Billablog

We may have spent many years in school, and through our personal experience we all know that going to high school is a completely different ball game v/s preschool or middle school. High school years are impressionable and go a long way in building or breaking a child's personality. They are going through major physical and emotional changes, they are exploring themselves, their thinking process is changing and they are also trying to define who they are and what they stand for. The experience of moving from middle school to High School can be daunting for various reasons. However the right kind of support and guidance from the community can make this an uplifting and memorable phase!
If parents and teachers support children along the way and have the right kind of conversations at the right time, then adjusting to life in High School will definitely be easier.

Here are 10 ways parents can help children adjust in high school:

1. Talk to your children like they are adults: teenagers are going through a whole lot of changes. Their bodies are changing; they are trying to build their own opinions and own world views and define who they are - they are in the process of creating their own identity. Parents need to strike the right balance in terms of when to treat their children as adults and when to nurture them/ protect them like children. It is critical to understand that life for them is changing; our children are equally anxious and scared about the change coming their way. As a parent, you need to be there but not be overbearing.

2. Build a support system for your children: Before high school starts figure out a few children going to the same class. Let the children interact with each other so that a comfort level is built-in and there is some familiarity in a new school.

3. Make sure you are in touch with what's happening in school: your children may not always tell you what's happening in school, sometimes intentionally sometimes unintentionally. It is essential for you to keep in touch with school authorities and their teachers to have a regular update. Also, make sure you attend parent-teacher meetings.

4. Stay engaged with your child: The teenage years are the years your children need to see you around. Make sure you create a support system and you are one of the go-to people for your children when they are in trouble.

5. Talk to your children about school: It is important to spend time with your children; you need to show that you are interested in knowing what's happening in their lives. Talk to them about what is happening in their life. What is happening in school? Keep yourself updated about their lives. However, keep in mind to be the go-to person in their lives you need to give them freedom. You can be the guide but cannot control what they want to do.

6. Keep track of Bullying policies in the school: bullying is one of the biggest nemeses in a school and eventually children do bully each other. It is important to talk to children about bullying and how they should not bully people nor should they allow others to bully them, you should make them aware of what they can do if they are being bullied. Make sure you keep yourself updated on the schools bullying policy.

7. Create a stress-free environment: Teens go through enough stress around them with pressures of academics, extracurricular and even pressure in social circles among peers etc.. This makes it even more important as parents to make sure that the home environment is stress-free. There should be house rules but avoid being a helicopter parent.

8. Encourage your child to participate in extracurricular activities: Encourage your teens to pick 1-2 hobbies or extracurricular activities that they are enjoy, this is essential because they interact with other children with similar likes and create bonds. This makes them comfortable in their skin and thereby makes them confident about themselves and widens their friend circle which is important at this age.

9. Teach them organizational skills: teens need to learn how to organize their time so that they can manage school, their extracurricular activities, and fun time.

10. Listen to your child's issues: Always be there to listen to your children's issues. They go through a rough patch at this age. They need to be heard and you can be the best person they can come to. You need to take the effort to assure them that you will always be around to help them.

Listed above are 10 ways parents can help children adjust in high school. These are just a few important points to keep in mind, you know your children best and there may be more ways you can help your children adjust to high school.