Returning to school is one of the biggest changes in your child’s life, writes Davis Clark
As summer break draws to a close, it’s time to pull our attention away from the beach and focus on a very important event: the first day of school. Starting a new school year can be both a source of excitement and a source of anxiety for parents and children alike.
If you find yourself approaching this day and feel unprepared, there are many things you and your child can do to lessen the anxiety and increase the odds of a productive first day.
Here are 10 tips for making sure that everyone’s ready so that stress and dread won’t occupy your mind throughout the day.
- Start bedtime routines before school begins
Getting up early in the morning can be difficult for many children, especially if they’ve spent the summer getting some much-needed snoozing. It’s possible that the kids have fallen into a less productive sleep schedule, and they may need some time to get back into the swing of things.
If you want to soften the blow on that first morning, start getting them into bed earlier during the last few weeks of summer, and try to wake them up earlier. This could help get them on a more regular schedule, and be better prepared for that first day.
- Back-to-school shopping
In order to be prepared to send them off, it’s important to make sure that you have all the shopping done before the first day of school actually hits. If you have the school uniform purchased days in advance, there will be no stress when everyone is getting dressed in the morning. And when it comes to supplies, set a date in your calendar to take your kids shopping. This will make sure it gets done, and will actually help get them excited for school.
Giving your kids opportunity to pick out their own backpack and supplies will involve them in the process, and give them a chance to express themselves.
- Start putting things on a calendar
A calendar is obviously a great way to keep a schedule, and doing so can help kids know what they have to do and when. When the school year starts things tend to get a little hectic, and it can be nice to have a visual aid that tells everyone what they need to do. And even better, you can give each of the kids their own that they can fill out, giving them a sense of autonomy.
Learning to keep a calendar in their room and filling it out will make them feel good, and crossing days out can help give them sense of progress.
- Find healthy meals
There’s been a lot of research that’s found that people, especially kids, function better on healthier diets. Before school starts, take the kids shopping and help them pick out nutritious foods that they like so that their lunchboxes can be packed with a meal that they will enjoy and that will help them be more productive in school. They’ll feel more involved, and better energized.
If the school sells food, have a look at the menu and see what the healthy options are. If there are healthy snack options, your child can keep their energy up and do better in school, and have more fun while they’re at it.
- Help with homework
Of the things that can help your child get the most out of school, understanding the academic material is probably one of the most important. Children who feel capable in the classroom tend to be more engaged with the classes, and will enjoy themselves more because of it.
Being involved with the homework process in some way can be a good way. Don’t necessarily be hanging over their shoulder, but simply ensuring that they are doing homework in an appropriate space can go a long way.
If there’s a TV on, or if they are in a room with a lot of distractions, they may engage less with the material. Make sure they have a quiet space, and that they have enough time to complete their work thoroughly.
- Help them feel more comfortable
Kids, especially older kids, can have a lot of expectations and anxieties about what their school year should look like. Worries about making friends and new relationships, as well as academic pressures, can potentially put a lot of stress on kids.
Having conversations before school can help them manage their expectations, and you can help them to feel more comfortable going into the new year.
Check to see if they have any questions, or are unsure about anything.
Use your experience to reassure them that everything is going to turn out okay. Let them know that they have many people available to help them, like their family and teachers.
- Connect them with their friends
A great way to make your child feel more comfortable is to make sure that they can find a familiar face. Call some of the parents of your child’s friends and see if they have classes together, so that they’ll feel reassured that they have buddy in class.
You could also see about getting them together before school starts, so that they feel like they have strong relationships going into the new academic year.
Having a strong social network in their classes will have them feeling more confident and happy, which will make school a more fulfilling experience.
- Tour the school and meet the teacher
The biggest anxieties about going back to school are often centred on the unfamiliar environment and people.
The stress of not knowing where to go on the first day can be a source of nervousness leading up to the school year, so giving children the opportunity to walk around the school and familiarise themselves with it can go a long way. Another major source of stress is whether or not they will like their teacher.
So if you get the chance, introduce them to their teacher early, so that their fears can be put to rest and the teacher will seem familiar on the first day.
- Find a balance between preparation and relaxation
While it’s certainly very important to be prepared on the first day, it’s also important not to transform the last few days of summer into a boot camp.
Try to find time to let them relax and enjoy their days of freedom. Having a fun end to the summer can help them feel more calm and happy going into the often-stressful first days of school.
Ease them into the routine, with the operative word being “ease”. They should feel prepared for school, but not suffocated by various tasks and obligations.
- Be available for them
This seems obvious, but it’s never more important than when your child is entering a new environment and requires reassurance. In an unfamiliar situation, their family will be their bedrock.
Little things that show your support, like a note in their lunchbox, can help them to feel loved and supported. In addition, being home and spending time with them for at least some period every day is an important part of maintaining a strong relationship and making sure that they feel supported.
It’s often easy to forget how difficult going to school can be for children as an adult because most of the fears they have may seem trivial given your own experience of the world.
But it is often the case that your child’s head will be bombarded with fears and worries that you don’t even realise, especially if they’re starting school for the first time, or making the giant leap to secondary school. These tips will help your child feel more comfortable in what will be a massive transformation in their life, so be open to applying them.