— by Christina Katz
Keep It Up!
10 Ways For Students
To Maintain Positive
Momentum All School Year
A
h, the first few weeks of
school. Backpacks are
bursting with new books.
Lunch boxes are filled with nutrition-
ally sound lunches and healthy snacks.
Moods are upbeat and bouncy. Kids
head off to the bus or the car with a bit
of optimism in their step. Everything
is new! Subjects are fresh challenges,
teachers are as-of-yet unknown, and the
year is filled with the promise of positive
potential.
A few weeks into the school year,
though, kids hit their first fatigue hurdle.
Challenges crop up. Everything starts to
feel a lot less new and shiny. Teachers are
giving a lot of homework. Math is hard-
er. Social circles may be in flux. Friends
can all be together in other classes. Au-
ditions and tryouts have come and gone
with unexpected results. What happened
to all of the optimism everyone had dur-
ing the first week of school? More im-
portantly, how can you help your child
navigate the ups and downs that come as
the school year clicks into gear?
Here are ten ways to help your child
maintain positive momentum through-
out the school year.
Attitude check. The points
of view you have towards school and
8 WNY Family September 2019
teachers are going to be mirrored by
your children. If you criticize and dis-
respect teachers and administrators at
home, don’t be surprised if your child
does the same at school. Are you friend-
ly with teachers? Do you volunteer at
the school? Show your child that teach-
ers deserve respect, support and appre-
ciation and that school is a safe and fun
place to learn. Attend parent-teacher
night, meet your child’s teachers, and
make sure they know you are an educa-
tion ally.
Notice moods. Kids should be
reasonably happy to get out of bed each
morning and go to school. If your child
does not have at least one or two activi-
ties to look forward to each week, ad-
dress this together. The beginning of the
school year, the change in season, or af-
ter a holiday break are good times to get
involved in new activities. Having fun,
interactive activities to look forward
to can significantly improve a child’s
mood. Getting enough sleep and eating
three healthy meals plus snacks are also
critical for maintaining a cheerful atti-
tude and good health.
Imagine a happy future.
Many parents cannot seem to talk about
the future without causing kids to feel
anxious or overwhelmed. This is a
surefire way to instill a sense of doom
and gloom in kids about their options.
Instead, why not simply ask detached
questions about the future and listen?
We need to allow children an oppor-
tunity to inform us how they view the
world long before it’s time to leave the
nest. It may be tempting to correct their
less practical inclinations, but don’t. Let
them have their hopes and provide your
kids a safe space where they can let them
evolve.
Ask about the day. Don’t
lose track of kids’ emotional states.
Ask and listen without phones within
reach. Don’t sacrifice a daily check-in
for a too-hectic schedule. Before or after
dinner can be a good time to chat, es-
pecially when there are after-school ac-
tivities and plenty of homework. In fact,
the more hectic the schedule, the more
important it is to increase family down
time. Try to have longer conversations
about how school is going on the week-
ends, while you kick back and relax. Be
sure to spend at least a half to a full day
each week relaxing.
Review annual goals. Help
your student establish academic goals
that serve their vision of the future at the
beginning of the school year and re-visit
them intermittently as the year progress-
es. If you sense they are getting off track
or distracted, simply say, “What are your
goals for the year again?” Briefly chat-
ting about goals can reinvigorate kids to
put energy into achieving them. If kids
are not keen on their goals, make sure
they set their goals and not yours.
Make school a good fit.
If your child is bored in school, maybe
classes are not rigorous enough. On the
flip side, if academics are too challeng-
ing, your student may constantly strug-
gle to keep up. Talk to the school coun-
selor to see what options you have for
making adjustments. Placement in the
proper level classes is crucial for student
happiness at school. Don’t let school be-
come a breeze or a punishment.
Check grades regularly.
It’s wise to let students keep track of
their own progress in school as much as
possible. But touch base with them about
grades often enough to help troubleshoot