CATCHING THE BUS

I remember being a full-time student in university during midterms. Every class had an exam AND a paper due. That made five exams to study for and five papers to write in a two week time span. And of course, for every exam, there was a ton of reading to do that I always left until the last minute, and for every paper, there were pages and pages of articles to read. I was drowning. PRESSURE. STRESS. ANXIETY. I was running behind a bus, out of breath, and just could not seem to catch up. Somehow, of course, I always seemed to pull it together; I would get everything completed and done well. Midterms were exhausting, draining and emotional. But somehow I got through them, year after year. How did I do this? I took responsibility for what I had to do, made a plan of action and followed through. I stopped trying to reach the bus after it left and actually caught and boarded it before its departure instead. I took action. I got rid of the dog and took initiative. Are you doing the same when it comes to your child's education?

PRESSURE. ANXIETY. STRESS. A lot of kids are out of breath and trying to catch the bus when it comes to school. Parents want their children to succeed academically but are they doing what it takes to help them? When you hire a tutor are you expecting that all of the responsibility is taken off of your shoulders? Are you helping your child learn good study habits from an early age? It is important to remember that children do not have the life experience, communication skills or critical thinking power to deal adequately with PRESSURE, ANXIETY or STRESS. This means that parents must help them take responsibility for their studies by being role models; show your children how to catch their breath and the bus.

There are many things that you can do to demonstrate academic responsibility and it's best to start implementing these strategies when your children are young.

• Get your child into a routine. Setting up an after school schedule for your child will help determine expectations and create standards. Make the schedule with your child and post it on the fridge so that he/she knows exactly what to do. Here is a sample schedule:
  

• Enforce the schedule! If your child knows that he is not being monitored, then he/she might try to take advantage! Make sure that you demonstrate accountability by holding your child responsible for following the schedule.
  
• Actively participate in your child's schedule. Work with your child to complete his/her homework; make sure that everything is done correctly and completely! Ask your child questions to make sure that he/she understands key concepts.
  
• When there is an upcoming assignment, test or project, demonstrate how to avoid stress by making a plan of action to complete the work. Show your child how to make this plan of action and then slowly let him/her take on more responsibility in the planning process with each upcoming assignment. Here is an example of a plan of action for studying for a test:
  

Remember! If you want your child to be up to date, help him/her alleviate PRESSURE, ANXIETY and STRESS. Model the behavior that he/she should demonstrate and then follow-up on it! Do not be afraid to put in the time to demonstrate what you want your child to do. If your child sees you putting in the time, then he/she will not hesitate to also put in the time. By placing these measures into action early on, it will help your child avoid needing to catch his/her breath. Instead, he/she will be able to board the bus and succeed in school!