Three A+ Tips to Help Your Daughter Have a Distraction-Free School Year

Depending on where you live, your daughter has either been #Back2School for about a month, or getting ready to return.

So it’s a great time to revisit my #Back2School with Jackie B blog post series!

I’m always excited to return to the classroom this time of year, and I’m equally excited to share strategies you can use to help your daughter successfully navigate life at school.

Beginning with the following three tips you can implement today to help her focus on what’s important and steer clear of distractions (especially the “cute” kind 😉):

1. Help her write a vision and create goals.  

I find it counter-productive to tell students they should abstain from sex until they get married or even hold off until they’re adults, without helping them envision what they want their future to look like.

When teens can visualize what they stand to gain in the future (i.e. achieving their goals), they’re much more receptive to putting off unnecessary distractions in the present (i.e. having sex).

That’s why I suggest helping your daughter write a vision and set goals for each new school year. What GPA will she earn? Which extra-curricular activities will she participate in? What boundaries will she establish for dating? Who are the friends she’ll hang out with?

You can even make it fun by hosting a vision party for your daughter and her friends, like one of my blog readers did for her son.

The bottom line—Any girl with a vision who’s focused on achieving the goals she’s set for herself is not going to easily fall for “cute distractions.”

“There’s no need to go guy hunting at my age. I have goals to reach and dreams to make into reality, not boys to distract me from these things.” ~ Teen Girl

2. Make more deposits than withdrawals this year.

Your daughter’s spirit, who she is deep down—her hopes, dreams, sense of worth—is like a bank account. As her parent, you are a primary account holder with the power to make deposits and withdrawals.

Help your daughter avoid overdraft fees (i.e. self-doubt, low self-worth, insecurity), by focusing more on what she’s doing right than what she’s doing wrong.

This will not only help boost your daughter’s self-esteem, but improve your overall relationship with her. It’s an investment that will pay dividends well into her adulthood.

3. Limit her use of cell phone and social media.

Cell phones and social media can prove both a blessing and a curse for us as adults. But for teens, I’d say the latter is most true. When I ask students who are having a hard time staying awake in class why they are so sleepy, the most common response I get is that they were up late on social media.

For girls in particular, the pressure to be “liked” is huge and quite frankly concerning. They are often distracted with trying to live up to the filtered lives of others on social media.

So, I suggest having your daughter charge her phone in a common area overnight. She can have a restful night’s sleep and not be awakened by the constant ding of new notifications. It’s also a good idea to limit her time on social media in general.

I’m not saying social media is ALL bad. But for your daughter’s sake, I’d treat it like it is.

**BONUS- Create a “contract” of expectations between the two of you.

I had to share another great tip from the mom I mentioned above, who worked with her son to create a vision board. She also sat down with him to create a “contract” detailing her expectations of him (and his expectations of her) so they’d both remain on the same page.

In her own words: 

“I created a list of my expectations for my son. I made sure that for each one I used positive words, which presupposes positive actions. I read through the list with him and asked him if he had any concerns. I also offered an explanation for each expectation so he would know what I meant. He said he understood. These expectations are now posted on his bedroom door.”

Much of what teens experience at school has little to do with studying and homework. The social dynamics of middle/high school can easily overshadow the academic side for any young lady who isn’t prepared to navigate both.

Use these strategies to help your daughter get focused, be prepared and make the grade both academically and socially this school year.

And don’t forget to come back next week for my 2^nd  post in the #Back2School with Jackie B series.

So together we can help your daughter have her best year yet!

Lastly, if you found the tips in this post helpful, check out my other resources below.

FREE DOWNLOAD: 7 Things Every Parent of a Teen Needs to Know Before Having “The Talk”  Want to discover more ways you can help your daughter make good choices? Learn more in this FREE eBOOK. 

7 Secrets Guys Will Never Tell You: A Teen Girls Guide on Love, Sex, and Relationships

Deams, Decisions, Destinies: The Sex Talk Every Parent Needs to Have

Dreams, Decisions, Destinies: The Sex Talk Every Teen Girl (Guy) Needs to Hear

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