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back to school
The beginning of a new school year brings wide grins to some parent’s faces and soft tears to others. Some of us are truly sad thinking about not having our children constantly underfoot, whereas others of us want summer vacation shortened to a week!
No matter how we feel about summer vacation, thinking about transitioning back to the school year is filled with eyebrow-raising anxiety for many children and parents. Children may be afraid of any number of things. Will they be able to find their classroom? Will their teacher be nice? Will the other kids like them? Parents also are scared. What if my child gets bullied or doesn’t make friends? What if he gets bad grades or is offered drugs at school?
There are certain things you can do to lower anxiety and help make this transition from the “lazy” days of summer to the beginning of the school year smoother for both you and your child. Remember that just asking yourself this question is a beautiful start.
Top 8 Summer To School Transition Tips
- Be aware of signs of anxiety. Even if your child isn’t communicating any worries about the school year, kids of all ages usually have some. You may see this anxiety expressed sideways, sometimes veiled as defiance or regression, but when you see it, be patient and try to support your child through this transition time. Acknowledge his less than happy feelings, but still expect appropriate behavior.
- Help your child understand and cope with his fears. Don’t dismiss his worries as silly, as his feelings are real and valid for him. Communicate to him your understanding of what he is worried about and then calmly talk about it with him. You can help him by role-playing how to deal with his fears, teaching him coping skills, and reading age-appropriate books about children facing their school related worries. This supportive process will help decrease his anxiety and give him tools to use when future anxieties arise.
- Be aware of your own anxiety. Be mindful of not passing your own school-time anxieties on to your child. He will have his hands full trying to cope with his own concerns and shouldn’t have the added weight of yours.
- Resume household routines. Begin now to ease your child into the more structured schedule needed for the school year by reestablishing bedtime and morning routines and implementing more organization into his day.
- Set school year boundaries. Introduce or reestablish screen time and other limits and clearly communicate them to your child along with all other expectations, rules and consequences that you have for the school year.
- Schedule special one-on-one time together. Set aside 15-30 minutes every day for special individual time with each of your children. Read with them, take a walk, do a puzzle or any other activity that actively engages them. This communicates to them that you truly care which will help add to their confidence as they face their fears.
- Familiarize your child with the school. Shortly before school begins see if visiting the school and meeting teachers are options, especially for children attending a new school. If not, play on the playground, walk around the building or draw a map of the school to help your child become more familiar and comfortable with the new environment.
- Socialize with future classmates. Invite some future classmates to meet your child for a social or athletic activity and get to know the kids and their parents.
