Ahh… the ultimate dream.
Your child is so organised and prepared for any assignment or assessment that all their work is consistently spread out throughout the term, there isn’t any last minute rush and they get the best possible mark.
But the reality is, most of us live with disorganised and overwhelmed teenagers who struggle to resist distractions, have a penchant for last-minute all-nighters and then get disappointed about not getting the mark the wanted despite hours of study and hard work.
You might feel the urge to jump into creating a long to-do list for your child in the hopes of ‘fixing’ the problem and getting them to be on track and on time.
Having worked with thousands of students — I can tell you, they’ve already thought of that. They know having a tracker or planner would make their lives so much easier.
So why is your child still struggling to be more organised and stay ahead of all their assessment tasks? Why do they choose to scroll on social media or watch YouTube videos and delay their work until the last possible second?
In this article, we explore what you can do as a parent to help your teenager, so they can complete all their tasks on time with less stress and distractions for higher marks.
Amelia Overcoming Being an Overwhelmed Teenager
Two years ago, we met Amelia — an overwhelmed teenager who was stressed and exhausted. Amelia used to stay up late for assignments the night before deadlines because she was unsure of what she needed to do.
Amelia studied harder than any of her friends, but she couldn’t understand why she wasn’t getting the marks she wanted. Her teachers commented on how bright she was and that she just needed to study harder. Amelia was burnt out, and her confidence began hurting, as she believed that SHE was the problem.
With Year 11 about to start, Amelia’s parents recognised that she needed help outside what the school and private tutors could provide, otherwise she wouldn’t make it to the HSCs. That’s when they reached out to us.
Our education strategists helped Amelia stabilise her situation first. We worked on removing her stressors to ensure that her academic position wouldn’t slip any further and warrant being asked to drop her selected subjects for Year 11.
Once her marks became stable, we helped Amelia improve her results and define what academic success looks for her, so she would be more motivated to pursue it. We helped Amelia design a strategic plan to rebuild positive learning patterns, so she could avoid burdening or overwhelming herself. We created an assessment battle plan so she can break assessments into structured sprints and built an accountability tracker to monitor her progress.
Most students struggle to adjust to the increased academic rigour and expectations of Year 11. But with her battle plan, Amelia went from failing Year 10 final exams to achieving 60-70s in the first Year 11 exam block.
Amelia also kept ascending her marks and overcame the hazards of Year 11 despite her negative learning history. The following year, she was ranked in the top 5 across her HSC subjects, received a 94 ATAR and was admitted straight into her first preference of course.
Overwhelmed Teenagers Need a Plan
Overwhelmed teenagers like Amelia may seem like they’re broken or need ‘fixing’, but sometimes it’s not just about academic strategies — it’s about the person underneath. If the problem is that they’re feeling a bit lost or overwhelmed, then just throwing tutors and textbooks at them isn’t going to help.
They need a way to manage the workload, so it becomes easier — not harder.
They might look distracted, lazy and like they’re dragging their feet when it comes to assignments. But most teens feel a degree of apprehension starting an assignment. Because they aren’t confident or clear on what they need to do, they delay until it’s they feel they have no choice. Others are simply overwhelmed by the volume of tasks they need to cover, and they can’t figure out where to begin.
It’s important to recognise first that your child is overwhelmed. Only then can you identify what your child really needs to relieve their stress and have a more stable foundation to rebuild their confidence and skills.
Once they’re on more stable ground, it’ll be easier to create a plan to keep them on track and boost their academic performance. It will also be easier to help them overcome distractions, like their over-attachment to their screens, and improve their marks without relapsing to being overwhelmed.
At Kalibrate-Ed, we’ve created an assessment battle plan tailored to each child’s unique learning profile to help parents support their child in keeping themselves on track. We have worked with thousands of students with distinct learning needs — some with ADHD, some with anxiety — who have hit ATARs above 90 using this battle plan (if you want a copy of this free resource, we have it available here).
The assessment battleplan does more than track your child’s assessment deadlines. It breaks down intimidating tasks into smaller, manageable chunks so they can accomplish each one with less stress. The battle plan also allows you and your child to monitor whether your child is behind, on track, or even ahead of their assessments.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Some overwhelmed teenagers struggle to complete assessments because they’re too distracted by their devices and lack the necessary focus to study, which is another area of their learning to cover and requires a more specific digital plan.
If want to help your child achieve higher academic results by using technology productively, we’re doing a live session on 29th May from 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Click the button below for more details.
