We hope you’ve had a great summer. It hasn’t been as hot as past Kansas summers (fingers crossed!), so hopefully you and your kids have been able to enjoy the outdoors and the swimming pool or whatever you like to do! Now it’s time for kids to go back to school. This is one of the biggest transitions in the year for families with kids of all ages, and it is important to keep in mind stress is higher around this time. To help with the back to school stress, our Real Life Counseling clinicians have compiled a list of ways we can handle the transition back to school successfully, with family relationships intact! Take in these helpful tips from our clinicians below:

• Practice for the first day of school. Have your child visualize what the classroom will be like on their first day, what they will bring/wear, and how they will interact with others. Imagine what will go well and also some hiccups which could occur and helpful ways to respond to those.
• Keep routines. Keeping a schedule, including morning and night routines, regular sleep and time for good and healthy meals, can facilitate success and reduce anxiety. It can also be super helpful to pick out clothes and pack backpacks and lunches the night before on school nights. Starting bedtime, bath time and other routines days or weeks before the first day of school is also smart.
• Work hard on transitions. There are many transitions during school days: getting ready and traveling to school, going from subject to subject, activity to activity, as well transitioning back home after school. Ensure there is a consistent schedule with brief but attainable transition times.
• Keep calm and get sleep. Calm morning routines set the emotional pace for the day. One of the most vital keys to this is good sleep hygiene for both parents and kids. Good sleep hygiene consists of regular bedtime routines free of distractions such as TV, tablets, etc. Consistent rest not only improves focus and concentration in the classroom for our children, it increases parents’ ability to withstand challenging and fast paced morning routines, attitudes and struggles to get children out of bed!
• Set expectations for electronics. Structuring the use of electronics will be important during this time when children are returning back to school. Parents and children will benefit from setting expectations for electronics use early and reinforcing those expectations often through the early weeks of the school year to create healthy habits that will be useful later in the year. Parents might want to use if/then strategies to discuss electronics, for example, “if your homework/chores/responsibilities are completed, then you may use electronics.”
• Stay clear and consistent with expectations throughout the school year. If success is a moving target, children can get frustrated and give up. Just like adults, if they know what’s expected of them, they will reach goals more consistently.
• Offer rewards for particular successes. Set up realistic, measurable and attainable expectations and goals for your child and tie successes directly to rewards. Children, just like adults, want to do a good job, and reaching a reward at the end is a great way to reinforce hard work and boost confidence.
• Give choices. Children like to make choices. Making choices improves problem-solving skills, and increases self-confidence.
• Stay in contact with teacher(s). Make sure your child’s teacher and you are on the same page with regard to your child’s growth and learning. The teacher likely has 20 or 30 more students to teach. Stay focused on your child and support the teacher in providing the best education he or she can.
• Facilitate peer relationships. Set up time to play and interact with peers who are in the same class to support solid connections with classmates.
• Don’t forget your couple relationship. Going back to school brings new routines and new responsibilities for parents. Don’t forget that you are also a couple with a connection that exists independently of the kids even if it doesn’t always feel that way. Maintaining an identity and intimate connection outside of parenting the children can strengthen you as an individual and your partnership. Calm yourself down when you feel yourself getting overwhelmed with all the to-dos and speak with respect and personal responsibility to your partner. If you work as a team, there are many benefits to your bond with your partner and your kids.

Hopefully these tips are helpful for starting the school year well. We wish you growth, success and strong relationships this year!

– The Real Life Counseling Team