10 Tips for Parenting Teens During Summer Break

Teens often greet the end of the school year with dreams of social outings, adventure trips, and lazy days lounging by the pool. However, parents often have a different set of priorities, ranging from academic advancement to household responsibilities. Many teens also need to enter the workforce to fund their social lives, phone bills, or car expenses.

Striking a balance between these competing needs is key. Here are 10 tips for a productive and fulfilling summer with your teenager:

1. Keep Their Brains Warm to Avoid the “Summer Slide”

Some teens choose summer school to fast-track their education, aiming for Advanced Placement (AP) courses in their junior or senior years. These classes can often be taken for college credit at a community college with a counselor’s approval. Other students may benefit from remedial help to ensure they start the fall semester with confidence.

2. Nurture Life Skills Through Volunteerism

Growth happens when teens step outside their school social circles. Volunteering as a camp counselor or working with a nonprofit helps develop leadership and interpersonal skills. Whether they are interning at a hospital, a tech company, or a senior center, these professional environments provide a safe space to explore potential career interests.

3. Create a “Career Ladder”

Encourage your teen to see volunteering as a stepping stone. An intern at a nonprofit or a local museum often has a “foot in the door” for paid seasonal positions later. Many recreational programs and amusement parks are eager to hire those who have already proven their dedication as experienced volunteers.

4. Have Teens Help Manage the Household

When school-based childcare ends, teens can step up to fill the gap. Help your teen create a “Nanny Plan” for younger siblings. They can market themselves as academic tutors, art assistants, or fitness trainers. Beyond childcare, they can also take ownership of household duties like laundry and meal preparation to learn essential adulting skills.

5. Guide Teens to See the “Big Picture”

It is vital for teens to understand how their summer choices—schooling, volunteering, and work—connect to their long-term goals. Remind them that these experiences aren’t just chores; they are valuable entries for college applications, resumes, and future apprenticeships.

6. Balance Schedules with Quality Downtime

A summer packed with work and school can lead to burnout. To ensure healthy development, make sure your teen gets sufficient rest, relaxation, and screen-time breaks. A prosperous summer is only successful if the teen remains happy and mentally healthy.

7. Grant Independence to Responsible Teens

As your teen takes on more responsibility, allow them the space to make their own decisions—and their own mistakes. Being a flexible, available guide rather than a micromanager builds trust. This independence fosters the resilience they will need to face life’s future challenges.

8. Visit Colleges During Family Vacations

It is never too early to walk a college campus. Incorporating campus tours into your family vacation helps demystify college requirements. When a teen can visualize themselves on a campus, they become more motivated to fulfill the academic and leadership milestones needed to get there.

9. Engage in Reflective Discussions

Take time to talk with your teen about their summer experiences. Ask what they learned, what skills they found difficult to master, and how they felt upon completing a task. These reflections are the “gold” they will need when it comes time to write compelling college essays or interview for jobs.

10. Look Toward the Future

As summer winds down, many teens feel invigorated by their newfound self-awareness. Some may rethink their future plans, while others will realize they are far more capable than they previously thought. Most will return to high school with a clearer picture of their talents and a much wider view of the world around them.

Navigating the teen years during the summer break is a delicate dance between providing structure and offering freedom. By focusing on life skills, academic maintenance, and reflective growth, parents can help their teens transform a simple school break into a cornerstone of their future success. These months of exploration not only prepare them for the upcoming school year but also build the confidence and resilience necessary for adulthood. Ultimately, a well-balanced summer leaves both parent and teen feeling inspired about the journey ahead.

Helping English Learners Succeed

When a child walks into school brand new to English, they are doing something incredibly brave. They’re learning new routines, new friendships, new expectations and a whole new language at the same time. That’s a lot for anyone. The good news? With the right support at home and at school, multilingual kids can absolutely thrive.

First, let’s start here: being multilingual is a gift. Research shared by Colorín Colorado and the National Association for the Education of Young Children shows that speaking more than one language strengthens thinking skills, problem-solving, and flexibility. So instead of seeing English as something a child is “behind” in, it helps to see all the language they already have as a huge strength.

Keep the Home Language Strong

Parents, keep speaking your strongest language at home. Tell stories. Ask questions. Laugh. Read together. A strong foundation in a child’s first language actually helps them learn English faster. You are not “confusing” them—you are building their brain.

Teachers, use their name correctly. Invite families to share traditions or favorite books. Even small efforts show children that who they are matters.

Make Things Visual and Clear

When kids are learning English, they understand more when they can see what’s happening. Pictures, gestures, modeling, and clear examples make a big difference.

At school, that might mean showing what to do instead of only explaining it. At home, it might look like previewing new topics. If your child is learning about weather, talk about rain, snow, or sunshine in your home language first. When they hear those ideas again in English, they’ll connect the dots more easily.

Be Patient with Talking

Many children go through a “silent period” when learning a new language. They may listen carefully but say very little. That’s normal. They are absorbing everything.

Instead of pushing them to speak before they’re ready, focus on helping them feel safe. Smile. Offer encouragement. Celebrate effort. Confidence grows when children feel accepted, not corrected at every turn. Social language comes more easily than academic language. It all takes time.

Support “School Words”

Kids often learn playground English faster than classroom English. They might chat easily with friends but struggle with words like “compare,” “predict,” or “explain.”

Parents can help by asking open-ended questions like, “Tell me what you learned today,” or “Why do you think that happened?” It’s okay if they answer in your home language—that thinking still counts. Teachers can help by modeling sentence starters like, “I think ___ because ___.”

Stay Connected

Clear, kind communication between home and school matters so much. If something is confusing, ask questions. Schools want families involved, even if language feels like a barrier. Translation tools and apps can help bridge gaps. Most importantly, remember this: learning a new language takes time. It’s not a race. With patience, encouragement, and teamwork, multilingual children don’t just “catch up.” They grow into confident, capable learners with a powerful skill that will serve them for life.

Strengths While Building Access

When we lead with patience, clear instruction, visual supports, and genuine connection, we create classrooms where language development and confidence grow together. With the right scaffolds and a belief in their potential, our multilingual learners don’t just adjust—they thrive.

Kids Need Interpersonal Skills at School

In my last post, I wrote about providing kids with opportunities to problem-solve and to engage in socializing without the use of technology.  In this post, I want to continue to explore the idea of the differences between generations and what our children’s generation will need to develop the soft skills that are necessary for success in their futures.

One of my roles as a school principal is to oversee hiring for my school.  Now job applications are collected online. Tools like Indeed and ZipRecruiter make it easy to apply to many jobs with just a few clicks of the mouse. One job posting typically brings in hundreds of applications.  Earlier in my career, job postings would solicit only 15 to 20 applications. Most job applicants were qualified for the job.  Today, many people look for jobs casually with a shotgun approach to submitting job applications. At times, when I reach out to applicants, there’s never a 100% guarantee they are even waiting for my call or my message.

When I do find those applicants who are qualified and responsive, I can usually tell fairly quickly whether or not they will be a good fit personality-wise.  Things like confidence, general attitude, and true experience are revealed pretty quickly.  However, it is important to ask probing interview questions that get to whether or not applicants have developed the soft-skills and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in the workforce.  In classrooms across our nation, teachers are sharing that kids are lacking these soft-skills with a much higher frequency as the school year progresses.  Many kids are no longer self-motivated. They struggle when asked to work in groups. Often, students approach interactions with education staff and peers with a strong sense of entitlement.

Teaching Kids Essential Interpersonal Skills

Certainly, there are kids in the classroom who still possess these skills.  They come to school ready to learn, ready to socialize, and ready to follow school expectations.  But in a classroom of 30 students 20 years ago, you may have had one or two students who entered the classroom with a skills-deficit.  Today, there are more likely 12-15 students who still need to develop one or more of those highly important abilities.  Schools are doing some important interventions to help kids learn these skills on the fly, during content instruction:

• Engaging kids in group work with structured roles
• Project-based learning to help kids identify and solve problems
• Service learning to make the content projects more community-based and relevant
• Providing culturally relevant lessons and content to grab students’ interest and help make connections
• Goal setting and monitoring with students to help foster a mind towards the future and self-motivation

How Parents Can Help

As the parent, you can take the lead on helping your child with the school’s staff develop these soft skills!  During parent meetings and conferences, ask about what opportunities the kids have at the school to build social, emotional, and leadership skills.  Examples include:

• Partner with your child’s teacher(s) to address times when your child falls short. Advocate for your child, but make sure you work with other adults to help your child learn when they make mistakes.
• Sign your child up for extracurricular activities that will require teamwork and interaction. These may include sports, martial arts, reading clubs, or youth service teams.
• Make sure your time at home is well-balanced between opportunities to learn and interact and an appropriate amount of screen time.

Kids’ Learning with AI

I was born in 1981, which puts me just on the cusp of generations.  I’m at the tail end of the Gen X generation by some timelines and right at the beginning of the Millennial generation on others.  Some sociologists even label people born within a few years of my birthday as Xennials, a microgeneration to mark the small and transitional period during which I was born.  Personally, I feel that the other Xennials and I got the best of both worlds.  We experienced the care-free and independent lifestyle of the Gen Xers, but I got to live my teenage years as the world shifted into the fully digital age.  This means I also have a blend of characteristics from the two generations: independent and adaptive. I am also adventurous, creative, tech-savvy, and plugged into the idea that the world is accessible to me, both in terms of information and in opportunity.

Is Techonology Hurting Our Kids?

My daughter was born in 2018, a time much different than the early years of the eighties.  She is a member of Gen Alpha.  Her life is fully immersed in technology and she is going to come of age in a time when she and her peers are at risk of losing many soft skills and interpersonal skills, including critical thinking and problem-solving.  One of the challenges this generation faces is the sheer amount of information and technological capability available in her pocket.  Some schools are fully tech-based. This is a characteristic that used to be touted as a unique feature at a school just a decade ago.  Now, experts are questioning whether the amount of time students spend on technology is advantageous in the long run.  Students are learning 21^st century skills, but are they losing something else that is hugely important to success in life?  Are they losing their ability to identify, think through, and solve their own problems without the support of technology?  The recent introduction of AI into education may further exacerbate this situation for our children.

Balancing Technology Use at Home

Per my previous posts, I am a proponent of technology in education. I have written about the benefits of AI in our lives, as well as in the lives of students.  I still hold to those beliefs about technology. My goal today is to advocate for a better balance in our schools and in the lives of our children.  Instead of having our kids go from using tech all day in school to staring at our screens in the living room at home, make sure your children have time at home to solve problems.  Play board games that require problem solving and strategic thinking. Include your children in solving everyday problems at home. Also have your kids help you cook and figure out how to fix their own inevitable mistakes in the process.  Technology is a wonderful tool.  As with most things in our lives, we need to ensure our approach is one of moderation.  Technology will continue to be one of our greatest tools and resources. It will also continue to present new social and ethical problems as it develops.  As parents, let’s make sure our kids learn to use new tools while also providing opportunities for our kids to engage, socialize, and problem-solve using the tools that were naturally developed in the world of previous generations.

Is Your Child Disruptive at School?

Each day, we drop our kids off at school or at the bus stop hoping they have a great day. No parent wants anything bad to happen to their children or secretly hopes that their child is not causing trouble all day. No parent teaches their child to be disruptive, to break school rules, or to defy authority “just because.” But as any teacher or school employee will tell you, there are kids in our classes where it sometimes feels like this is the case. We have students who cause disruptions from the moment they walk through the front doors. For some students, even the most simple and obvious correction of behavior erupts into defiance or argument.  As a parent, when the school communicates about concerns, how do you respond?

How to Respond to School Staff’s Concerns

Of course no one wants to receive a call about their child’s misbehavior. No parent wants to have a conference in which they find out that their child is failing or behind academically. This type of news is always difficult to hear. How parents respond will determine whether students go down a path of entitlement or a path of learning, growth, and improvement. As parents, we can choose to bulldoze obstacles, ignore them, or help our children navigate the challenge they are currently facing head on. The latter will be a path that will lead them to greater success down the road.

Options for Change

The protective instinct as a parent is strong. Our intuition tells us that we need to remove every obstacle and every inkling of potential friction from our kids’ lives. We want them to live a life of safety, comfort, and opportunity. Unfortunately, what we have seen in recent years is that the effort to eliminate the challenges our kids face has fostered a society where kids are less and less motivated and equipped to solve problems on their own. When kids encounter obstacles, it is vitally important that parents help children identify the issue clearly. Parents must support kids to manage their emotions while they develop a plan for moving forward.

Holding Our Kids Accountable

Often, the first step in this process is ownership. Kids need to honestly assess the situation and accept their role and responsibility. When the challenge is a low grade or poor student behavior, taking a step of ownership allows students to accept that they are the ones who need to take responsibility to move forward.

Unfortunately, when parents bulldoze or excuse children from the behavior (and especially when they place the blame elsewhere) kids miss out on the opportunity to problem-solve their way past barriers. Kids need parents to hold them accountable and to help them navigate the tricky waters of ownership and responsibility.

Partner with the School

The good news is that school staff is eager to partner with parents to walk with you down this road! Be on the lookout for workshop opportunities and chances for you and your child to get involved at school events. Also, when the school calls to discuss an issue with your child (i.e., grades or behavior) be sure to take a breath, listen, and partner with the school to map a pathway forward!