Building Relationships as Leaving Cert results loom

The wait is almost over for 58,000 Leaving Certificate students across the country.

The Leaving Certificate results will be released tomorrow morning and students will receive their results from their schools, through the post or online.

Results day is ofen viewed as the pinnacle of the journey through Senior Cycle for young people and their families. It does, in the short term determine options for future study or careers .Naturally, if a student doesn’t get the results he/she expected or hoped for, it is likely to cause upset for them and impact on other members of the family.

Parents and guardians  can be supportive by trying  to engage with their teenager and provide a time and space to listen without feeling they have to ‘fix the problem’ of disappointing results. Giving your child time to talk, to express how they are feeling – even if that is disappointed or concerned – without trying to brush it over or minimise how they are feeling helps acknowledge and validate their reality.

Remembering that these students have already learnt a lot about resilience as they studied and juggled competing demands of their time, be they sport, leisure, or social demands can be helpful once we have listened. Discussing these tools and resources can connect us all with our capacity to cope, and are easy to forget in a time of disappointment.

Thinking about future options options with your teenager, after you have listened and responded to their concerns, may include reminding them how there are numerous paths into Higher Education if that’s the route they choose .

Relationships often come under stress at times of transition and this is a key transition in family life and parents will have their own feelings of anxiety, hopes and anticipation too!

It’s important to remember that we all like to be seen for who we are, to feel safe and secure especially in our family environment and to be soothed when we are upset. This is a gift we can offer to our young people tomorrow.

The Ag Eisteacht team would like to wish everyone receiving results the best, and encourage young people to think of the relationships in their lives that can support them in this transition.

#RelationshipsMatter