Back to School Tips for Teens and Tweens - Source: OnTeensToday!

As the founder of Parents’ Universal Resource Experts and Parent Advocate, this is one of the busiest times of the year - whether you are getting your kids ready for school - or your young adults off to college!

www.OnTeensToday.com always keeps parents today updated on what is happening in today’s teen-hood - so take a peak a the great websites and articles to help you get ready for school 2008-2009!

Courtesy of Vanessa Van Petten - www.onteenstoday.com
Some Back-to-School Favorites

Cramster.com Get help with your homework. Be ready for your exams–I like this website!

Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids by Linda Bress Silbert and Alvin Silbert I think so many parents and kids are so scared of bad grades and feel it is reflection of them as a person. I like this message that grades are important, but they do not define you.

Alana’s Advice…When There’s A Clique, You’ve Got to Think Quick by Alexandra Sabina Bender Cliques and mean girls are becoming ever more powerful with the advent of the Internet and social networks, this is a great primer for parents and girls.

6 Questions to Motivate Your Kids Before School

I [Vanessa Van Petten] wrote this guest post for Joe Bruzzese’s blog the Middle School Parent Resource.

Here is a sneak peek:

“Ughhhhh, do we have to practice getting up early?” Before school every year my parents decided to torture themselves and us by making us ‘practice getting up early for school’ the last week of summer. This always seemed like the absolute cruelest thing to do—talk about ruining the end of summer.

Now, as a 23-year-old looking back, I understand where they were coming from. They wanted us to get our bodies in the habit of the school schedule so we were not as cranky and going back would not be such a shock.

I am currently working with hundreds of families, plus the emails I get from parent readers on my blog about what they can do to help their kids have a smooth transition and maximize summer time to make the year a successful one. The second point here is what is crucial to me, there are a few things I wish my parents had done the few weeks before school started to prepare me for the school year.

What is a (good) Goal?

Everyone’s definition is different, talk to your kids about what they think goals are and goals they have had in the past, that have worked or not. Explain that ‘good’ goals are:

-Quantifiable (You can measure their success or not)
-Reasonable (They can be reached and are attainable)
-Specific (They deal with a certain area…big goals can be broken down into smaller ones)
-Exciting (Remember these are your kid’s goals, not yours, make sure they are motivated to achieve them or you are setting them up for failure)

Read the rest here!