The Key to a Healthy School-Life Balance

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The Key to a Healthy School-Life Balance

All work and no play? Turns out it’s just as bad for students as it is for employees.

We hear about employees’ need for healthy work/life balance all the time. If we as adults don’t have adequate time to unplug and relax, we run the risk of burnout.

But what many parents don’t realize is that their kids have the exact same need to strike a happy medium between what they have to do (school) and what they want to do (life). Kids can and do get burned out, too.

According to new research by Pearson, many students and parents aren’t on the same page when it comes to the boundaries between school and life. While 80% of parents believe their teens have good school-life balance, only 45% of teens agree.

“The disconnect can come from parents perceiving the time students spend on school work vs. other activities (leisure or otherwise) as relatively balanced compared to what they see in their own lives,” says Dr. Lorna Bryant, Head of Career Solutions, Pearson’s Virtual Learning division, “where work far exceeds the time they have for other responsibilities they need and want to prioritize.”

Dr. Bryant and I connected for a conversation about why kids are hungry for better school-life boundaries—and how parents can better support that need. Here’s what we covered.

Balance Supports Direction

Many parents are pushing their kids to work harder at school because they want their kids to have enjoyable, financially stable careers—a laudable goal. But the foundation of a rewarding career is actually a healthy school-life balance.

The research found that students with a strong school/life balance often have a clearer understanding of their future aspirations, with 76% knowing what career they want to pursue. Conversely, more than a fourth (29%) report fair to very poor school/life balance and say it’s having a negative impact on their ability to start career planning.

In pushing their kids to do more, some parents may be trying to help their kids avoid their own mistakes. Of those surveyed, 72% wished they had explored different careers before they graduated, 67% regret that they didn’t learn better time management skills, and 64% would have balanced their time better between academics and extracurriculars.

Dr. Bryant believes that, unlike their parents, today’s young people see ‘balance’ as being able to connect what they’re learning academically with what they’re passionate about.

“Without being able to identify how schoolwork aligns with a passion that can turn into a career, they will continue to feel an imbalance and heightened anxiety about their future, which is so pronounced in this generation,” she says. “This conundrum is something their parents might not quite understand based on their view that ‘work’ and ‘life’ are wholly distinct from one another.”

Students Can’t Fix Their Own Imbalance

It’s one thing for adults to work on improving their work/life balance, but this is more challenging for students who 1.) don’t have as much control over their day-to-day activities, and 2.) may lack the knowledge and resources to organize their time effectively. That’s why it’s so critical for parents to actively participate in helping their children develop this lifelong skill.

“Fifty-one percent of students reported that anxiety/stress is the most significant barrier to their school-life balance, which 52% also report is best supported by engaging with peers, friends, and fellow students in both online and offline settings,” says Dr. Bryant. “In a world so digitally focused, these learners see the value in connecting with others but likely need guidance to understand how to continue to manage these relationships during busy times.”

They also need tools to learn discipline, says Dr. Bryant. “Implementing strategies to organize schoolwork and using a planner or technology to help them segment their time were the next most common tactics that 43% of students mentioned would be useful.”

Of course, students don’t know what they don’t know about the resources out there that can help them make the most of their time. “This is where parents, counselors and teachers can step in and provide guidance,” says Dr. Bryant.

Action Steps For Parents

While it’s clear that parents play a significant role in helping teens gain the healthy school-life balance they need, the steps to make it happen may not be so evident. Here are some practical actions parents can take to better support their children’s social and emotional needs alongside their academic achievement:

  • Reconsider the definition of ‘wasted time.’ “Extracurriculars or even in-school activities and experiences that allow their students to make real-world connections and hone and demonstrate durable skills are almost as important as strictly academic endeavors,” says Dr. Bryant. To take that point even further—even your child’s epic videogaming skills might contribute to their future career aspirations.
  • Do career exploration together. “The research shows that teens want their parents to be involved in their career exploration by helping them find jobs (48%) and sharing resources (43%),” says Dr. Bryant. “This type of parent involvement can also increase communication with students and close the wide gap between how students and parents view the student’s school-life balance.”
  • Make everything count. “Show them how to be intentional about their choices and tie experiences that might seem unrelated (part-time jobs, job shadowing, mentorships) to what they are currently learning and preparing for beyond school,” Dr. Bryant urges. In other words, the world is a classroom, too.

Above all, parents should recognize that all work and no play is just as rough on kids as it is on adults. By supporting their healthy school/life balance now, we can equip the next generation to set strong boundaries in their future professional lives.

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