Practical tips to support your tween/teen’s learning at home 

In a recent post, we outlined how important it is to set up routines with your tween/teen’s at home to support their learning. The following tips are more practical suggestions for you to use in your own home.

✔️Encourage your child to use the planning techniques your instructor suggests.  

• Use of planner, calendar and breaking down of tasks.   
• Reinforce the setting of short-term and long-term goals.    

✔️Create a Supportive Study Environment. 

• Consider all family members and how they work together or not!   
• Provide a conducive environment for studying at home.   
• Ensure the study space is quiet, organized, and has the necessary materials.  

✔️Review and Discuss Assignments/Planner Review.

• Regularly review upcoming assignments and deadlines.  
• Discuss how they plan to approach each task and offer guidance if needed.  
• Review assignments/planner weekly. Friday night is often the best time to do this as you can look forward to the next week, including the weekend.   
• Plan over the weekend when your child will do their work (Saturday, Sunday or next week).   
• Consider everyone’s schedule and family time.  
• Do a midweek check-in to ensure things are on track. A daily check-in might be necessary depending on the level of need.  

✔️Encourage Time Management.  

• When reviewing and discussing assignments, estimate the time required for different tasks and plan accordingly.  
• Prioritize based on deadlines.  
• Schedule activities that your teen/tween enjoys, like gaming, and let it be a reward.  

✔️Organize. 

• Help organize binders- with tabs and pockets.  
• Check on your child’s study space and make sure they have the tools they need to be successful (pencil, paper, headphones, fidget, etc.).    

✔️Provide Gentle Reminders.  

• Offer gentle reminders about upcoming tasks or events.   
• Model planning yourself!   

✔️Foster Independence. 

• Begin to transition from providing support to allowing them to manage tasks.   
• They might forget something, and the good news is that they will learn from this.   
• Pay attention to moments of frustration – what aspects of homework/studying seem to be the hardest for them?  
• Celebrate every small success! 
• Expect progress to be slow as habits form slowly. Sitting down to attempt homework is a huge win if your tween/teen has never done that before.  

✔️Give REWARDS and Incentives.   

• Rewards can be as simple as extra time on the tablet, games, etc.   
• Other incentives that work for your family 

Reach out to LDS for family coaching if you have questions on how best to support your child at home. Our team can help you understand the strategies your instructor is using to enhance organization and planning. We also welcome new families with questions or concerns about how to support their youth at home.  

– Anisa Chaudhry, Case Manager and Instructor

LDS is a community of dedicated professionals who write collaboratively. We recognize the contribution of unnamed team members for their wisdom and input.