We can’t believe it’s already that time again.  Back to school! For some kids this time is exciting and fun and for others it’s scary and anxiety inducing. (Same for parents.) We wanted to offer just a few quick tips on how to make the back to school routine a smooth transition.

1. Use Sunday evenings to plan school lunches for the week and involved your kids.  This way you won’t feel frantic each morning trying to throw something healthy in the lunch box and your kids will feel empowered knowing they had a say in what they’re eating.

2. Lay out your school clothes.  Like the lunches, add laying school clothes out as a part of your kids bedtime routine. It will help ease the chaos of the mornings plus allow your child some freedom in choosing what he or she wears to school.

3. Shift some things around in your schedule to make time for helping with homework.  Odds are your child will feel less stressed about their workload if they know mom or dad are willing to help with their work each evening.

4. Make your weekends fun.  Now that the kids are gone most of the day, take the weekends to enjoy family trips to the park, walks around the neighborhood, or a milk shake at the local diner.

5.  Remember that home time is home time.  School can be very stressful for kids, so make sure they know that home is a safe and comfortable place. When they’re home they should be playing and relaxing.  Try not to get too uptight about school grades and extra curricular actives.  Of course we want our children to succeed and have passions outside of playing, but pushing too many things on them and over scheduling often times makes children want to shut down.  Be understanding of the demands already placed on them.

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