The start of the school year is the perfect time to give your teen a calendar or a planner. Encourage him to think about assignments and events and to write everything down so he doesn't forget anything.

Then suggest that your teen start thinking:

• Monthly. After filling in his calendar with school, activity and family commitments, he should look at the whole month. Are there any conflicts? Is there a big project coming up next month that he needs to start working on now?
• Weekly. It's important to review the week ahead, as well. Does he have any tests next week? He will have to allot more study time for that subject this week. If he wants to go out with friends on Friday night, he may need to do his laundry on Thursday instead.
• Daily. Your teen can make to-do lists to help keep him on track. That will ensure he gets everything done.

Review the schedule with your teen. If he's at school for eight hours a day, sleeps for eight hours a night, and studies for three hours each evening, does he really have time to join the soccer team?

With practice, your teen will learn to make responsible decisions about how to spend his time.

Reprinted with permission from the September 2009 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (High School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2009 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.