Tips & Resources for Parents of Teens
Thanks to Microsoft Learning for this great post!
Want to pave a bright path for your teen’s future? From digital parenting to financial planning and college preparedness, the resources for helping your teen succeed are but a click away. Check out our top 5 picks below:
1. Check out Microsoft certifications: Did you know your teen could earn college credits before they even apply to school? Microsoft provides a unique opportunity for teens to acquire valuable IT skills and for parents to save big on college tuition. Microsoft professional certifications help your child:
- Demonstrate their skills on the latest technologies and real-life business challenges
- Achieve greater success in college
- Build outstanding resumes
- Increase employability while in college and after graduation
The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends bachelor and associate degree college credit for select Microsoft certifications including administering Microsoft Office, configuring Windows operating systems, as well as development and coding with HTML5 and Javascript programming languages. Additionally, Microsoft Certified Associates and Specialists on average make $16K more per year in employable salaries then their non-certified counterparts. Now that’s a bright future for your child! Learn more about the ACE program and Microsoft Certifications, click here.
2. Start Planning Financially: How is your teen’s financial literacy? Do they already have their own job and bank account? For many, that answer is no, but that does not mean they can’t still learn about budgeting and saving money. We love this list of financial literacy tools and resources from NerdWallet.com, click here. And for parents, the teenage years are the time to learn about college savings plans (if you haven’t already) that make sense for your family, as well as what’s new in the way of student loans and government assistance for college. Check out StudentLoans.gov for the low-down on financial aid, responsible borrowing and financial counseling for college.
3. Help with Volunteer Ideas: A robust college or career path is paved with lots of service. Whether it’s through a club or group at school, or simply on their own, teens should prioritize community service, acts of kindness and helping others as they near graduation. Not only does it round out college and job applications, but it teaches vital life values like compassion, time management, leadership skills, and dedication. See: 5 Ways to Encourage Teens to Volunteer
4. Be a Good Digital Parent: Feeling lost in the digital environment your teen seems so apt to navigate? Quit over-monitoring and start mentoring – learn what the new apps are that your kids and their friends are using. Ask your kids to demo them for you and show you how they use them to communicate with others. And finally, talk to other parents! Ask what programs, apps and tech tools their kids are using – compare, share and collaborate. See: Overwhelmed by Apps? 3 Strategies for Parents
5. Teach Driver Safety: Whether your teen is a new driver or working on getting their license, driver safety simply can’t be emphasized enough. StopTextsStopWrecks.org reports, “In 2013, ten percent of all drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes.” Talk to your kids about the importance of not texting while driving – it is both against the law and is super dangerous. Snapchatting, Instagramming, etc can be easy temptations for teens on the road too. Be aware of the real dangers and communicate with your teen often about them.
