Helping Your Teen Transition to High School
Your teen is starting high school and he’s done his homework. He’s practiced the bus run, bought binders and visited the school twice. But he’s nervous.
“The first days can be lonely,” says Jane Ormond, a resource teacher in Guelph, Ont., and mom of three teens. After nine years at the same elementary school, her twin girls (now in Grade 10) felt excited and overwhelmed starting high school. “They missed having all the teachers know them and feeling like they were ‘somebody’,” says Ormond. And in some of their classes, they didn’t know a soul. “Parents can make this transition into a scary thing or an exciting time full of adventure, potential and growth,” says Tulia Castellanos, program manager at Family Services of Greater Vancouver, who manages a program for girls entering high school. Here’s how you can help make it a positive one for your high schooler.
new routine
Help your teen navigate his new school with a visit beforehand. “I went to an orientation barbecue the week before where we were put into our homerooms,” remembers Zach Kahn, 15, of Guelph, Ont. “Each group had a mentor that helped us get to know the school—it made me feel more comfortable.” Besides a new routine at school, your child will also need a revised one at home if he spent the summer sleeping in. So institute an earlier bedtime starting the week before school to get him back on track.
find friends
“Finding a good peer group is one of the biggest challenges,” says Tim Utting, a high school teacher in Brantford, Ont., and father of two teens. “To be in a good position to learn, they need to feel socially comfortable.” If your teen is stressed about making new friends or fitting in, reassure her that developing friendships takes time and that many of the kids will be feeling the same way. Utting says that kids tend to make friends in their first-term classes; however, if your teen connects with a questionable crowd, he advises contacting the guidance counsellor or vice-principal. Sometimes a strategic timetable change will dismantle a budding bad influence. Also, to widen their social circle, support your kids’ interest in trying extracurricular activities like theatre, sports or social activism.
see all contests
