The lazy days of summer have come to an end, and kids everywhere are going back to school. These expert tips from Challenge Success will help you and your child get the school year off to a great start!
Top Ten Tips
- Ask your child: “How was your day? Learn anything interesting? Get to spend time with friends?” instead of “How did you do on the math test?”
- Resist the urge to correct the errors in your child’s homework. It’s your child’s work, not yours.
- Work done with integrity is more important than an A. Pressure to achieve only high grades can make students resort to cheating.
- Make time for PDF: playtime, downtime, family time. Research shows PDF is critical for overall well-being.
- Create a technology-free environment during mealtimes. Every adult and child can benefit from a break from constant interruptions and distractions.
- Collaborate with your child’s teachers. Assume best intentions and work together to solve problems.
- Fight the temptation to bring your child’s forgotten homework to school. Kids gain resilience by learning from small failures.
- An extra hour of sleep is more valuable than an extra hour of studying. Research shows sleep deprivation can be associated with depression and anxiety.
- When your child wants to talk with you, stop what you are doing and engage. Does “I hate school” really mean something else: “I am being bullied” or “I don’t fit in”?
- Help your child develop his or her interests and strengths. Discover what your child really loves to do outside of school, not what you think a college admissions officer would like to see on an application.
Source: Challenge Success | Back-to-School Tips, http://www.challengesuccess.org/parents/back-school-tips | Copyright 2019 Challenge Success, republished with permission
Parents and caregivers — You may also be interested in Challenge Success’s “Raising Well-Balanced Kids,” which are common-sense tips based on children’s developmental needs and recent research on child and adolescent well-being.
Challenge Success courses, workshops, videos, and other resources offer parents guidelines and tools to help their children regain their balance, strengthen their sense of self, increase their motivation and critical thinking skills, and learn how to deal effectively with the inevitable challenges of life.
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