How Can You Best Support Your High School Teen?

In the US, a high school teen is considered to be usually grades 9-12, or about ages 14 though 18.

The focus begins to change now for your high school student. He or she starts looking ahead toward how they will be earning a living once they graduate. And they begin to be very anxious to get to it! Except for classes in the subjects in which your high school teen is particularly interested (and sometimes not even then!) the rest of school is just marking time.

The teenagers who will be rich feel pretty much the same as the other teenagers. They begin to feel pressure, as the high school years start passing, to pick a ‘goal’ of what they will become. Some high school teens have known all along what they want to do, but the majority still may not know.

In fact, some of the positions in which these teenagers eventually become prominent may not even exist right now! After all, the average person changes careers many times over the course of a lifetime, so how can you expect the teenager to settle on ONE right now, without much experience at all in even one?

The best thing you can do?

Encourage Your High School Teen...

...to explore while they are at this last basic phase of schooling. Whatever their present interests are, encourage your teenager to either do volunteer work in that area or even get an after school job in the area.

Because interests and knowledge are ever changing at this time in your teenager's life, it is best not to have a long term commitment to any activity in the area of his or her interest. After all, they are still ‘care-free’ children and should enjoy this phase before adding the long-term responsibilities they will have soon as adults.

Encourage exploration in all areas in which your teenager is interested.

Your focus should be to help your child continue to feel good about him or her self and confident with his or her choices. If your teenager does decide that he or she wants a part-time job, then support this decision. The stipulation, of course, is that he or she continue to place the highest priority on the school work and make the best grades possible.

In fact, this stipulation should hold true for any extra curricula activity considered by your high school teen - volunteer or paid.

Though your teenager may pal around with his or her friends quite a bit at the beginning of high school years, that comradeship may dissipate some as they get closer to graduation. As your teenager matures, excessive time spent with friends may begin to feel like they are wasting time.

Of course not all teenagers feel that way, but there is a general tendency toward a diminishing of time spent socializing as a group. Recognize this and don't feel concerned. Just know that your child is becoming an adult.

Not All High School Teens...

...are interested in doing well in school, of course.

But because we have the perspective, we realize that, no matter what they end up doing, it is best to have good grades in high school, if only as a matter of reference.

But sometimes that just plain is not going to happen.

If your child either just isn't interested or does not have the ability to study the subjects enough to make good grades, then accept that. After all, what adult do you know who would welcome the chance to go back to high school, even if all the subjects were interesting ones to that adult?

You have done all you could do to help your high school teen to this point, and you are doing all you can now. But if it just isn't going to be - as to good grades in high school - then just accept that. Don't badger your child so that he or she feels guilty or bad about either his or her abilities or decisions.

Continue to encourage your child to have activities in the areas of his or her interests. You never know what may grow out of those activities either now or at some point in the distant future.

What matters most is that your teenager be happy and feel fulfilled in whatever he or she does during the day. When that is true, the creativity of your child is free to develop even more.

With self esteem and creativity, riches are naturally attracted.

So, while your high school teen is completing his or her basic education, encourage exploration in all the areas in which he or she is interested.

Next: College and University Stage >>

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