As a high school student, it becomes more and more difficult to keep an imaginative mind like that of a child. As the parent of a high school student, it can be difficult to watch your child lose his or her imagination and creativity as school becomes more strict and sometimes limiting. Here are some tips on how to help your child succeed in school while keeping an active imagination.

Writing

If your child doesn't already write in a journal every day, strongly encourage him or her to do so. It is in writing that a teenager learns who he or she is and how his or her mind works.

It is said that writing down thoughts as they come will help free up space in the mind for new and creative thoughts. Not only will your teenage child improve his or her thinking skills by writing, but he or she will become more imaginative. It's inevitable. 

There's a reason schools are implementing "writing across the curriculum " more and more. It's a sure way to organize thoughts and figure out what's inside the brain.

Encourage your child to write for fun. When he or she writes for the enjoyment of writing and not for an assignment, he or she will get in touch with his or her innate creativity.

Getting Enough Sleep

Teenagers' brains need more sleep than children and adults, but they are usually forced to get less sleep than they need because school starts so early in the morning.

Not getting enough sleep affects teenager's creativity, psychological and emotional well-being, and their ability to make decisions. What you can do as a parent is to try to lobby your teenager's school to start later.

High school's that have done this in the last few decades have seen marked changes, notably a rise in grades and test scores of students, as well as a decrease in dropouts and fights at school. Just a half hour more of sleep per night has an amazingly positive effect on a teenager's mind.

If the school's start time seems impossible to change, do everything you can to encourage your child to get more sleep. Show him or her the numerous studies that convince anyone how important sleep is to teenagers. Set an early bed time and enforce it. Sometimes private schools will have later start times so that teenagers can get the rest they need. 

Model Creative Thinking

If your child sees you thinking outside of the box, then it will seem natural to him or her. If you ever feel frustrated about not being able to solve a problem you are faced with, don't let your child see you give up. Stay with the problem until you figure out a new way to fix it.

Try new things, take classes, and encourage your child to take up new hobbies and interests. The more supportive and encouraging you are, the more your child will see that it's okay to take chances and exercise imagination.

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