As kids get into the teenage years, they often say they want their parents around less and less. This goes especially for school where the appearance of a parent can be embarrassing or met with hostility. Regardless of a teen’s response to a parent being at school, parental involvement is vital to a teen’s success. According to decades of research, when parents are involved in their child’s education, students have:
- Higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates
- Better school attendance
- Increased motivation, better self-esteem
- Lower rates of suspension
- Decreased use of drugs and alcohol
- Fewer instances of violent behavior
- Better relationship with their parents
Most teenagers want their parents to be involved in their school, even when they say they don’t. Depending on a teen’s response to a parent being at school, parents can choose how to best be involved from high visibility to low visibility. Consider the following ways parents can be involved at school:
- Just knowing what classes a teen is taking, what he or she likes or dislikes, what the graduation requirements are, and when big tests or papers are coming up.
- Offering unobtrusive encouragement on big test days through texting so that teens know their parents are thinking about them.
- Understanding the big transition from elementary to middle and middle to high school and talking to their teen about the changes, what to expect, what might be different, any fears or anxieties, and places to find help when needed.
- Going to school events such as back to school night, conferences, recitals, and sports events.
- Volunteering at school with booster activities, school events, or chaperoning dances.
- Encouraging your teen to explore what he or she might want to do after graduation, helping to research options, knowing entrance requirements, making college visits, and helping teens with college applications.
- Keeping lines of communication with their teen’s school open by reading notes, flyers, newsletters and e-mails from school, taking phone calls, and calling and e-mailing teachers when needed.
- Advocating for their teen if he or she needs something at school that has not been provided.
- Having a family routine that provides space and time for getting ready for school in the morning, doing homework at night, and getting rest for the next day.
As with anything else, it’s also important for parents to find what balance of involvement is best for the teen. Too much involvement can also be a problem if, for example, teens don’t have the room to make mistakes and experience consequences, don’t have social time with their friends, or don’t have the room to make decisions for themselves.




Parentella





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