Need advice about helping my teen deal with school stress 💬

jwizz

Hey there everyone. I’m here kinda hoping to get some insights or advice. My 15 y/o (CHILD INSERT NAME HERE) is really struggling with school stress. it’s exams time and the pressure is getting to them. they’re staying up super late studying, not eating properly and generally just looking and feeling worse off day by day. GP’s said it’s perfectly normal but it feels like, it’s a constant struggle seeing them like this? Didn’t expect parenting to be easy but this is just hard, yannno?

I’ve been trying to help them take it easy, have lots of chats about how their grades don’t define their worth and they need to take care of their health first but it’s like, she won’t take it on board. They’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist. so part of me is proud of their dedication. but part of me wants to shake them and tell them, it’s just a piece of paper! they’re so young and they have so much time to figure things out. it’s just breaking my heart seeing them this stressed out all the time.

Have you guys encountered similar scenarios? How’d you deal with them? I’m all ears for any kind of healthy coping mechanisms that might work, or any kind of approach that could get them to relax a little. Not sure how much more of the late night breakdowns I can handle!

Of course, they’ll 🤔

flipper

Aw man, I feel you. My daughter went through the same last year. It was tough seeing her burn herself out like that. So, how did we deal? We kinda made her take regular breaks during study. Like set a timer for every hour or so, then she had to go do something fun, even if it was just for 15 mins. Sounds silly, but it worked! Also talking about topics other than school during meal times helped a bit. Lightened the mood and gave her a chance to switch off. Don’t stress too much though, ’cos in the end, they tend to figure it out. Hang in there!

lsmith

Totally agree with the regular breaks idea, works a treat! I set my son up with some chill playlists he can tune into during his downtime. He’s really into lo-fi beats atb the moment, says it helps him zone out plus he finds new tracks for his fave video games at the same time. Bonus! Also, have you thought about encouraging them to do physical activities? Even if it’s just a short walk or a few jumping jacks. Gets the blood pumping and clears the head, y’know. Keep at it, sounds like you’re doing a solid job. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? They’ll get through it, no doubt!