It happens every year. You make it through the stress and anxiety surrounding college applications, head straight into the holidays, forge through New Years resolution setting and then it happens...your senior in high school checks out. They don't care about grades, homework, school activities or accomplishing any task that gets them up before noon on a Sunday. In fact here's a list of common attributes indicating that your child might be suffering from senioritis.
They stopped bringing a backpack to school and now only carry a folder
You come home from work and it looks like they didn't go to school today (they probably didn't)
They skipped practice for their sport
Suddenly every night is a friend night
They are sleeping...a lot
The first thing to know is that this is a completely normal part of the process. It's also the beginning of the "letting go process for you", because graduation is around the corner and saying goodbye is likely going to be hard on you. You're going to want to bury yourself in their unwashed bed sheets and spend hours going through baby albums. You'll call and text them too much and find solace in binge watching Cupcakes Wars. At the same time your kid is going to start behavior that makes you counting down the days until college drop off. This is simply mother nature's way of creating balance in the world. That said, your student can't completely fall off the wagon end of senior year, so here's our tips for tackling the last semester senior itch.
- Have a straight conversation. Sit down and let them know that you can see they are burned out and and need a break. But you're concerned that they might hurt their future if they get too far off track.
- Find compromise. If they have late start maybe you can extend the curfew a little the night before, they are about to head off the college to find school life balance on their own, consider this a test run on adulting under your supervision.
- Get a real understanding about their grades. Are they able to manage it all and stay on track? Or are they slipping and need to find focus?
- Offer to be the late night hang-out spot. You might lose some sleep, but at least you'll know where they're hanging out.
For more support on college admission and transition join our Facebook Group for Parents