by Dr. Aimee Weinstein

As the mother of a high school junior and an SAT/ACT writing tutor, I Aimeehave never felt the spring academic pressure build up quite as much as it has in recent weeks. As enumerated on the website “Grown and Flown,” these kids are taking their huge course loads, which often includes several AP courses; preparing for standardized tests; and still trying to stay on top of whatever sports or clubs they have chosen this all-important year. Kids and parents alike are feeling the crunch since they want to see colleges, or plan a (dare I say) fun summer. The junior year is awash with stress, particularly as it comes to a close.

Unfortunately at this point, there’s not much that can be done about it. The college admissions process with its demands and requirements is not changing any time soon and we have to work within the system. The best thing we can all do for ourselves is probably meditate daily, (another post for another time) but short of that, we do what we can to keep the stress level as low as possible.

Some ideas that I’ve been working on for my own stress-monster of a son:

  • Plan college visits with a buddy to make it more fun
  • Use a white board to plan out and keep track of what is due on which day for which class.
  • Make sure to take at least 15-20 minutes to eat dinner as a family and decompress (our family finds eating together to be relaxing, but do whatever you need to do to find a snippet of time to spend together)
  • Prioritize carefully – for us it’s class-work over test prep, but it might not be the same for everyone
  • Show the student how to do the work of planning and prioritizing himself or herself – doing it for the kid is tempting, but he or she needs to know how to do it in the future and it will feel empowering to have control over the plan.
  • Call or email Inspiring Test Preparation to join an ACT or SAT class – and also the SAT/ACT Writing workshops, both of which include great feedback and excellent tips and tricks to get a handle on the exams.

As parents, we have to sit back and let the kids handle the bulk of the stress and work, but helping find reliable and excellent test preparation is one way we can truly help our children. I look forward to hearing from you.

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