How To Set Up A Study Area For Teens
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Being a teenager certainly isn’t all about going to school. With that said, schoolwork is an important part of a person’s teenage years. That being so, having a proper study can be a great help to teens (and their parents). Here are some tips on how to set one up.
Be flexible about the location
The obvious place for a teen’s study area is in their bedroom. This is often the best place but there may be other options. If so, it’s always worth comparing them to make sure that you’re definitely choosing the right location.
Parents might prefer to have teens study in one of the main family rooms, often the kitchen or dining area. That way they can be kept under supervision (i.e. homework definitely gets done). Objectively this can make sense but realistically a lot will depend on how the teen feels about this. On the other hand, some teens might prefer to study somewhere other than their room.
Prioritize a good chair and monitor
If funds are tight, then prioritize a good chair over everything else. Firstly, your teen’s back needs to be protected. If they’re still growing, the chair needs to be able to adjust to this so that it stays comfortable. Proper office chairs will usually do this as they’re designed to fit adults in a wide range of sizes.
Your next priority should be a decent monitor at the right height. If you’re using a stand-alone monitor then it’s best to mount it on an adjustable arm. Again, this means that it can be raised as your teen grows. If your teen only has a laptop, put it on a stand and get an external keyboard and mouse.
All the information on how to prevent digital eye strain in adults apply to teens as well. In particular, go into your teen’s monitor’s settings. Make sure that they are optimized for the conditions in your teen’s study area. Remember that you may need to adjust them over the course of the year as light conditions change.
It’s great if your child can have a permanent desk but this isn’t as huge a deal as it might seem. If space is tight and/or you have a limited budget, either a folding table or a laptop table can do perfectly well. Neither provides a lot of storage but you can work around that.
Get everything organized
Organization starts with storage. If your teen has a proper desk, then it will probably have integrated storage. You may, however, need to add extra. If your teen is using a folding table or laptop desk, then storage will probably need to be one of your top priorities.
Ideally, storage should be located near your teen’s desk. If it can’t be, try putting key items into a rolling trolley or bag. Then your teen can move their study supplies from A to B fairly conveniently (and without help from you).
You may be able to reduce the amount of storage you need by equipping your teen with a scanner. These often capture detail better than mobile phone cameras. They are therefore better for digitizing worksheets and notes with pictures and diagrams.