Every student will come across challenges in their education. Some face challenges when they turn into teens, where changes are not always friendly and happen almost all at once. This is where education may make or break them – that’s why helping teens cope and adjust to their studies and life challenges is important for parents to do.

The good news is you can help them learn how to study independently for everything; school, career, life and everything in between with these study tips. The challenge lies in their consistency to push through with the habits they form along the way.

How Can You Help Your Teen Learn Independent Studying?

It’s never too late to help your growing teen how to cope with school and the challenges of studying. The key is to help them identify their strengths in studying and use them to their advantage – find what works for them.

1) Explore study habits and find what works best for your child.

study tips

As children grow up, they start to have preferences. This means what may have worked for them before may not work for them anymore. Change is constantly happening, so maybe it’s time to incorporate new ideas into their studying, and spice it up with aesthetics as well.

Ask them what they like, what makes them focus and what inspires them to reach their potential. Some people like to study using flashcards, or bullet point note-taking on sheets of paper they can carry around. There are mobile applications that can help with note-taking like Evernote and Notion. They can even help set goals and reminders, too.

Along with these working methods for studying, some teens like to have a nice study station, some like to have planners and organizers while some simply like a cup of hot chocolate to keep them warm throughout their study time.

2) Schedule study time with their most productive time.

Timing is everything, that’s why time is gold. Execution and management of time can do a lot, especially to a teen’s progress. According to a study, students study best from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM or 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM because their brains are ready to acquiesce. That being said, there is still a huge possibility that your child may not have the same best studying time.

The factors to consider for your kids are 1) where and when they are most alert, 2) what their preferences are, and 3) what subjects they need to work on.

It is important to know when and where they are most alert because they will still have the energy and willingness to learn. It is also important to know their preferences to keep them focused and motivated to study. Feeling good while doing something is very important to properly study. When they have specific subjects to study, it would depend on their abilities. When is their intelligence at its peak? When are they most picture smart? When is their reasoning at its highest potential?

Knowing when the best time to study certain subjects is, the more they will learn to adjust and love studying without hassle.

3) Help them create a notes system that works for them.

Sometimes, note-taking is like the character of a person. Some like artsy ways to take them and store them, some like to be digital, some like the classic messy notes, while some still think jolting them down in a notebook is best.

It would depend entirely on your teen. The best thing you can do for them is exploring their options, and if they like to do things a certain way, support them by making it possible. When they receive positive feedback on their preferences, they eventually learn to be more firm with their wants and needs since support also teaches them to be more decisive about what they want.

4) Teach them how to list and set goals for themselves.

study tips

Setting goals are not only for reaching the big dreams, they’re also for the small victories people like to achieve for themselves. That is why helping your teen have a little goal now and then would have them want to reach more and more. And the more your child learns how to achieve, the more they will be braver with other things.

Keeping track of goals, especially as a list, should be done depending on their willingness to follow through and stay up to date with the progress they are making at school. Always engage your child in a conversation to know if they are going through challenges or battles they’re not saying out loud.

5) Self-care is important, too.

study tips

Self-care and self-love are always important – no matter what anyone is doing, no matter what is happening, it is a must. Without this subtle advice, nothing will last forever. You push your mind too hard, you get stressed. You push your body too hard, your body gets tired. You push your emotions too far, you feel drained. Your child will experience that if they neglect self-love and self-care, too. Be their reminder.

Self-care isn’t going all-out pampering while studying. It’s simple things like reminding your kids to take a break every hour of studying or drinking water from time to time to help oxygen circulate their bodies and soothe tension in their muscles.

Simple acts of care for one’s self and other people is something we need more in this world to have happier, more blooming people. As a parent who is also looking out a lot for their kids, you should take a breather or two.

6) Make reviewing a habit.

study tips

After all the studying and absorbing, you’d think that’s the end but it isn’t. Reviewing should be part of the habit, also the easiest. This is where all the aesthetics and note-taking comes in – when you have something good to hold and read, you can’t put it down. Having notes in the way they like is a way to stimulate their minds and want to study, want to review and want to always have their notes with them.

It also helps improve social skills since being confident of their work would encourage them to be more outgoing and approachable to people around them at school.

In A Nutshell…

Overthinking how to help teens cope with studying is something that shouldn’t be stressful or overthought at all. The great things are not always explosive and grand, it’s sometimes the small factors that could make the biggest changes.

If your teen is facing challenges with studying independently, look at the small things that are blocking their capabilities. They won’t always need to make more friends or have a tutor. Sometimes, all they need is your support and a few study table stimulators and trinkets.

How did you cope with studying when you were your child’s age?