Getting off to a good start can make life less stressful for both parents and children and can help set the stage for a more successful school year. Here are some suggestions for parents to help ease the transition back to school.
Help your child adjust to a new sleep schedule. During the summer many kids prefer to sleep in and stay up late at night. When school starts kids have to adjust their sleep schedule. This transition can make the start of school more difficult if it’s done suddenly, leading to morning battles and difficulties concentrating at school. Because it takes about three weeks for the body to adjust to a new sleep schedule, encourage your child to begin his or her bedtime well before school starts. You might suggest that they set their alarm 15 minutes earlier every day until school begins.
Work with your child to set up an environment to promote good homework habits. Make sure that s/he has a place to record assignments that s/he will have access to at home. Designate a homework area equipped with adequate light and supplies. Try to minimize distractions (e.g. no TV, video games, loud music …). Work on designing a regular schedule for homework, even if it varies by day of the week due to extracurricular activities.
Discuss your expectations in terms of study hours, screen time, TV, cell phones, bedtime, etc. For those issues you deem negotiable, involve your child in setting expectations together. The clearer the ground rules and the more involved your child is in setting them, the more likely he or she will abide by them.
Try to establish a regular habit of conversations about their school day, including their homework and projects and their teachers' expectations. The first few weeks are the best time to create some habits that can build a foundation for the rest of the year. Specific questions usually work best. Rather than asking open ended questions like, “How was school today?”, try more specific ones like, “Who did you sit with at lunch?”, “What were the best and worse things that happened today?” or “Who’s your favorite teacher this week and why?”
Get them thinking about the opportunities they will have for new friendships and how they might want to handle themselves as they meet new kids. Help them to be open to expanding their circle of friends.
Ask your child about his or her goals for the new school year. For example, do they want to try out for a new sport, get involved in a new extracurricular activity, make new friends, improve their grades in math? Help them think about what they can do (and how you can help) to achieve rejuvenated goals.
