Your child is a middle school or high school student and you
want to help them improve their academic performance. So your reflex is to find
private lessons for him? This solution is often the simplest (but not the least
expensive) is limited to one or two subjects and does not help your child to be
more independent, better organized, and above all more motivated.
Dive into the tips below to make Your Child Exam-ready
Promote your child's self-confidence
It is essential to ensure a climate of trust for your child
because often the first obstacle to progress is a psychological barrier. Too
many adolescents feel incapable for fear of failure and are therefore quickly
discouraged. Methods exist: we talk about them in another article.
Help your child set their own goals and challenge them
Setting your own goals, close and realistic, is an excellent
way to motivate yourself and take action.
A close deadline that we have set for ourselves is all the
more motivating as it seems useful and accessible to us. Helping your child set
goals (a grade on a test, a week of work at the library, taking a Saturday to
reorganize their classes, etc.) and challenges will promote their motivation to
progress and their autonomy.
Help your child reduce sources of anxiety
Our society – and particularly in the context of crisis –
arouses a lot of anxiety among adolescents. They go through long periods of
uncertainty and questioning, which can lead to anxiety and stress.
It is necessary for parents concerned about their child's academic success to reduce these sources of anxiety. For this, you can seek advice from specialists, but kindness and listening remain essential qualities to achieve this!
Support your child in their career path
Setting and maintaining a course is also an effective method
for promoting motivation and giving meaning to your studies. However, in a
complex world like ours, it is illusory to think that a middle school or high
school student can definitively find his or her lifelong vocation.
However, Joonify
is all about starting and provoking reflection. Simply, realizing that a
professional future awaits us is already a very positive first step!
Establish a periodic friendly moment with your child
Regularly setting up moments of kindness will help you
establish a climate of trust and complicity with your child, which are two real
assets! Your child will then have a place with his or her parents where he or
she can talk without fear of being judged, particularly regarding the
difficulties he or she is going through.
A restaurant, a walk, or any other friendly moment can help
you develop this bond of trust to support your teenager's questions and
concerns, which are very numerous at this age of life.
Help your child structure their weekly schedule
The school timetable only covers around thirty hours per
week. That is, for a 9-hour night's sleep, only 30% of your child's time per
week! It is essential to support your child in completing the remaining 70%. As
the proverb says so well: nature abhors a vacuum.
Your child will certainly keep it busy like most of his
peers who spend more than 3 hours on screens every day! However, it is possible
to coach your child so that he can use his free time usefully: personal work,
sports, playing a musical instrument, outings with friends, etc.
Help him organize his work
As a train rests on rails to move forward, students need an
infrastructure to progress: this is the organization of their work. A student
needs reference points on which to base to structure his learning.
This organization manifests itself in all aspects of his
schooling: his note-taking, the order of his lessons, the quality of his
summary sheets, the management of his working time, his punctuality, and
keeping a diary. day, etc. Helping him to organize himself will allow him to
improve his learning and his autonomy.
Make sure your child works regularly
The culture of zapping encouraged by numerous sources of
entertainment is an obstacle to the quality of personal work. For a teenager,
it becomes increasingly difficult to work regularly after school.
Procrastination is becoming commonplace. As a parent, it is
important to ensure that your child works regularly so that he or she does not
feel overwhelmed by the heaviness of the task.
Furthermore, playing for time is not always the right
solution. Indeed, 30 minutes of concentrated work is preferable to an entire
evening at your desk trying to decipher your math lesson while scrolling every
5 minutes on your smartphone.
Conclusion
Fostering your child's exam readiness involves more than
just subject-specific tutoring. Building self-confidence, setting realistic
goals, reducing anxiety, supporting career exploration, nurturing open
communication, structuring weekly schedules, promoting organizational skills,
and encouraging regular study habits are key strategies.
By creating a positive and supportive environment, parents
play a crucial role in helping their children navigate the challenges of
academia and develop lifelong skills that extend beyond exam preparation. It's
a holistic approach that sets the foundation for academic success and personal
growth.
