Who would want to be a teen today? As adults, it’s easy to look back on our teen years with rose-tinted nostalgia, but in reality, the physical and emotional effects of puberty combined with hectic social lives and a more demanding school schedule can make teenage years a time of anxiety and stress. As parents, it can be just as challenging. We want to lend support, but at the same time, we know our kids need space to develop and find their own paths.
One way we can provide practical guidance is by helping them cope with homework anxiety. During adolescence, homework can get quite intense and grades become more important. Here are three areas parents can help their teenagers handle the homework demands of the modern school curriculum.
A study space that promotes focus
It is impossible to concentrate on homework while slumped on the sofa with the background distraction of TV and other family members. Provide a quiet, well-lit, distraction-free study area. This could be in a corner of your teen’s bedroom or, if you have the space, a dedicated room.
All you need is a desk, a chair, and the necessary school supplies and digital resources, such as an internet connection and power source. Also, buy a planner for the wall – more on that in a moment.
Privacy promotes focus, but try to configure the space in such a way that you can subtly check in from time to time to ensure your teen has not fallen prey to the distractions of the phone and other devices.
Providing the right level of support
Helping your child with homework is like walking a tightrope. You want to be there as a source of support, but it is easy to overstep the mark and find yourself doing all the work – and that doesn’t help at all in the long term.
If your child is anxious or stressed about a homework assignment, try to focus on interpreting the question, not simply providing the answer. Often, all that is needed is a gentle prod in the right direction. You can also offer to review their completed work and if they are wide of the mark, ask leading questions to guide them towards the right answer.
Plan to succeed
In many cases, homework anxiety is caused by looming deadlines and a seemingly impossible workload, not the assignments themselves. This is an area where your help is both valuable and necessary.
Sit down regularly with your teens and help them work out a plan. This is where that wall planner we mentioned earlier comes into play. Establish a routine from the first day of the term and it soon becomes second nature. It’s no different from organizing schedules and workloads in the workplace, and remember, organizational skills need to be learned like anything else. When you look at it that way, is it really any surprise that so many teenagers find their homework burden spiraling out of control when left to their own devices?
By simply being there and following the above tips, you can keep homework anxiety to a minimum and help your child enjoy those golden teenage years to the full.
About the Author: Lottie spent a decade working as a librarian before taking time out to start a family. She has since rekindled her teenage love of writing and enjoys contributing to a range of publications, both printed and online, on a variety of topics.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/female-student-suffering-from-headache-at-home-3808016/
The opinions and views expressed in any guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in the article or linked to therein. Guest Authors may have affiliations to products mentioned or linked to in their author bios.
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