• Make sure your teen has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework.

• Avoid having your teen do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.

• Make sure the materials your teen needs, such as paper, pencils and a dictionary, are available.

• Help your teen with time management.

• Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don’t let your teen leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.

• Be positive about homework.

• Tell your teen how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your teen acquires.

• When your teen does homework, you do homework.

• Show your teen that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your teen is reading, you read too. If your teen is doing math, balance your checkbook.

• When your teen asks for help, provide guidance, not answers.

• Giving answers means your teen will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your teen that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her.

• Stay informed. Read my website.  Make sure you ask for your teen’s report card.  Attend open houses.

• Watch your teen for signs of failure and frustration.

• Now DROP IT!
  This tip is going to keep your sanity in check. Parents of teens often have trouble figuring out where to hold up the responsibilities our teens have and when to back off. With school, our teens need to ‘hold the bag’. What grades they earn are the grades they have earned, and in no way should these grades reflect on us as parents. After we have given them the time, the space, and the tools, they need to do the learning.  I am in no way implying that I didn’t worry about it, I never said that handing over this responsibility is an easy thing to do. But, there are worse things in life than bad grades, and a young adult that doesn’t know how to take responsibility for themselves is one of them. So teach your teen now, while you can.

Note:  This is NOT an original list.  I found it somewhere on the web and neglected to cite the source.  If you find the source, please let me know!  I am still looking for it.  I know I need to give credit where credit is due.