Home
>
Parenting
>
Back to School Success Tips

Back to School Success Tips

Q. With the school year just beginning, what can we do as parents to help make this a successful year for our teen-ager and our family?

A. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to make this a successful school year, not just for your teen, but for the whole family as well.

In general, the first thing to keep in mind is that parents and teens have a very different notion about the purpose of school. Here's how I believe it works: For parents, the perception is that we work all day, the kids don't. School is their job. Therefore, they should get good grades, just as we want to do well on our jobs.

The perception of teen-agers is quite different. In their view, school is rarely more than their social world, interrupted by six or seven classes a day.

So, here's a list of the top seven things parents can do to make this a successful school year:

Create an environment at home that models a love of learning. How often have your children seen you reading? Heard you talking about something you have learned? Discussed ideas and issues with them? While these are things to have started from Day One with your child, you can still implement them in your home now.

In whatever way works for you, make sure your teen knows that while grades are vitally important, your child is more important to you than his grades. That's the No. 1 thing I hear from kids when I ask them what gets in the way of talking about school with their parents.

This one is so simple yet so profound. Ask them their opinion on important issues of the day. You may be surprised to find out what kind of brain they have in there.

Make sure there is nothing blocking your teen-ager from learning. One example of a block could be a learning or information processing disorder, or something like attention deficit disorder. Many teen-agers I work with who have difficulty with school have undiagnosed ADD or ADHD.

Another block to learning can be the use of alcohol and drugs. Part of the process of drug abuse is that kids begin to lose interest in things that were once important to them. If they are drunk or high in school, they do not want to learn and they can't.

Know the names and philosophies of the following people who influence your child's life: the principal, assistant principals, the guidance counselor and, most important, the teachers.

If a discussion about grades has become a battleground during a particular time of day, declare that time off-limits for grade talk, unless the teen brings it up. For some families that time is the car ride home, or right after school. For many it's the dinner table. Many families have reported better digestion after declaring dinner time off-limits to grade talk.

Once you have done all this, simply put them in charge of school. Make them responsible for their performance at school. This may be particularly difficult, because this can be one of those situations where things may get worse before they get better. This is especially true if you have been pushing and pushing over the past few years. There may be a decline in performance as they learn how to be in charge of themselves with school.

Wanting your children to excel in school is a good and natural thing. There comes a time, however, when the ball is simply in their court, and it's up to them. I think the most important thing for parents to remember is that school eventually needs to become more important to them than it is to you.

For more tips and tools for a great school year, check out parenting coach and syndicated parenting columnist Jeff Herring's back to school success tips

licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Scammers create fake Evite invitations that mimic legitimate event emails, requiring users to verify senders and use antivirus software for protection.

The new Apple Watch hypertension feature passively monitors blood pressure patterns over 30 days using sensors to detect chronic high blood pressure signs.

Chrome extension spyware disguised as a free VPN service highlights security risks after it captured private browsing data from trusted sites.

New research shows how fatty acids in cooking oil can safely dissolve and recover silver from circuit boards without harmful chemicals or environmental damage.

The Fox News AI newsletter gives you information on the latest AI technology advancements, and about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Anthropic investigates alarming AI abuse case where hacker automated entire cybercrime campaign using Claude, stealing sensitive data from defense and healthcare firms.

TikTok, Meta and YouTube restrict Charlie Kirk shooting videos with age gates and warnings while X faces criticism for allowing continued circulation.

Cybercriminals use fake troubleshooting websites to trick Mac users into running terminal commands that install Shamos malware through ClickFix tactics.

San Francisco startup Fable launches Showrunner, an AI platform dubbed the 'Netflix of AI' that generates animated episodes from text descriptions with Amazon support.

Apple raised iPhone prices for some models despite receiving tariff relief from President Donald Trump, with the new lineup starting at $799 for the base model.

A two-story 3D concrete printed home in Western Australia demonstrates faster construction methods that could reshape American housing amid rising costs.

Credit scores remain important during retirement for insurance rates and housing applications, while seniors become prime targets for identity theft and financial scams.

Scammers now send unexpected packages with QR codes that redirect victims to fraudulent websites or download malicious software to steal sensitive information.

Meeting AI tools record private conversations alongside work discussions, creating privacy risks that can be managed with proper settings and awareness.

Hotel privacy concerns are valid but rare, with methods to detect hidden tech using smartphone flashlights, mirror tests and scanning apps.

Improve your Wi-Fi speed and reliability with 10 simple router optimization tips that don't require special apps or expensive subscriptions.

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.

Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.

Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.

OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.

A woman named Wika announces her engagement to an AI chatbot sparking worldwide debate about virtual relationships and technology.

The notorious people search site National Public Data relaunches despite a previous breach affecting 3 billion individuals, raising fresh privacy concerns.

Revolutionary TRAUMAGEL gel controls life-threatening bleeding from gunshot wounds and traumatic injuries, helping first responders prevent prehospital deaths.

Protect your home network by enabling proper encryption, creating strong passwords, checking connected devices and using VPN and antivirus software.

The Navy's solar-powered Skydweller drone flew nonstop for 73 hours in Mississippi, proving renewable energy can power long-endurance military missions.

Back to School Success Tips

Parenting