Garden and Hearth> Family & Kids>Parenting

7 Ways to Survive the Start of the School Year

By Katie Basson

It happens every year.  Just when you are settled in to the lazy days of summer, you are startled to find Back to School catalogs in your mailbox and bikinis going on sale in favor of turtlenecks.  Your local store has devoted an entire aisle to pencils, notebooks, and lunch bags.  Soon there will be no more long days at the beach, late nights watching movies with popcorn, or mornings free of alarm clock jitters.  It’s enough to make you dread September, but it doesn’t need to be that way.  With a slight change in attitude and a plan in place, September can be one of the best months of the year.

1. Practice

Don’t wait until Labor Day to get ready for the changeover to the school year.  In the last two weeks of August, begin to pull back bedtime to school year times—around 8:30 to 9:00pm for elementary school kids.

2. Lower Your Expectations

Any major transition is always a disruption of the status quo. Routines change and priorities shift. Don’t expect that you’ll handle it perfectly. Allow yourself some extra leeway when it comes to chores and tasks. Don’t schedule appointments during the month surrounding the start of the school year. Just that one extra dentist visit could put you over the edge.

3.Carve Out Extra Time

Knowing that you’ll be a bit more frazzled at this time of year, don’t sign up for your usual extra-curricular activities and keep your family commitments to a minimum. Clear the decks of the added responsibilities so that you can get through the transition with less stress.

4. Motivate Your Kids

Preparing for school isn’t a job only for parents.  The students themselves have things they must do in order to get ready.  Make it something for your kids to look forward to.  Shopping for back to school clothes and supplies shouldn’t be a chore.  Make it fun!  And let them know that the first week of school will be devoted to getting them settled and having fun as a family.  Plan pizza nights and ice cream socials.  Schedule extra game nights and buy a new puzzle.  Going back to school can be as much fun as Halloween.  Make it a family holiday!

5. Ask for Help

In order to get everything ready for back to school, you may need to enlist the help of a babysitter while you take your older child shopping for clothes. You may need to ask grandparents to be in charge of selecting new pens and pencils for your kids.  You might want to swap nights to prepare dinner with a neighbor so that you can each have some time to focus on getting ready for the new year.  Acknowledge that change can be difficult—ask for help.

6. Set the Tone

Children will look to you to set the tone for the year. If you approach September with the kind of dread usually associated with prison terms, you can be sure your kids aren’t going to be too happy about going to school. On the other hand, if you show interest and excitement in what lies ahead, then your child will be eager to get started. 

7. Focus

The beginning of a new school year is an important time for a child. The whole family should be interested and involved in the process.  Fathers should ask questions about what might be new and exciting about Third Grade, mothers should share stories from when they were in elementary school, and grandparents should come over for a special dinner to celebrate the start of the new year. Don’t gloss over the importance of this change in your child’s life.  Celebrate it!  Focus on it, and start making memories.

The beginning of a new school year can be an exciting time for a family.  It is a time to start fresh with new teachers and classmates, perhaps even a new school.  Taking the time to plan for the best possible beginning to the year shows your child how much you care.  And as with all things related to parenting, the more effort you put into it, the more you and your child will reap the rewards.

Katie Basson is a parent, teacher, and creator of The BITs Kit Better Behavior Kit for Kids™.  Katie teaches seminars on behavior modification techniques, and coaches parents through challenging behavioral and educational issues.  She is on the Board of Directors of the YWCA and is an educational advisor to Zoesis, Inc., a children’s software company.  Katie’s expert advice has been sought for articles in The Boston Globe and Parents Magazine.  Sign up for her weekly Parenting Solutions newsletter at www.bitskit.com.