As a parent, you’ve got a lot on your plate. On top of the usual pressures from work and running a household, you might be worried about how your teen’s getting on with their studies. Of course you want to help your child when they’re stuck on their Maths homework, or give them a hand with their GCSE Physics revision. But you might not be sure about where to start or even feel a bit out of your depth.
No parent can (or should) know all the answers. But there are still steps you can take to support your teen with their school work– even when you’re stumped.
- Let them have a go
- Guide them to top quality learning resources
- Encourage them to ask for help
- Find someone to help them
- Help them set up a positive learning space
1. Let them have a go
When your teen is having a hard time with their homework, you might feel the urge to rush in and rescue them with the right answers. But education expert, Prof Guy Claxton, is a firm believer in giving children the chance to have a go on their own. Facing challenges actually helps teens develop a growth mindset and practice helpful learning habits. Their problem solving skills sharpen with challenges and their sense of curiosity and creative thinking too. Plus, teens feel a lot of pride and satisfaction when they finally crack a problem on their own.
If they come to you straight away with a tricky Maths question that makes no sense to you, be honest with them. Telling your teen that the problem they’re working through is tricky actually helps them relax. Adolescents often worry about looking stupid for not knowing the answers, so admitting that you’re stuck will actually help them see such setbacks as a normal part of learning.
2. Guide them to top quality learning resources
There will be times when your teen just needs a bit of guidance to get them on the right track with their school work. We’re very lucky to have so many quality resources at our fingertips. Online resources cover anything from:
- Past GCSE exam papers for practice
- Helpful step-by-step videos which explain how to solve tricky problems in a range of GCSE subjects, like our explainer videos on the MyTutor Tik-Tok account
- Exam prep tips on Youtube channels
- Revision APPS like Mindmeizer and ExamBlue flashcards to help teens consolidate and remember
- Timetable planner APPS and goal setting templates that help your teen get organised
- Blogs, APPs and social media accounts focused on teen wellbeing– because revision can be stressful and have a knock on effect on mental health
… There’s a lot to pick from! Of course, not everything online is helpful to your teen. If you’re worried about their time on the internet, you can always have a chat with them about online safety.
3. Encourage them to ask for expert help
Sometimes, your teen just needs an expert like their teacher to give them a hand. It might feel intimidating for them to ask, especially if they’re worried they’ll look ‘stupid’ in front of their teacher.
This is why it’s a really good idea– where you can– to point out challenges you’ve personally faced, and to show that not knowing the answer to everything is normal. If your teen still feels nervous about asking their teacher, homework clubs can be a less intimidating space where they can get that extra support. The supervising teacher will be there to help students who are stuck and other teens will be going for the same reason as your child so it might feel more relaxed.
4. Find someone to help them
If your teen is struggling with low grades, it can have a knock-on effect on their self-esteem and sense of wellbeing. It might be a good idea to get them some regular 1-1 support at this stage. This can be from an older sibling or a relative with subject knowledge in the area where your teen needs that extra help.
Or you can get the support of an expert tutor for more tailored learning. Our online tutors are just a few years ahead in their education, so they double as role models, putting their students at ease and making them feel comfortable asking for help. Apart from the obvious benefits of achieving better grades, tutoring often helps boost teen self-confidence, and can even raise future aspirations since your teen is spending time with academic role-models.
5. Help them set up a positive learning space
Even if you don’t know the answer to all your teen’s study questions, you can still help set them up for success with a study-friendly work space. You might be surprised with how big a difference it makes to a teen’s learning to have an organised, clutter-free desk. Encouraging organisation in general by making sure your kids have the right tools– like filing folders and dividers, sticky notes (to highlight things to remember!) and a cork board for pinning key notes– means they can concentrate on what matters instead of being distracted by mess.
Other ways to support your teen as they revise is to have healthy snacks ready, since studying uses up a lot of energy. And you can encourage breaks too, since their brain will sometimes need to look away from a problem to actually then solve it.
You’re doing the best you can to support your teen as they face challenges in their studies. It is a completely normal part of learning– to be unsure, make mistakes, face setbacks, and get stuck. Sometimes extra help is needed- whether through helpful online resources, advice from a teacher, or 1-1 support with a trusted tutor. Just being there to listen and chat with your teen when they face such challenges is already a huge help. With a bit of guidance from you, and academic expertise from people who have it, your teen can learn to tackle academic challenges and achieve their best. Whatever steps you take to support your teen, you’ve got this.
To find out if tutoring is right for your child, book a call with one of our Tutor Experts and they’ll help you find what you’re looking for.