The teen years are often quite challenging for kids and parents alike. Add online schooling and a restricted outings and social experiences to that and many fell ill-prepared for this moment. Below is a list of 7 things you can try to promote on a regular basis to help everyone navigate things more smoothly in the upcoming months until we are all back in school.

1. Move it or lose it. Be sure your kid is getting adequate physical activity. Students can stretch, do jumping jacks, push ups, crunches, and jog in place for 5 minutes between classes to stay active. Additionally, kids who need more physical input than average might benefit from having resistance fidget bands on their chair near their feet—even teenagers.
2. Saved by the bell! Make sure your kids have alarms set to go off 5 minutes before each class Monday-Friday, making sure they have both Monday and Tuesday-Friday schedules programmed correctly. Signing in early is the key to being sure to be present when class begins. Due to internet connectivity issues and sometimes glitchy software, this can help reduce stress and increase participation in class.
3. Give them a helping hand. Come alongside your child to help them check their grades tab in each of their classes, weekly. Choose a specific day to do this, so that it’s easy to keep track of. By the keeping the emphasis on “helping” as opposed to “catching them being bad,” you can keep things positive even when they have fallen behind and need support, which helps build internal motivation.
4. Got milk? While you want to be sure that young people have drinks and snacks in places that are not going to get on their electronic devices, setting them up with a tray that is separate, but nearby, and healthy snacks and drinks can help them keep that brain blood sugar balance in check.
5. Be a goal setter! Have your kid brainstorm what is going well and what is going poorly on a weekly basis, and help them set between 1 and 3 goals each week to work towards improvement. Making goals achievable and easy for kids who are really struggling can help them move to a better place, even when it seems like those goals are very small. Once they have some small successes, you can build on those.
6. Plan! Plan! Plan! Antione de Saint-Exupery, writer, stated “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” No doubt he was thinking of the painful discipline required to be a writing success. Help your student understand that planning for difficult moments and learning how to self-manage can go a long way towards their personal success. Hard to stay off the phone? Teach them to work 30 minutes for a 5 minute reward on their phone. They can plan to put it across the room and set a timer so that they have at least 30 minutes of sustained effort invested before they tell themselves they did a good job and then reward themselves, being sure to set a timer, if necessary (To Siri: “Set timer 5 minutes”). Teach them to recognize their own weaknesses and help them brainstorm ways to help them work around that.
7. Be sure to celebrate every day! Ask your kid to share 5 things they did right throughout the day and be sure to reassure them and tell them how proud you are off their successes, even if they are small. This can help them set themselves up for even bigger successes down the road.

While some struggle is inevitable and daily challenges will continue to present themselves, being an ally in your student’s success can go a long way to helping you both support one another during this unusual time.

If you would like additional support or have other needs, please feel free to reach out. While I am always busy, I’m always happy to help!