DISCUSSION
List two ways that parents can promote their adolescent’s academic achievement. Explain why each is “effective.”
Parents can promote the academic achievement of their adolescent children by;
- Promoting healthy habits
- Providing learning resources
Parents can promote healthy habits for their adolescent children by ensuring they have healthy eating patterns. Healthy eating patterns promote optimal growth and intellectual development. When parents provide a balanced diet, it impacts a child’s ability to stay focused and energetic during classroom instructions, and even when doing their homework. Parents should help their adolescent children to develop and stick to an appropriate bedtime schedule. National Sleep Foundation recommends 9-11 hours for children between 6 and 13 and between 8 and 10 for those between 14 and 17 (Moral-García et al., 2020). A regular sleeping pattern results in an alert, and eager learner, promoting their academic achievements. Encouraging adolescents to exercise often helps in refocusing their attention while studying. Activities such as few jumping jacks or walking the dog help adolescents recharge their energies, enabling them to score highly in their assignments and homework.
Supportive parents enhance the performance of their adolescent children when they provide the required learning resources. Having a designated workspace helps a child to develop a work plan that promotes concentration and understanding, especially those that are easily distracted (Sahil & Hashim, 2011). Having the required resources such as textbooks, pens, and even a laptop enables a child to find the necessary materials to complete assignments and quizzes quickly. Parents encourage their children to perform better once they are provided with all the required resources and support when they encounter challenges.
Adolescents from immigrant families may experience acculturative stress. What is acculturative stress, and how can social systems (for example, community, church, schools) help ease this conflict?
Acculturative stress refers to the psychological impact of adaptation to a new culture. Social systems such as the community can help adolescents from immigrant families by developing coping strategies that will promote a sense of belonging and correctedness with others in their community (Salgado et al., 2012). Maintaining and developing relationships with friends, especially those who have gone through the same experience, helps in providing advice on how best to cope with stress and, most importantly, how to overcome it.
Churches can help by providing free guidance and counseling mentorship programs that will help these adolescents with insights on how best to overcome stress. Religious leaders should make themselves available when required by parents of these adolescents, to provide guidance and motivation to their children.
References
Moral-García, J. E., Urchaga-Litago, J. D., Ramos-Morcillo, A. J., & Maneiro, R. (2020). Relationship of parental support on healthy habits, school motivations, and academic performance in adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030882
Sahil, S. A. S., & Hashim, R. A. (2011). The Roles of Social Support in Promoting Adolescents’ Classroom Cognitive Engagement through Academic Self-Efficacy. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 8, 49–69.
Salgado, H., Castañeda, S. F., Talavera, G. A., & Lindsay, S. P. (2012). The role of social support and acculturative stress in health-related quality of life among day laborers in Northern San Diego. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 14(3), 379–385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9568-0