As students, we participate in many things during the school day as well as outside of school hours; sports, dances, clubs, and difficult class loads. While this is mentally taxing for the students participating, the parents of
high school students experience the same, and at times even worse amounts of stress daily in keeping up with the many demands of their students’ lives.
Not to worry, there are many ways to lessen this stress/parent-child conflict caused by a busy school day.
Parents and Students: Working Together to Manage the Schedule
Schedule planning is one of the more stressful things that students have to complete at the start of, throughout, and at the end of the current school year for the incoming year; whether that be still in high school or for
upcoming college classes.
How to efficiently plan an effective school schedule for both you and your parents.
These decisions for class schedules do not only affect the student's daily life but the parents as well. Students who have not yet passed their driving test, or are unable to drive, will need to factor in accessibility to and from the classes they are interested in participating in. This is particularly the case for students participating in
On-Campus Dual Credit Classes, in which you are expected to attend classes on the college's campus.
These classes can cause anxiety, especially for the parent, who will more than likely be responsible for getting you to and from your classes. Look for classes that work with your ability to drive/your access to transportation as well as classes that work well with your parent/guardian’s ability to pick you up and drop you off. So, before sending in your final schedules for both high school and college, make sure to sit down and talk about what classes will work out the best for both you and your parents' daily schedules.
Ways to set up effective communication with your parent/guardian.
Often many
parents suffer elevated levels of stress due to inconvenience in terms of simple communication over events both in and outside of school. While this may seem like a small ordeal, a lack of communication can result in the inability for students/parents to attend important school events after school, for the parents to come out and support their students at games/awards ceremonies, and for students to be able to stay home on days that they are not expected to show up to class.
There are many ways to prevent this anxiety, however, including shared physical calendars, calendars with reminders on phones/computers, and
simple communication in person or through text. Though these are only a few examples, each student and guardian relationship is different, and due to that, certain things may work better in terms of communication than others.
For my parents and I, one of the things we make sure to do is to create calendar events with reminders for any important events in advance so that our schedules stay organized and don’t get crossed over onto each other. This not only lessens the stress on my parents to take me to and from events but allows them to attend important events for things that I am involved in. Additionally, this allows my parents to be sure of where I am, in case of emergency.
Ways you as a student are easily able to recognize/show your appreciation for your parents' hard work.
Though our parents do so much for us, they are often not
recognized for their hard work. There are, however, many ways for you to say thank you to them.
One way of course is to simply say thank you after they do something that helps you, even if it's something small.
Another way to show your appreciation is to do something for them in return. Most parents would be extremely happy with simply doing an extra chore/something that lessens the parents' workload. This could be sweeping the house, washing the dishes, helping with supper, etc.
Lastly, one of the
best ways to say thank you is to spend some quality time with your parents/guardian. This could be watching a movie with them, going on a walk, cooking/baking together, etc.
With that in mind, try to show your appreciation to your parents today, either using one of these examples or an idea of your own!
Keeping up with and communicating with your parents is beneficial to your success as a student.
While at times as a student it may feel like you are 100%
ready to be independent and out in the world on your own, that is usually not the case. This sense of independence is good, but it's important to keep up with and be there for those who are there to support you.
This is especially true for students and their parents. If you have a
good support system backing you and your endeavors, you should appreciate and accept the assistance provided by it.
This support system, however, may fall apart due to a lack of communication and understanding between the student and their parents. So, whenever a parent or family member in your support system sends you a message asking about what they need to know about for the upcoming school week, make sure to message them back, even if it’s a short calendar reminder.
Overall, it is extremely important to the relationship as well as the
mental health of both you and your parents to keep up effective and continuous communication. Staying in communication with your parents allows you to keep the support systems that are available to you during your educational journey.
