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It can be jarring to go from middle school to high school, and your teen might not
always be ready for such a transition. There are all sorts of new students, probably a
larger campus, and a new class structure that your child will have to familiarize him- or
herself with, and such a task can seem daunting, even to you. As a parent, there are
actually a few things to make sure your teen is properly prepared for his or her high
school experience, and most of them don’t actually cost a thing.
- Time Management
Learning how to balance your time is an important part of being in high school.
Your teen will likely play some sports or join a club of some type, so you want to make
sure you’re instilling habits and practices around the house that will help your teenager
be familiar with good time management and understand its importance — it’ll become
especially vital as your teen starts to take on more and more responsibility.
- Don’t Let Eighth Grade Get too Easy
One of the biggest problems with the end of middle school is that it gets way too
easy right before the transition to high school takes place. You can help avoid this by
encouraging learning-oriented activities and making sure your teen takes care of regular
responsibilities around the house.
- Discourage an Idle Summer
With the end of middle school being as easy as it has a tendency to be, and the
uninterrupted of relative freedom and independence that follows it, the transition to a
brand new high school experience can be pretty jarring for a fourteen-year-old. You can
help make this easier by not letting your teenager remain completely idle throughout
the summer. It’s not going to benefit either one of you if you force your teenager to do
something they simply don’t want to do, but as a parent you can definitely zero in on
your teen’s interests and encourage that they pursue them in one way or another over
summer. Keeping busy with something that requires a degree of organization and/or
maintenance is a great way to prepare a teen for high school.
- Introduce Structure at the End of Summer
Towards the end of the summer months, it’s a smart idea to start introducing a little
structure into the way your day takes place around the house. A great way to make this
easier would be to sit down with your teen and simply explain the process — whether he
or she wants it to be the case or not, there’s going to be a fair amount of structure that
requires adherence in high school. By introducing a little structure around the house, it’ll
be easy to transition to the day-to-day school schedule that’s coming up.
- Get Them Excited
Start talking with your teen about some of the exciting things they’ll be able to
do in high school. Clubs, sports, and other activities are available like they weren’t
in middle school and whether your kids aim to be celebrity chefs or masters in urban planning, there’s a way to get them excited about participating in school.
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