november 9, 2026

Help your teen make a study tool for science

There are a lot of terms to learn in science classes. What’s the difference between mitosis and meiosis? How is a nebula different from a star?

Here is one way to help your teen learn new science terms: Make a hands-on study tool. Here’s how:

Take a sheet of paper. Fold it in half the long way. Use scissors to make four or five cuts along the front edge of the paper, going toward the fold. This should make five or six tabs.

Have your teen write a word to learn on each tab. On the paper behind it, your student should write the definition of the word. Then, when studying, your teen can put the folded paper beside another sheet of paper. Next to the word, your teen can write the definition. Flipping the tab will show if your teen is right.

Later, your student can reverse the process by opening all of the tabs so the paper lies flat. Now your teen can look at a definition and write down the word it defines, and flip the tab back to check.

Have your teen keep these study organizers in a folder. When it’s time for a test, your student will be ready to review.

give your teen a confidence boost

Sometimes, students don’t do their schoolwork because they lack confidence. They’re afraid they won’t be able to do it, so they avoid it altogether. Some well-directed praise can make a huge difference.

Try these suggestions with your teen:

Be positive. You might say, “Analyzing poetry can be challenging. But I know you—and I know you can do it! Would you like me to help you get started? Let’s take a look at it together. What do you see?”
Be encouraging. Remember to praise effort and progress as well as success.
Be specific. For example, “You didn’t give up on that problem. Your persistence will take you far!” Reinforce your praise with a hug, a smile or a pat on the back.

And sometimes, let your teen overhear you tell someone something like, “Jordan did homework today without any reminders, and studied for the Spanish test for an hour. I am so proud!”

help you teen cope when words hurt

When teens fight with words rather than with fists, they can sometimes carry on brutal battles without being noticed. These fights sometimes happen in person. But they can also happen on social media and other online platforms.

Here are some ways to be an ally for your teen when words hurt :

Listen. Find out from your teen as much as you can about what is happening.
Talk with the school about what’s happening, especially if the exchanges involve other students or happen in a school context. Speak to your teen’s counselor or the principal. They need to know what is going on so they can stop it.
Drop misconceptions. If you think that words can’t hurt, or that “nice” kids don’t behave in this way, know that they can and they do.
Help your teen focus on personal strengths. Encourage involvement in activities that help your teen feel strong and able to tackle problems.

Writing can help teens work through problems

At times, a teen may feel like the first—or the only—person to deal with an issue. It may seem like family and friends could never understand what the teen going through. If this sounds like your teen, you may have noticed that your efforts to talk about it don’t always work out well. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless to help!

Research shows that simply writing about thoughts and feelings has a big impact on people’s ability to cope. The next time you notice your teen is upset about something, offer a pen and some paper. You’ll be helping your teen heal—and strengthen writing skills at the same time.

To help your teen make the most of time spent writing:

Offer some prompts. How does your teen feel about the situation? How would your teen describe it? Suggest that your student pretend to be writing to a friend who doesn’t know anything about what's going on.
Encourage your teen to reflect. Ask your student to consider how it felt to put the feelings on paper.
Respect your teen's privacy. Knowing you aren’t going to read the writing allows your teen to be more honest—and get more out of the experience.

Be on the lookout for digital cheating

You are pretty sure your teen doesn’t go online to gamble or look at porn. But would you know if your student used a phone or computer to cheat? Perhaps not.

The digital world provides students with access to lots of useful and helpful information. But it can also make cheating easier.

Why do teens cheat? Some feel pressure to get good grades. But others admit that they cheat because they think they can get away with it.

What can you do? Here are some tips:

Talk with your teen about your values. Just as you wouldn’t allow your student to steal a pair of sneakers from a store, make it clear you won’t allow stealing someone else’s work. Be clear that that goes for all forms of cheating, including using AI to write papers or answer questions and taking pictures of test questions or answers and sharing them with others.
Ask questions about sources when your teen does a paper or project. Where has your teen found them? What is proving useful? How does your teen know they are reliable? Just having the conversation will send the message that you care about your teen's learning and behavior.
Don’t put so much pressure on your teen to get top grades that your student feels cheating is necessary. Praise progress and effort more than end results. Emphasize that you are satisfied when you see your teen's best effort on schoolwork.

help your teen be a strong. active thinker

Teens go through a lot of physical changes. But they're also changing intellectually.

You can expect your teen to move gradually from thinking based in personal experiences to thinking that is more hypothetical or abstract. For example, your teen might imagine what the future will be like, or ponder "What if?"

To foster thinking abilities:

Encourage your teen to ask questions about the world.
Ask your teen to imagine what will happen next—in a book, a TV show or a situation at school.
Listen actively to what your teen says. Take your teen seriously and respond nonjudgmentally to questions.
Ask why your teen feels a certain way.
Expect your teen to find and supply facts to support opinions.
Use TV, movies, news and social media articles as a basis for family discussions.
Use daily activities to promote learning. Have your teen figure costs, estimate how far you're going, determine which is the best value and so on.
Offer praise when your teen is inquisitive and creative.

ask questions to learn more about your teen

There are many benefits to asking teenagers questions. It shows them you care and that you are genuinely interested in them.

The right kind of question can help you tune in to your teen’s needs—and earn your teen's trust and respect in the process. Questions can also help you see if your guidance is having an effect on your teen. And answering your questions engages your teen in an important social skill—the art of verbal give-and-take.

Effective questions start conversations without prying. Here are a few questions to try with your teen:

What class are you enjoying most (or least) at school this year?
What do you like most (or least) about the way you are learning now?
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
What would you do with a million dollars?
How do you decide who your friends are?
Who are the greatest people you know? What makes them great?
What is your favorite time of the day (or week)?
What do you think the consequence should be for breaking [a certain family rule]?
What do you feel the most (or least) confident doing?
What are your favorite three books (or movies or songs)?
What excites (or worries) you most when you think about your future?

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