«Help, my daughter is hiding her school grades!»

I'm not sure what is making you so absolutely perplexed: your daughter's poor grades or her fear of showing you her exam results? I would be much more worried about the latter than the poor grades. Your daughter is about to move on to sixth form. This is the first time in a child's life when the course is set based on performance. This is a new and stressful experience, which may explain the drop in grades. Help your daughter to deal with stress and try not to add to the pressure. It rarely leads to brilliant achievements.

At this age, many young people's grades plummet. They often struggle with the transition and the correspondingly stricter assessment. Sometimes exam anxiety develops with the increased pressure. Other THemen often come to the fore at times during puberty, such as new friendships, physical changes or a first crush. Signal to your daughter: We know that there can be phases like this. We are here for you and would like you to come to us so that we can find solutions together.

Firstly, how dramatically have the grades dropped? Wouldn't it perhaps help if you explained to your daughter that something could be done about it, but it's certainly not a catastrophe? Secondly, are there tangible reasons for the deterioration (lovesickness, a stupid teacher, a row with her best friend)? Help where you can, but don't fall into overzealous actionism. Try to radiate the calm, confidence and security that your daughter doesn't have at the moment, but needs.

