Preparing for back to school season

Routines might be more relaxed during the summer, but as the first day of school approaches, it can take time for parents and children to adjust to the school schedule. A Baylor College of Medicine child and adolescent psychiatrist provides tips for parents to help their child transition from summer break into the school year.

"Know what tends to make transitions difficult for your child and go from there," said Dr. Laurel Williams, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor. "If you have a child that can roll with the punches without needing a lot of prep, then you may not need to do things too overly regimented."

Sleep

Some children only need a few days to get back into the swing of the school schedule while others might need more time. If your child stays up and sleeps in later during the summer but usually goes to sleep at 9 p.m. during the school year, move their bedtime by 15 to 20 minutes every night until they get back to that 9 p.m. bedtime.

"The new sleep schedule shouldn't be sprung on kids, particularly if their sleep schedule has been very relaxed. Have a conversation about how the whole family has to get back into the swing of things before the school year starts," she said.

If there is pushback, Williams recommends working as a family to find a compromise by giving the child choices around how they want to arrange bedtime and the morning routine so they can feel ownership and control over their routine.

"If the child is upset or throws a tantrum, take a deep breath and revisit the conversation later, teaching them how to manage being angry, not how to be angry," she said.

As children move from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school, the time they arrive to school might change, which might alter their start times. Teenagers need even more sleep than latency aged children, so insuring they get 8 to 10 hours of sleep on average is ideal. Sleep deprivation can lead to depression, anxiety and academic problems.

Children should refrain from engaging with devices for 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime to not disrupt their sleep cycle. Explain the ground rules to them ahead of time and remind them of the transitions that will occur once they go back to school. Parents can turn on restrictions on their child's devices for down time if necessary.

Practice routine transitions

While children are out of school for the summer, they might avoid educational activities like reading and writing. If a child faces challenges with learning, start limiting their non-learning screen time to reintroduce educational practices, such as practicing reading 30 minutes a day.

Williams suggests doing practice runs before the first week of school, such as the walk to the bus stop or the route to walk home. If a child is nervous, coordinate with their friends' parents to arrive at the same time for drop-off so the children can walk into school together.

Calm nerves

Children might feel anxious ahead of the school year, so give them space and let them explain their nerves.

"Parents might minimize stress. If a child is anxious about whether their friends will be in their class, respond with 'that could be hard, but let's wait until it happens,' instead of glossing over their nerves by telling them everything will be fine," Williams said.

If they feel anxious about attending a new school, visit the school in advance for orientation to see the space if the option is available.

Validate your child's feelings and offer personal anecdotes such as "I sometimes felt anxious before school too." Providing context can be beneficial.

"Don't give into anxiety by allowing them to skip school or going to school late because it reinforces that there is something to be scared of and makes it harder to start doing the activity," Williams said. "Be prepared for some naughty words, stomping feet or death glares and make sure you can lean on your spouse, relative or friends when your child does that."

By Homa Warren

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