Preparing preschool kids for a return to school routine is a hard nut to crack for almost every parent. But when we know some useful tips and tricks to prepare our kids to go back to school, it becomes easy to tackle.
Mummies and Daddies, may we have your attention?
Before sharing some must-read return to school tips, we want to remind you of something. Being a parent is the most wonderful life experience. It’s important to take time for you and your kids to enjoy the special moments, like going back to school.
Now flip through this article and by reading it, you would be able to handle the most difficult situation of the year- Return to School.
Must-reads Back to School Tips for Parents:
1. Try to manage your own anxiety
Being parents of a toddler or preschool kid is always hard and full of anxiety. Thousands of parents have been reported to be anxious at the end of vacations. They are apprehensive about how to manage back to school routine of their kids.
Don’t worry, we are at your service with tips and tricks to handle your anxiety by planning back to school.
Keep in mind, if you plan everything, there is no need to worry. Keep reading.
2. Handle back to school anxiety in a pandemic
We are not living in ordinary times. Adding to the usual stress of going back to school, we can’t forget we are in a pandemic. Although schools are not a major cause for COVID-19 spreading events, some parents are a little bit apprehensive about going back to school.
And their kids may be also stressed about the COVID-19 protocols that are still in place. There are many rules to be followed. Everything is so new and overwhelming to them.
One of the main questions is about the masks as in many countries and states it is not mandatory for children. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics, like many other institutions worldwide, is recommending that everyone older than age 2 should wear a mask.
And you know what? For most kids, wearing masks is not a big deal if their parents wear them naturally. Some children even forget they are wearing a mask. Model good practices for your kids, wearing a mask, keeping good hand hygiene, and covering coughs and sneezes.
It may be hard for young kids to adjust. They have more difficulties expressing complex feelings and can get easily frustrated. What to do? Encourage them to talk. Talking is ok; yielding, hitting, or kicking is not. Let them know it is ok to feel scared, sad or even mad when things don’t go like we wanted to and that they can be helped when they tell an adult how they are feeling.
3. Try a daytime timetable
The biggest issue is to take your children and especially preschool kids, out of vacation mode. To get them back into a fixed routine, try a daytime timetable two weeks before starting school.
It’ll naturally help the kids to adopt a new back-to-school routine.
We can try to fix a time for every meal, going outside or playtime. A set daytime routine helps in teaching discipline to kids.
4. Decide on the favorite snacks of your child for school lunch boxes
A week before school is going to restart, try some family cooking activity. And through this fun-filled family cooking activity, we can decide on the favorite snacks of kids for school lunch boxes.
Announce sending your kids with a surprise lunchbox every day when they are returning to school. It’ll artlessly excite the kids for going back to school.
5. Buy new stationery and a backpack
Buy new stationery and a backpack to celebrate kids going back to school. Toddlers love to have new stationery.
The best way is to take the kids to a store to shop for new pencils, colors, learning games, and other products. But you can also surf online with kids to buy the best stationery deals for return to school. There are plenty of good learning games for kids to buy in the market.
It excites children of all ages and they are happy to go to school with all the new stuff.
Thinking about how to choose a backpack for school?
We have the answer. Try to choose bags of lightweight and soft materials. For preschool kids, the size of bags must be an exact fit.
Try to choose a backpack by following this simple checklist:
- It must have two wide straps;
- Not more than 16 inches in length for toddlers and preschoolers;
- Soft material bags with chest strap and padded back.
A trolley may seem easiest to carry, but be careful choosing as some wheels turn the backpacks too heavy for small children.
6. Show your excitement for back to school routine
Parents’ moods directly influence preschoolers. If we, parents, show anxiety over the matter, they will be anxious too. So make sure you are excited about kids going back to school.
To show enthusiasm we can plan different activities including playing schools together. Pretend play is more helpful than you think! You can pretend their toys are classmates, check them into class and start a lesson. Reading stories and coloring books are two other activities the little ones will certainly enjoy, and that can set the mood for returning to school.
7. Watch learning-based Cartoon shows and play games
Another way to know our kids’ perspective of different things is to watch cartoon shows or play games with them. It helps in creating a friendly bond between parent and child. We get to know what our kids think about the cartoon characters, what are their aspirations. This way we can guide them in a friendly and effective way and they start trusting on the parents more.
8. Set screen time limits
Cartoons and games can teach a lot, but only in the right amount of time. One of the biggest troubles with toddlers and preschool kids is they are addicted to their gadgets. Which is not at all a healthy lifestyle for them. So if your kid is also spending most of his/her time on screen, it’ll surely cause serious trouble to keep them away from their smartphones, tablets, and other gaming gadgets. Limit their screen time before the end of vacations so they get used to this new routine of staying away from screens.
There are some apps out there that can help. KidsBeeTV, for instance, has a daily time limiter that parents can use to define how much time their child can spend watching videos and playing games.
It could also be useful for you as a parent to check these great online safety tips for kids.
9. Plan next day’s chores a night before
Another concern is managing the day while going to school. To hold our day, we can plan the next day’s chores the night before.
If we give ourselves and the kids a basic framework for the day, we’ll be much more likely to organize our days with effective work. It’ll help the kids in managing their school homework and other things when they are back to school.
10. Get to sleep on time
Playing games or watching cartoons till late at night is another common problem with the kids. If kids are going late to bed, consequently they’ll get up late in the morning. During back-to-school days, they wake up crying or sobbing and cause tension for all parents.
The solution is to get to sleep on time. Make sure you and your kids are taking proper sleeping hours.
11. Start the day early in the morning
Richard Whately warned about “losing an hour in the morning, and hunting all day for it.”
It’s a great reminder for everyone. Starting the day early in the morning helps in back to school routine. Usually, during vacations, parents and kids try to sleep till mid-day. Restarting school, they have to get up early in the morning and it causes a wave of frustration and tension.
The best way to avoid such a situation is to start a day early in the morning.
12. Choose comfortable clothes for school
We must be careful while choosing clothes for preschool kids. Never rush upon fancy and uncomfortable clothes except on special occasions. During vacations, kids have been wearing simple tee shirts and shorts. And wearing uneasy clothes for school can make them more agitated. Try to choose a light and breathable fabric.
Take time to follow these tips and prepare kids for their learning classes at school.
But one thing to keep in mind: to raise healthy children, we need to be healthy parents. With all the demands on our lives, it is not easy. If you are feeling you have no time to yourself, know you are not alone. Many parents are facing that problem, but fortunately, there are great self-care strategies for parents that can make a change in your life. Glad to help you!
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