5 Ways to Boost Your Elementary Child’s Confidence and Esteem

New struggles and challenges must be confronted at each grade level during a child’s academic development. Specifically, in the public high school years, many teens struggle to stay organized, facing difficulty managing their assignments and agendas. The high school years open students to far more freedoms, social opportunities, new technologies, and countless distractions. Subsequently, many teens cannot seem to figure out how to manage all of their obligations.

Being organized is an essential skill that will help your teen as he or she grows into an adult. Research shows that organized students develop habits that will help them perform better in school and in the long term in their professional and adult life. Thankfully, there are several ways parents can continue to guide their teenage children toward greater organization and self-management.

Secrets to Teenage Organization

One of the main reasons many parents struggle to guide their teenage children towards organization is the common teenage desire for freedom from their parents. As teens encounter more privileges and responsibilities, they want to break free from the parental nest.

During this period of unrest and self-discovery, teens quickly feel overwhelmed and disorganized. As teens desire more freedom and self-control, parents are often pushed away as they try to intervene. Despite this power struggle, parents can still offer guidance and support.

Set the Boundaries

First and foremost, if your teen is among the many who desire to assert their independence, you must first set and explain clear boundaries and expectations.

After hours of cramming, attending test prep courses, and enduring long hours of practice exams, students wonder how much-standardized test scores matter.

Some experts argue that standardized test scores are not an accurate measure of a student’s intelligence, while others assert that these scores help gauge a student’s abilities more accurately. With this raging debate, recent studies reveal the true influence of standardized test scores on a high school student’s college application and acceptance.

Why Take Standardized Tests?

With a rising number of students applying to community colleges and universities, most schools now require all applicants to complete standardized tests. The most popular standardized tests include the SAT or the ACT assessments. In fact, according to Scholastic, American students today are among the most tested students in the world! Studies show that students combined in the United States take nearly 100 million tests yearly.

With the excessive testing forced upon American children and teens, many wonder: What’s the point? As Scholastic further explains, these tests have an array of reasons and purposes. Specifically, standardized tests are “Viewed as a measure of teacher and school competence and, in some cases, can affect a child's future placement in a school.”

Some tests are designed to ensure that all students meet average progress rates. In contrast, other tests aim to assess each student’s unique abilities as they continue to apply for higher education institutions. These

While every teacher naturally wants to help students learn and excel, there are inevitably some “favorites” in the classroom. However, based on expert information and educators themselves, parents can be involved and take simple steps to help get on the teacher’s “good side.”

Meet the Teacher

Most schools host “open-house” or “meet the teacher” events at the beginning of any school year or new semester. If your child’s school provides the community with this opportunity, try your best to attend! The open-house invitations allow parents and teachers to interact face-to-face.

This parent-teacher meeting can ameliorate various miscommunication issues down the line. For example, if your child comes home complaining of a teacher’s unfairness or assignment, you can use your own knowledge of the teacher (based on your meeting) to assess if your child’s perceptions are accurate. Upon meeting parents at open-house events, many teachers can clearly outline their classroom procedures, grading policies, and so forth. By becoming aware of these guidelines and the teacher’s personality, you can more clearly assess any future issues that your child may encounter in the teacher’s class.

Establish Communication

If you can meet the teacher at an open-house event, then you’re off to the right start! However, if you cannot attend a meet-the-teacher event, try offering your introduction through another alternative method. For example, email the teacher, introducing yourself in a friendly fashion. Offer your home number or

Many parents of talented and gifted kids, also known as TAG students, struggle with giving their children the appropriate levels of academic challenge and support. While public schools are striving to create greater TAG programs and courses, many parents are seeking out enrichment opportunities to supplement their child’s public school experience.

Parents looking for additional educational opportunities for TAG kids in public schools can take advantage of an array of community organizations, private institutions, events, and programs.

How Parents Can Support their TAG Child

As many TAG children may exhibit a greater desire for academic challenges and new opportunities, experts assert that parents should strive to balance a child’s academic activities with social ones. The balance will ensure that each student develops not only mentally, but personally and socially as well.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, most gifted kids generally benefit from spending time in settings amidst peers of similar abilities. Subsequently, many TAG children can benefit from skipping grades or engaging in accelerated classes. If TAG children stay in regular classrooms, they may need alternative opportunities to enhance their overall development.

TAG children require both mental stimulation and access to cognitively equal peer experiences. Therefore, parents, in addition to taking action with a child’s school, can also expose their child to alternative support opportunities as well.

This video from Raising Children's Network offers suggestions for supporting your talented and gifted child.