefore, continue to talk to your teen about his or her plans after high school.

By talking to your teens about the things they want to do after high school, you are actually accomplishing a number of things. First, you are getting them to think beyond high school. Second, you are actually helping them form goals for their life. Lastly, you are keeping them motivated by bringing the topic up when it arises. If you haven’t already noticed, teenagers like to talk about themselves, so why not let them do so? Encourage them to think about life after high school. By doing this, you will also be encouraging them to finish high school and go after their dreams.

If you notice that your teen is struggling more than usual with the demands of high school, it’s important that you talk to him about it. The problem may require that you seek additional help for your teen. For instance, if the problem is grade-related, you may need to find a tutor to help your teen. However, if the problem is emotional your teen may need someone to talk to who can help him work through it, such as a psychologist.

Whatever the problem is, it’s important that you talk to your teen and take the necessary steps to help him work through it. Your teen needs to know that you are here for him and will do whatever it takes to help him overcome his problems and succeed. Studies have shown that a high school student’s success is often greater when he or she has dedicated and supportive parents at home. Therefore, don’t ever stop encouraging your teen!

For more help and information, get Aurelia Williams Real Life Guide to Helping your Teens With Highschool.