Is the routine of going back to school just around the corner?

Children can experience a whole range of emotions at the thought of returning to school, such as anxiety, dread, eagerness, excitement, and more. It’s not uncommon for children to feel a general uneasiness or worry about going to school. Exams, problems with teachers and peers, or fears of not fitting in can play a factor in exacerbating your child’s anxieties.

If you feel your child needs a little bit more relief or guidance, many professional services provide counselling for children to help them manage how they feel.

Let’s take a look at some things you can do to help prep your children up for school again.

Watch for stress signals your child may give off

What’s more stressful than being a parent? Not a whole lot, we’d imagine. After all, juggling work and family is no easy feat. However, caught up in their troubles, parents may also miss out on stress signals that their child may exhibit.

Typical signs of a stressed child include:

• Restlessness or flighty behaviour
• In either extreme of clingy and avoidant
• Not participative with activities; tries to negotiate
• Visibly expresses disgust in returning to school
• Retreats to baby language or increased attachment (younger children)

If your children’s behaviours continue to exhibit the above signs, don’t ignore or dismiss that behaviour. Work together and talk to a counsellor or mental health professional to bring them back on track.

Encourage openness and transparency

Kids and teens can feel a general state of uneasiness the days leading up to school. This state of worry may stem from a multitude of factors, like fear of bullying or exam anxieties.

It’s productive to have a relationship built on openness and trust with your child, especially once they’re at pivotal stages of growth. Show that you have an interest in your child’s life and be an active participant in their growth and well-being. Don’t dismiss, condescend, or express anger on your child during these conversations, but instead practice patience and empathy to get them talking.

Reward effort instead of outcome

Great parents are those that give positive reinforcement when their child shows their effort, regardless of whether the outcome is positive or negative. When things get difficult for your child, and yet they press on, then those are praiseworthy actions.

Some tips.

• Praise only when the action is deemed praiseworthy; don’t overuse it or else they’ll feel they don’t have to exert more effort.
• Try to practice descriptive praise for your words to sound more genuine.
• Don’t withhold praise and starve your child from forms of parental affection either. Strike a balance for the benefit of your child’s development.
• Praise more than you criticise. A 5:1 ratio usually works for the benefit of your child. This’ll encourage them to work better without going overboard.

Foster a good sleep schedule

Children’s sleep cycles typically loosen up during summer break or the holidays – so it’s imperative to realign it for school time. Instead of ignoring their sleep schedule, try to get them to sleep earlier. Children ages 5-13 need 8-10 hours of sleep; and children ages 14-17 need 8-10 hours of sleep.

Whenever possible, try to keep the sleep schedule of your child as consistent as possible. That way, when school time is just around the corner, they’ll have no problems adjusting to a reasonable sleeping time and make themselves vulnerable with a bad sleep schedule.

How to foster quality sleeping habits for your child? Keep the room dark and cool. Eliminate as much noise as possible. And finally, designate their bed as a place meant only for sleeping. This will rewire their minds and make them associate time spent in bed with sleep time.

Set up a morning routine

Creating a structure right before school time can help your child get in the swing of things much faster once school commences. Right as they wake up, properly establish expectations and duties that’ll get them ready for school time.

These responsibilities can be classified in three ways:

• What needs to be done when they wake up
• What you (as a parent) will help them out with (making breakfast)
• Things they should do by themselves

Establish this as early as two weeks before school time. While all this is happening, understand that you as a parent are also subject to this transition. Make time for yourselves too – and allow some minute changes in your schedule to make up for this routine shift.