Back To School - Helping Your Kid Adjust

School-age children have had a tempting taste of freedom over the summer and are now returning to the more structured but familiar classroom environment, while new Kindergartners are just dipping into a brand new world. Both groups will need some time to adjust and find their groove.

You, the parents, can help enormously. 

Routines Matter

Learning, socializing, following rules and sitting still for a large portion of the day — these are all aspects of school that require focus, organization, and fuel. Parenting experts frequently talk about the importance of routines, but preschool children and those on school holidays can certainly thrive without them. When school starts and a child is compelled to live in accordance with a predetermined schedule, routines really do matter.

Sleep

Is your elementary-aged child getting enough sleep? The National Sleep Foundations says that school children aged between five and 10 need 10 to 11 hours sleep a night. They might seem fine if they get less at first, but if children don't get a sufficient amount of sleep their attitude and performance will sink. Is your kid a night owl by nature, and are they really going to bed too late?

Gradually lowering the kid's bedtime will be easier on the both of you than trying to bring the time forward an hour or more all at once. 

Food For Thought

Have you ever tried to carry out a complex task on an empty stomach, or after a few weeks of eating mainly junk foods? You will know that body and mind both suffer when you don't eat as well as you should. For school-aged children, who are both growing and learning constantly, a healthy and balanced diet should always be a priority. 

Omega 3 fatty acids are especially associated with brain power. A English study showed that children between the ages of six and 12 who were given a drink that contained omega 3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamins A, B6, B12 and C performed better than a control group who didn't have this benefit. Scores on verbal intelligence, learning and memory tests were significantly better after six months and a year. 

School Isn't The Only Place For Learning

Now that the school year has started, you have probably had lots of conversations with your child(ren) about how school isn't just for learning — it's also for friendship, sport and fun. The reserve is also true. School isn't the only place for learning, and sometimes the obligations and rigidity that come with school actually kill a child's curiosity and love of learning. 

At home, parents can foster their children's love of learning and help them with skills that schools aren't generally very good at teaching. Moral and religious education is area that will fall to parents, but organizational skills are also extremely important. Your child's success at school will eventually depend on those organizational skills to a very large extent. 

Organization

Young elementary-aged children suddenly have a lot to organize. Instead of packing their bag for them and taking all the responsibility for making sure your child's homework has been completed, why not use the child's school obligations as a chance to teach them how to get organized?

Launch and landing pads are one great idea that makes life much easier. Set up an area near your front door where all the child's school stuff "lives". It can include shoes and coats, but also a cubby with their backpack, school books, and completed homework. You can put your child's packed lunch here right before school — but you can also get in the habit of preparing this lunch together and then asking your child to place in in their bag themselves. 

This way, you'll never have to run around looking for missing items before your child catches the school bus. The launch pad can also include a chart with school responsibilities, so you and your child can both check that homework and other obligations have been done.

Start A Read-Aloud Tradition

Your child may be reading many great books at school, or they may not. Starting a family read-aloud tradition will help in either case. In young elementary kids, it improves reading skills and vocabulary. In older kids, being exposed to great literature constantly will improve performance and analytical thinking skills — if you also discuss the books you read in detail. 

You can tie the tradition in to those family dinners we discussed earlier, or make it part of the bedtime routine. 

Don't Forget Free Play

The beginning of the school year signifies the start of a long list of constant, serious obligations. Many kids also engage in many extracurricular activities. Don't underestimate the power of free play, though. Kids who have time to play with friends and siblings in an unstructured way have a fantastic way to release stress, build creativity, and continue to enjoy their childhood.