I’m not gonna lie. Visiting colleges can be stressful for everyone for many reasons. And checking out schools looks way different now than back in the day. However, one thing hasn’t changed: Your teen still needs your guidance and support. It just might look different than expected. Follow these 5 field-tested methods to make the most of visiting colleges (while empowering your teen along the way!).

1. Let her take the lead.

Leave your keys to the helicopter at home. Or better yet, pass them to your teen and let her fly. It’s what you really want her to be able to do in college anyway, right? Taking a step back now and letting your teen lead the process of visiting colleges motivates her to take ownership of figuring out her next steps after high school. Plus, you encourage her to become self-sufficient, informed, and confident in her choices all while still under your watchful eye.

Questions to talk about together: Do you want a small school or a big school? One close by or farther away? How far away is too far? How close is too close? What majors spark an interest? Do you want to play sports, go through rush, or be involved in other ways? What about the area around the school? Does it matter if it’s in a city, small town, or near specific industries?

2. Set expectations and goals for visiting a school.

Your teen might not want an official guided tour, but you do. You might already have a list of financial questions you want answered. But, instead of the numbers associated with tuition, your teen might care more about the number of students sharing a bathroom in the dorms. Maybe your teen wants to catch a glimpse of the stadium and the engineering school whereas you want to grab a meal from that little place your friends discovered on their kid’s college tour.

Questions to talk about together: What’s important for you to learn or see about this school? What about the town or city? What do you hope to learn by visiting? What is a must-do or must-see for you? What do you not care about when checking out a school? Do you want to set up a meeting with the chair of a department of interest?

3. Encourage exploration and reflection.

By visiting colleges, your teen will encounter lists of majors and career paths she’s not been exposed to before. That’s a great thing because most teenagers don’t really know what they want to do after high school. “This is the first adult decision of your children’s lives,” says Keith Moon, associate dean of Harvard’s Summer School Program. “It’s important to empower your child to make the decision that’s best for them.” So, after visiting colleges, coach her to assess what she saw, learned, and felt while at each school.

Questions to talk about together: What surprised you about the school? Do any of the majors at this school sound interesting? Which ones? Could you see yourself at this school? Did anything give off a red flag vibe? What kind of lifestyle do you want after college? Would this school help or hinder that lifestyle? Do you want to keep this school on the list?

4. Support your teen’s decision-making process.

With her still-developing brain, your child needs your coaching on how to make such a significant and complex decision. So, help her figure out how to think through and compare her various options. Your child might want to draft pro/con lists for each school, talk with alums or current students, and even pray about the decision. Teach her to trust her own voice and internal “gut.” And, Mom, when your teen pushes back about talking college stuff (which she will!), work on some of these ideas to get her talking.

Questions to talk about together: How can I best support you? How will you evaluate each school? Would you like my opinion or thoughts? Would it help if I put together something that shows you the cost differences between schools?

5. Celebrate the steps.

On social media, visiting colleges looks like so much fun. And it is! But, it can also be fraught with tension and arguments. It’s essential to pause and take in this milestone. So grab a cup of coffee on campus. Take a photo at the entrance. And, of course, create a college road trip playlist with your favorite tunes.

When thinking about visiting colleges with your teen, what worries you the most?

The post 5 College Touring Tips to Empower Your Teen appeared first on iMOM.

Worry can stop our kids in their tracks: from trying new things, from going to school, and from doing things without us. Kids who have anxiety may become irritable or fidgety, have negative thinking, be overly self-conscious, clingy, or experience stomach pain and headaches, says parenting expert Tanith Carey. Anxiety can also lead to trouble sleeping. But we can make some powerful moves to help. Here are 7 ways to soothe a child’s nighttime anxiety.

1. Provide time earlier in the day to talk about it.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked. “You have 15 minutes to give me all your worries.” If my kid’s going through a rough patch, he needs that space to talk, so his worries won’t threaten his sleep at night. We’ll either walk the dog or play some ping-pong and during that time, he knows he has my ear. It’s funny because his worries never seem as bad earlier in the day. But by giving him this opportunity, he’s better able to fall asleep later on and avoid nighttime anxiety.

2. Tell her you’ll talk about it with her tomorrow and focus on gratitude instead.

Bedtime isn’t the time for your child to go through all her worries. Plus, everything looks worse at night—and tends to look better in the morning. So don’t allow your child to go down that rabbit hole. Instead, ask, “What are you grateful for today? Give me two things.” Research in the National Library of Medicine finds gratitude and positive thinking are linked to better sleep.

3. Have him place it in your hands.

This worked when my child was younger, but I still offer my teen the chance to hand me his worries. Obviously, you can’t see worries, but I cup my hands and he goes through the motions of placing them inside. He’s told me, “It’s not gonna work,” but I tell you it does. When I’ve done this for him, I listen later for restless movement or footsteps to the bathroom and hear only silence. Similarly, God wants us to give our worries to Him. Talk to your child about this, and then say a prayer for peace.

4. Encourage your child to write down his worries.

If your child has a lot running through his head, it might help to get it out on paper. “If a person’s nighttime anxiety stems from worrying about tasks they must complete in the future, research suggests that writing before bed may help,” says the Sleep Foundation. My kid has written down reminders like “pack charging cord” and “talk to [math teacher] about question #13.”

5. Validate her, and let her know it’s normal.

When worries crop up at night and a child starts to overthink, her nighttime anxiety could keep her up. Let your child know it’s OK to feel how she feels. Kids “often think there’s something wrong if they are stressed,” says Carey. “Explain that worry is a normal part of being human, and it motivates us to act.” This reassurance could lower her stress level.

6. Make sure he gets enough physical activity during the day.

An increased heart rate, headaches, stomachaches, dizziness, sweating, and restlessness are all symptoms of nighttime anxiety and can keep a child awake at night. And it’s really concerning to see your kid going through it. To help ease his mind, encourage him to be active during the day. The Sleep Foundation says regular exercise can reduce anxiety and improve sleep.

7. If you have something on your mind that could be stressful for your child, save it.

I’ve been guilty of bringing up topics at night that make my kid worry—and it’s typically because I’m worried about them. Have you picked a topic for your paper? Who’s in your group for the field trip? Are you going to check out that new club? If your child’s prone to worrying, save your questions for the morning. Putting your stress on them to ruminate about at night will only keep them up.

What are some tips you have to share with our community about handling nighttime anxiety?

The post 7 Ways You Can Soothe Your Child’s Nighttime Anxiety appeared first on iMOM.

That I-can-do-it attitude has an official name: self-efficacy. It’s a belief that you’re capable of succeeding. Children with high self-efficacy are more likely to tackle challenges. They see difficulties as obstacles to overcome, not walls to stop them, and it empowers them to become independent learners and problem-solvers. Ready to build it in your child? Try these 4 ideas that will help grow an I-can-do-it-attitude.  

1. Give her an opportunity for a mastery experience.

When my husband was a church youth minister and on a retreat in the mountains, he showed the teens where they’d be gathering one night for a fireside session. As he pointed to the top of a steep hill, a couple of perceptive teens pointed out that there was no seating or fire pit. He explained, “You guys are building the benches and the pit.” Several hours, splinters, and beads of sweat later, they’d created a space where they could gather and an experience none of them would ever forget.

You might not be able to send your kid up a mountain to build a fire, but mastery experiences show your child he can muster what it takes to succeed. They are the most influential source of self-efficacy according to psychologist Albert Bandura who introduced the concept back in the 1970s. A mastery experience for a 4-year-old might be building a skyscraper with blocks or buttoning up his shirt. For a 12-year-old, maybe it’s mowing the lawn without any help from Dad or learning to play a song on the piano.   

2. Show him other people succeeding.

If you’ve ever signed up for a workout program after seeing before-and-after pics, you know how seeing others achieve can help build an I-can-do-it attitude in yourself. Bandura called this a vicarious experience or social role model.

My friend’s son Max loves basketball but is… vertically challenged. Max’s dad showed him videos of NBA’s Spudd Webb winning the 1986 slam dunk contest at just five foot seven. Watching this guy fly made Max believe he could, too, and he tried out for (and made) his high school team.   

3. Speak words of encouragement.

“You have what it takes.” My friend Megan’s husband says that to their 4-year-old son every night at tuck-in. She beamed with pride when she overheard her little guy talking to himself while putting together a LEGO set: “I have what it takes!” Yes. You or another adult mentor telling your child he’s capable can actually convince him he is!

The key to the success of “persuasive words,” as Bandura calls them, is to create an environment that supports your child as she tries to achieve. Just saying that “you can do it” and walking away can lead to failure and make your child doubt your words in the future. So if your middle schooler is trying to ace her Spanish test, couple your persuasive words with an offer to run through flash cards. You’re giving her a boost and showing her she’s worth the investment of your time. 

4. Reroute the frustration to become motivation.

Frustration is a natural part of the learning process. Bandura found that the way we respond to that inevitable frustration impacts self-efficacy. If your child is trying to do a puzzle and can’t get the pieces to fit, her brow might furrow and she might clench her teeth. When you notice this, help create a mental link for her. Have her take a deep breath and connect her physiological response to the positive thought “I can conquer a challenge” instead of a defeating thought: “This is too hard.”

Clinical psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy said when she noticed her child was frustrated over a puzzle, instead of helping her finish, she would say, “The feeling you get when you think you can’t do something and then you keep going and you do it is the best feeling. And I don’t want to take that feeling away from you.” Make space for frustration and use it to create new pathways for can-do thinking.

How do you respond when your child feels defeated? What’s your go-to method to build an I-can-do-it attitude?

The post 4 Ways to Help Your Kids Build an I-Can-Do-It Attitude appeared first on iMOM.

My kid isn’t unique. Most tweens and teens struggle to express empathy and need our guidance to jump adolescent hurdles tripping them up. Get to know these 5 common barriers your teen faces and how to use practical empathy activities for middle schoolers and high schoolers to help your child overcome them.

1. The Pressure to Fit In 

Teenagers are hungry to fit in with their peers. (Judging by their color-coordinated 40-oz tumblers, they’re pretty thirsty, too.) The same pressure to fit in that leads to them carrying around matching cups can prevent a teen from being around peers who have diverse experiences and perspectives. Plus, their compulsion to conform to peer expectations can stifle their ability to understand and share in the feelings of others.

What’s a mom to do? Encourage open conversations about the importance of empathy and model empathetic behavior toward her, such as actively listening, forgiving one another, and offering comfort when your teen needs it. By fostering an environment and relationship with you where empathy is valued and practiced, you can help your teenager build the confidence to stand out and show genuine kindness, despite peer influence.

2. The Self-Absorption Stage (Psst—it’s totally normal!)

Your teen’s brain is still growing. During adolescence, the brain goes through a developmental stage focusing on the self. (So, yes, many teens do appear selfish.) As teenagers concentrate intensely on their identities and experiences, they may struggle to recognize and respond to the feelings and needs of others. They’re focused inward and super worried about how others perceive them, rather than outward-focused and concerned about how others might feel.

What’s a mom to do? You can help your teen overcome this barrier by encouraging self-awareness and perspective-taking. Engage your teen in conversations that highlight the importance of understanding others’ emotions and viewpoints, and coach your child to practice empathy through volunteer work, texting that friend who’s struggling, or asking someone new to join in his group ELA project. By actively guiding your teenager to look beyond his own experiences, you can help him cultivate a more profound sense of empathy and compassion.

3. The Decrease in Face-to-Face Interactions

Face-to-face interactions involve body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, all crucial for understanding another person’s emotions. But “reading the room” gets harder when you aren’t actually in the room. And, since most teens rely heavily on digital communication, your teen may receive limited practice in building and refining those empathetic abilities.

What’s a mom to do? While scheduling a playdate isn’t one of those go-to empathy activities for middle schoolers, it’s exactly what your teen needs. (Just don’t call it a playdate!). Instead, offer to order pizza or subs for a study session or movie night with friends. Or encourage your teen to head to his school’s football game on Friday, join that school club, or volunteer at church.

4. The Empathy Fatigue

With constant online exposure, adolescents can become desensitized to distressing news and images. Plus, teens are still learning about setting and maintaining emotional boundaries. And they may often struggle with knowing what is and isn’t theirs to feel or fix. This can leave your teen feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, making it hard to care as much as he normally would.

What’s a mom to do? Increase face-to-face time with him through one-on-one dates (like these for sons and these for daughters), eating dinner together, or other favorite ways to hang out. These family-focused activities give your teen time to recharge emotionally with the people who love him the most.

5. The Still-Developing Emotional Regulation Skills

Teens are still developing their emotional regulation skills, which can make it challenging for them to manage their own emotions while also empathizing with others. Before understanding someone else’s perspective, a teen must feel seen, understood, and heard.

What’s a mom to do? Of all the empathy activities for middle schoolers and high schoolers, showing empathy toward your teen might be the most impactful. A longitudinal research study from the University of Virginia found that moms can pass empathy to their teens. “What we found was that mothers’ empathy for their teens at age 13 predicted that teen’s empathy for their friends across the adolescent years,” lead author Jessica Stern, a developmental psychologist, said. Showing your child empathy can look like listening without jumping immediately into “fix it” mode or it can involve being fully present (and awake) for a late-night talk.

Which empathy activities for middle schoolers do you find help your teen overcome the common barriers above?

The post How to Help Your Kid Be Less Self-Centered appeared first on iMOM.

Our teens have been through things we haven’t at their age from virtual learning during the pandemic to worrying about who posted what on social media. To help our kids, we need to redefine what success for teens looks like. Here are 4 ways:

1. She feels good about herself.

Do you remember a point in your life when you finally started to think, “This is who I am. I don’t care what other people think anymore.” For me, it happened senior year. As kids figure out who they are, they gain “higher self-esteem,” says the Cleveland Clinic.

We can help our teens reach this good place by encouraging their efforts, praising good choices, and inspiring perseverance not just with grades but with other things as well. Think about it: If your teen has joined a new club, made some new friends, and enjoys at least a class or two, that’s success. She’s figuring out who she is and gaining confidence along the way.

2. He’s found balance in life and isn’t running on fumes.

I’ve seen my son burn out after giving his academics 100% week after week. It’s not good, and I’ve resolved to find a better way. When I stumbled across the following advice, I knew I’d found my answer: “The job of a ‘good student’…is to figure out when to give a subject your full capacity and when to pull back—even coast. Parents can give kids the confidence not to have to overwork,” says psychologist Lisa Damour in Jennifer Breheny Wallace’s book, Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—and What to Do About It.

The kid who’s been strategic with his time and found balance in his life is going to be happier and healthier. But you need to coach your child to be strategic in this way. Step in to help your child and give guidance because many kids struggle with knowing when it’s OK to let up. But when she does, her stress and anxiety will let up too. So, be there to teach her when and how to do it.

3. She senses that she matters and belongs.

During a low period in high school, I poured myself into writing and publishing articles in the school newspaper. I started to think what I did actually mattered because I’d gotten people talking about important issues.

If our kids find a way to make a difference in their school, their community, or even in their friendship circle, they’re going to gain confidence and develop a sense of belonging in this world. These experiences will shape their identity and personality in ways that’ll last long after the ink has dried on their high school diploma. That’s the sort of success I want for my teen.

4. He adds value to others’ lives.

When getting good grades is a teen’s sole focus, there’s little time left for others. While I appreciate how hard my teen works in school, I want to challenge him to find a greater purpose. Quoting renowned psychologist Christopher Peterson, Wallace says the secret to a meaningful life is “other people matter.” Success for teens isn’t just grades. If your child volunteers at her school or in her community, participates in a club that comes together to help others, or he is, on a basic level, a kind and thoughtful person, that is a sign of success.

“[T]he more you are able to add value to others, the more meaningful your life becomes,” says Wallace. Discussing and finding ways for your teen to add value at home or in the community can invigorate him. And it can help you both to redefine what success really means.

Success for teens is more than A’s and B’s. Where have you seen success in your kid’s life?

The post Beyond GPA: 4 Signs of Success for Teens appeared first on iMOM.

Kids today grapple with many “digital dilemmas,” as Harvard University’s Project Zero and Common Sense Education have found. Here are 4 issues children face online and how to help.

1. Distraction

This is the biggest of the four problems in our home. My son gets so distracted when he’s trying to complete an assignment online. He’s often guilty of being sucked into YouTube videos and gaming sites and before he knows it, so much time has passed.

What to do: Block as many sites as you can. Put your child in a high-traffic area so you can see his screen. For my son, we’ve said no to ear buds and music while he does his homework too. Some evenings, to prevent distraction, I sit next to him at the table and act as an accountability partner. When your child knows you’re watching, he’s less likely to sneak onto “fun” sites. Final thought: Encourage other ways (besides social media and games) to take a break. Maybe he takes five minutes to play with the dog, stroll around the house, or eat a snack.

2. FOMO

You might suspect your child has FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) if she feels a constant need to check social media or refresh her screen for updates. She might also feel sad, lonely, or depressed after being on social media for a while, according to McAfee, a company that focuses on online protection.

What to do: If FOMO is something that affects your child, you might want to put time limits on her social media apps AND limits on screen usage. Also, have your kid turn in her screens to you before bedtime. Sleep deprivation can make FOMO even worse.

3. Bullying

Another problem kids face with screens is bullies. They can pop up in many different online places: video chat sites like Discord, photo sharing apps like Instagram and Snapchat, gaming sites like Minecraft and Roblox, and even Facebook Messenger Kids. Other popular platforms among kids right now include Houseparty, Telegram, Askfm, and Twitch. And users can often start conversations or ask questions anonymously. This can open the door for kids to behave in ways they wouldn’t otherwise in person.

What to do: Find your child’s privacy settings on her devices, and make sure her personal information, including her location, isn’t public. Know your child’s username and passwords as well. StopBullying.gov suggests monitoring your child’s browsing history as well. If bullying is already a problem, encourage him to step away from his device for a while. Then, consider reaching out to the school. Often, cyberbullying continues offline, and you might want to know what the school’s policies and procedures are to address this issue.

4. Wellbeing

In a report by the US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD in 2023, Murthy found that students among 12 to 15 year-olds “found that adolescents who spent more than 3 hours per day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety.” But it’s not just the effects of social media. My kid’s stressed from all his online homework and trying not to get distracted.

What to do: Teach your child how to budget his time better. Occasionally, you can also encourage “good enough” thinking with assignments. Encouraging free time activities that don’t involve screens will also be good for their wellbeing.

What are some other issues children face online?

The post 4 Problems Kids Face Online and What to Do to Help appeared first on iMOM.

If you suggest a couple of these to your kids and get pushback, persist. Study skills we used as kids shouldn’t be brushed off as old fashioned. There’s a reason they were once popular—they get results! So put a few of these 5 study skills into your kids’ rotation, and watch your kids become more confident test takers and students.

1. Teaching the Lesson

My son has a friend who’s an extremely diligent student. He works the hardest and gets excellent grades, in part by using old school study skills. One of them is “teaching the lesson.” His mom got him a whiteboard, and he presents the material as if he were teaching it. (Kids love writing on white boards.) So, have your child teach the material to you or his siblings.

The effectiveness of this study skill is backed up by research out of the University of California. They found that when a student explains something to others, he has to dig deeper than just memorizing facts. He needs to connect the new information to things he already knows. And bonus points if your child can field questions from you as he teaches.

2. Say it

Your child can use this study skill with you or on her own. Have her read her class notes, terms, or formulas out loud. For an old school/new school hybrid, she can also record herself reciting the material and then quiz herself as she listens back to it. There’s some new school research out of the University of Waterloo to back up this method.

They found that speaking things out loud helps you remember them better for two reasons. First, moving your mouth to speak (the motor act) strengthens the memory of the words. And second, hearing yourself say the information (the self-referential auditory input) makes it stand out more than just reading silently.

3. Flashcards

Some material just needs to be memorized. For this, flash cards are hard to beat. According to study compilations at the University of Michigan, flashcard users “achieve deeper levels of processing, such as comprehension and application.” One of the reasons flashcards are so effective is their tactile nature. Students can touch and manipulate them, which helps with retaining information. In case you need a flashcard refresher, as your child goes through his cards, have him put them in a “got it right” pile and a “try it again” pile. If you want a “new school” flash card approach, try Quizlet.

4. Matching

This is kind of like flashcards in that it reinforces learning by having students write out the information. Write the term on one index card and its definition on another. Turn the cards face down and mix them. Then, lay them out in a grid. Turning over two cards at a time, your kid can try to match the term to the correct definition. Stay nearby with an answer sheet, though, to point out when she gets the answers right.

5. Recap or Summarize

This is an old school study skill that is foundational for the study skills above. After the homework’s done, grab a sheet of notebook paper or a spiral notebook and have your child write down, class by class, the topic or concept covered that day. The act of recalling, either from memory or from notes, helps your child by signaling to his brain what material needs to be retained.

Under each topic have your student write out by hand the most important important points from her notes. Brain researcher Audrey van der Meer says that writing by hand component is powerful because “brain connectivity patterns are far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard,” making it especially beneficial to learning information. They don’t have to write paragraphs. Just one sentence per topic will tell her brain what’s most important.

Do your kids use any old school study skills? Which one works the best?

The post 5 Time-Tested Study Skills That Still Work appeared first on iMOM.

On top of being annoyed that Aubrey was upset with her, Grace was ticked that she was the only parent who seemed to be bothered by the idea. Have you ever felt like the only mom who says no? It can bring thoughts and feelings that make it difficult to stick to your guns. Here are 5 of those feelings you’re probably wrestling with and how to respond to them.

1. You feel torn.

Being the mom who says no might make you wonder if you’re being overprotective. “Should I just get him a phone?” my friend Cara asked me about her 12-year-old son. He felt left out of his friend group because everyone else chatted after school. But she didn’t think he was ready. The other parents think their boys could handle the responsibility.

If this is how you feel… remember to think long-term. What would be best for Cara’s son now might be to have a phone so he can connect with his buddies, but in the long term, she didn’t think starting him with a phone at age 12 was in his best interest.

2. You feel lonely.

Another friend’s daughter got invited to a co-ed after-prom slumber party. My friend gave it a hard no. Because she said no, she also didn’t get invited to the gathering of moms who were planning the party. It’s hard to be the parent not doing the popular thing. It’s emotionally (and sometimes physically) lonely not to have the support and solidarity of a mom friend.

If this is how you feel… look in the mirror and repeat to yourself some of the wisdom you’ve surely shared with your kids about popularity and being an independent thinker. Here’s a good one: “What’s right isn’t always popular, and what’s popular isn’t always right.”

3. You feel scared.

My son is 13 and doesn’t have a phone yet. He won’t be allowed on social media when he does eventually get one. I dread the battle that may ensue and fear that he’ll pull away or hide things from me because I’m the “mean mom.”

If this is how you feel… remember kids thrive on rules enforced with love and reason. They might pull away a little, but they won’t go far if they know you love them. And don’t discount the possibility your child wants you to say no so she has an excuse not to do something that makes her feel uneasy, like that post-dance sleepover.

4. You feel angry.

Closely related to the lonely feeling you might have as the mom who says no is the anger or frustration that builds. When other people don’t care about the same things you care about, it makes this parenting thing harder for you. When my sister said no to my niece going to a rated-R movie when she was 12, she said to me, “It really irks me that the other moms are OK with this. C’mon!”

If this is how you feel… remember that different families have different rules and ways they’re raising their kids. You can only control your actions. And don’t be afraid to speak up to the group about why you’re saying no. You might give another mom the courage to put her foot down, too.

5. You feel overwhelmed and tired.

Being a good mom isn’t easy. That’s just the plain ol’ truth. Saying no when others are saying yes is tiring, and your child might come back at you with intense emotions that leave you feeling like you should just give up and give in. And to make it more overwhelming, you know that sometimes it’s OK to bend the rules. All of these decisions are a lot to handle.

If you feel this way… don’t be afraid to tell your child you need time to think. Being flexible with a rule can be a good opportunity to discuss the reasons behind your yeses and nos. With the right intentions, you could go from the mom who says no to the mom who listens to her child and has open discussions about why you make the parenting decisions you do.

What feeling do you wrestle with when you feel like the only parent in the group saying no?

The post 5 Things You Feel When You’re the Only Mom Saying No appeared first on iMOM.

Our kids are going to grow up with AI, whether we like it or not. And now that educators are working to understand its capabilities, they’re learning that AI in school has a lot of perks that will benefit teachers and students alike. Here are 3 things kids and teachers gain now that AI is in the classroom and here to stay.

1. Preparedness for the Future

AI is a powerful tool that will affect (and is already affecting) education. But it’s impacting many other areas as well such as engineering, software development, marketing, the military, healthcare, and others. With AI, new jobs, according to Forbes, have already been created, with more still to come as AI advances. And it’s advancing right now at an incredible rate. These new AI jobs may someday entice our children. Working with AI now in the classroom will get kids used to this tool and better prepare them for what’s to come.

Many districts are holding workshops and learning sessions to help teachers get acquainted with AI technology so they can incorporate it in their classrooms. AI tools are even in some colleges at this point as professors learn how best to utilize it in the university setting. With teachers and professors learning how best to implement AI in school, they’re preparing our children for the future and giving them a practical leg up on the technology. Someday, when our kids are in the workforce, their work environment could look very different from ours today, thanks to AI.

2. Time Saved in the Present

As a former teacher, I certainly wish generative AI were around back when I taught. I used to spend every Sunday afternoon on the floor of my living room planning for the week. I imagine my prep time would’ve been cut in half if I had an AI-powered assistant working with me. From the students’ perspective, this would’ve translated to more energy from me in the classroom.

Teacher burnout is real. And though the number of teachers leaving the profession has increased since the pandemic, it’s been a problem in education for a long time. According to McKinsey & Company research, the majority of teachers who said they planned to leave the profession “cite an unmanageable workload.” I would agree. Good teachers throw themselves into the job and spend whatever time necessary to plan for the week as well as care for and connect with each individual student. It’s a lot. Now, with AI, teachers would have help. And this could potentially keep teachers in their professions longer. That’s a win for students, districts, and teachers.

3. Personalized Learning for All Students

If a second grader is struggling to read, how is she going to fare in third grade? To help her reach grade-level standards, one-on-one learning would be needed. Likewise, if a child is already at or above grade-level, one-on-one assistance could help enhance that student’s learning. But providing this level of support is “incredibly time-consuming and requires the commitment of resources—particularly staffing—that often don’t exist in the stretched public school system,” according to Tigran Sloyan in FastCompany, a business and tech site.

That’s where AI in school comes in. Personalized learning is a significant benefit. “AI systems can analyze students’ learning patterns and tailor educational content to meet individual needs,” says Neil Sahota for Forbes. “Through AI-enabled teaching assistants and mobile applications, teachers can provide tailored educational resources, ensuring each student receives the attention and support they need​.” And while some school districts have already developed their own teaching assistants, others are piloting a teaching bot for Khan Academy, the education nonprofit whose lessons are already used in hundreds of school districts (including my own).

It’s understandable to be cautious about AI doing the work for students, Sloyan says. But AI technology “has the potential not just to improve education, but to make high-quality, personalized learning accessible for all.” We’re at the beginning. Resources and tools are still in development. But I’m optimistic about how AI in school can enhance my kids’ learning and yours.

In what ways would you be OK with your child using AI in school? 

The post 3 Things Kids and Teachers Gain Now That AI Is Here to Stay appeared first on iMOM.

In grade school, most kids depend on their teachers and parents to keep them on top of assignments. However, responsibilities evolve in middle and high school when kids start taking on greater ownership of their work. And it takes practice to master how to manage time well. Equip your child for success in school with these 5 strategies for time management for teens.

1. Get your plans marked down.

On average, teens in the US attend five to seven different classes on a typical school day. That’s a lot of assignments, deadlines, and notes to manage. Throw in practices, part-time jobs, or clubs, and their developing brains can quickly become overwhelmed trying to remember it all. Time management for teens starts with making note of assignments, deadlines, and extracurricular activities, like practice times, test dates, and before-school study sessions. This first step keeps your teen’s stress in check by giving her a sense of control.

Try these for planning: Some teens prefer the traditional, old-school print calendar. However, as a digital native, your teen may thrive using planning apps with built-in reminders about assignment deadlines, such as Todoist, Google Tasks, or Trello. These apps offer color coding and reminder pings. Plus, most integrate with other apps your teen may already use in school.

2. Get your priorities straight.

Executive functioning skills, including prioritization and initiation, rapidly develop during the teen years. That’s a good thing because, after writing down all the assignments and upcoming tests, your teen needs to put those skills into practice by figuring out what to do and when. Your teen may find it helps to set priorities on Sunday night and then adjust throughout the week.

Two prioritizing methods to try:

1. Eisenhower Method – Draw four quadrants on a sheet of paper. Each task will fit into one of the four:

• Urgent and Important: This quadrant is for assignments that need to be completed immediately, such as studying for tomorrow’s chemistry test or annotating one of four chapters due on Friday.
• Urgent but Not Important: These are tasks that seem pressing but don’t really contribute much to your teen’s goals, like answering texts or Snaps from friends about plans for the weekend.
• Important but Not Urgent: In this quadrant, your teen adds important stuff that doesn’t need immediate attention, such as long-term projects or figuring out what to do after high school.
• Not Important, Not Urgent: While your teen may think differently, mindlessly scrolling through social media or watching random videos online goes here.

2. The ABC Method – Similar to the Eisenhower Method, this version puts all to-dos into three categories instead of four: “A” (Must Do / High Priority), “B” (Should Do / Medium Priority), and “C” (Nice to Do)

3. Get your time blocked off. 

Effective time management for teens involves setting aside a consistent and dedicated chunk of time to focus on one “must do” at a time. Although everyone seems to multitask, research shows that it’s really only effective for 2% to 2.5% of people. For the rest of us, it hinders our productivity and accuracy. One study even found that college students who multitask took longer to complete homework and received lower average grades.

Try this: Help your teen figure out when he is more naturally ready to study for a test, think creatively, or process analytically. He may find that specific times of day (or night) are best for specific tasks. Then, encourage your teen to block off those times for those to-dos.

4. Get your timer ready.

Setting a timer for 15 to 25 minutes to work on a priority can help your teen stay focused on one task. The small time commitment makes it feel like an achievable goal. When the timer goes off, your teen can set the timer for a 5- to 10-minute brain break before resetting it for another 15 to 25 minutes of work.

Try this: Chew gum while the timer ticks. It’s a research-based fact that chewing gum can increase focus by reducing stress and anxiety in short bursts.

5. Get your room clean.

Mom, you were right! Your teen really does need to keep his room clean. Studies have shown that clutter increases stress levels and decreases cognitive function, making it harder for your teen to stay on task and retain information. By contrast, a clean and clutter-free environment promotes mental focus and overall calm. This can also be an easy way for you to help your teen during finals, too.

Try this: Make it a requirement for your teen to tidy up his room before Monday morning. Remove all those dirty dishes from the previous week. Put dirty clothes in the hamper, and hang up all the clean ones piled on the chair.

What ideas do you have for time management for teens? What works best for your kid?

The post 5 Time Management Strategies Your Teen Needs for School appeared first on iMOM.