Year 7 struggles

[Beansandcheesearegood]

My dd year 7 is struggling. She's so tired, trying to be organised and stay on top of it all but finding the books, pe kits, lunch etc hard.
Also group what's apps are now a thing and were struggling with whether to ket her stay in the chats or not. Nothing bad yet.....

Would suggest she can be in a group chat with her besties but not any class/year group WhatsApps, and that you keep an eye on it and limit her daily WhatsApp time.

This is a really hard point of the year, the novelty of school has worn off and the grind is starting to set in and they're knackered but half term is ages away. It does get better!

The transition to senior school is a big one and getting used to a timetable, moving around the school, homework and organising themselves is hard for a lot of children. Print off her timetable and have it on the fridge or somewhere prominent. Encourage her to check her timetable and pack her bag with everything she needs the evening before so that she's organised for the next day. Also, have a set time for homework (with some flexibility for clubs etc) and make sure it's mostly done on the night it's given so it doesn't build up and result in last minute late night panic. Encourage a few early nights and quiet time in the evening reading or listening to music and put tech away at least an hour before bed.

Personally WhatsApp is a no for us. There’s no parental controls - anyone can add you to any group and send you any message. She’s not been sent anything bad yet (that you know of) but she undoubtedly will be. WhatsApp is rated 13+ which was actually lowered from 16 in the UK last year.

In whatsapp:

settings - privacy - groups - contacts.

It means only contacts in her phone can add her to groups. I’d advise everyone to do this but especially young people.

But I don’t think they need it at her age - my son is also year seven and I don’t want him having it yet. He can still text friends.

My boy is in year 8 now and I well remember this time last year being surprised by how much extra support he needed - compared to year 6 when he was actually quite self sufficient. Some people advise just letting them get on with it but I could see how it was affecting him, he has never been in any trouble at school and was terrified of forgetting something or similar. I offered a lot more support than I was expecting to - and then eased off slowly over the next 6 months. Things like: together we wrote a jobs list for morning and evening and I reminded him to check it. I offered suggestions for which homework to prioritise/time management. I would chop extra veggies when preparing dinner so he could take them for his lunch. Lots of support and it seemed to work, he had a good year and slowly became more independent again.

No to class WhatsApp
Yes to close friend group WhatsApp but i caveat that by saying at this point in Yrv7 they probably haven't settled into long term trustworthy friendship groups so would avoid any WhatsApp at this point.

Thanks all. The WhatsApp is new for her- she had Kinzoo but many don't and she felt left out. We have had a chat and changed settings etc so only friends groups now.

Thanks for the solidarity! I think she was so independent in Tear 6 that it's shocked me how overwhelmed she is. Dh took her to school and will collect today after her club just to save her legs a bit!

My oldest really struggled. He was top dog of his primary and just found it all so easy.
He was tired, overwhelmed and stressed for the first few months of high school.
At home, I stepped up and took over all his chores again, cleaned his room and out his laundry away and helped him make sure he had what he needed for school and checked homework.
He is an adult now but it definitely knocked him sideways for about 6 months.
Give her time and extra support where you can. This is the time to let things slide a little bit.