In summer all bets are off. Parents let their kids stay up late, drink soda, eat junk food, and have more screen time than they do in the school year.
And while families see the first day of school coming at the end of August, that’s not enough to prepare them for the biggest transition of the year: back-to-school.
With the right plan in place, families can start making these adjustments in advance and save the whole family a lot of heartache.
A Pain Free Guide for a Fantastic Back to School
A step-by-step process to get back into the school routine can make your child happy and excited for the new school.
- Transitions are hard on kids. Routine and structure are important to a child’s sense of balance. The transition from freedom from responsibility to a rigid schedule is too big of an adjustment to leave until the night before school starts.
- Back-to-school is hard on parents, too. The shopping, planning, and new schedules are just as hard on parents. Delegating certain responsibilities to your kids will relieve stress and ease the transition for you.
- Teaches your child teamwork. Teamwork doesn’t just happen at school, work, or sports teams. This is a great opportunity to teach your child that a happy home takes the effort of the entire family.
- Teaching independence. Your child will learn good habits such as time management and collaboration. Learning to plan ahead and work well with others are skills that will give them a strong foundation for the new school year.
Our life skill this month is teamwork: stacking your efforts with others brings power that no one could reach alone.
To help you and your Growing Gorilla, we’ve created this Back-to-School checklist. These activities are designed with parent/child collaboration in mind.
For example, meal plan lunches and snacks with your child so that they can give their input. Take them grocery shopping and have them find items on the list.
When the back-to-school transition a collaborative effort with your child, it can make this a positive experience for the whole family.
Download our Back-to-School Checklist here.
