The new school year will begin in just over a week in much of our country. It seems that it was yesterday when our children began summer vacations, but it has been more than two months and we have to return to the routine.
Some children are excited to return to school and meet their classmates and teachers. But for others, the return is a great effort and begin to show their reluctance. If this is the case with your child, we share some guidelines that could help you face, in the best way possible, the return to the classroom.
Start adapting schedules
One of the things that costs the most when we return to the routine is adjust the schedules again. In most cases, children come to spend a relaxed summer, where they have gone to bed and have woken up without watches.
Starting from one day to another with strict schedules and alarm clocks, could affect them, so experts recommend that the adaptation be gradual. They propose to accommodate a "sleep plan", and carry it out days before the start, so that the children are gradually adapting and without trauma to the new situation.
Remember that the Spanish Association of Pediatrics recommends that children between three and five years sleep between 10-12 hours a day, and children between six and 10 years, do so about 10 hours a day. Not sleeping the recommended time can affect your character and your school performance, hence the issue of sleep is the first thing we must monitor to begin the course on the right foot.
In Babies and moreBack to routine without stress: seven tips for a return to school more bearable Prepare the school material together
For children, especially for the little ones, one of the most exciting things at the beginning of school is brand new school supplies.
Therefore, involve him in what he will have to take to school during this course: go over the books he is going to use together, ask him for help to cover or label them, check together if you have bought all the material he will need ...
And if you still have a school purchase pending, encourage them to accompany you to the store, and if possible, choose an item to your liking (for example: backpack, case, folder, sneakers ...).
Positive attitude
Children are sponges that absorb everything, and parents are their greatest example. Therefore, if we try to instill in our children a positive attitude towards going back to school that we do not manifest with our return to work, they will immediately realize that we are deceiving them.
It is normal to feel nostalgic for the end of the holidays. Summer is a fun and relaxed stage that we share as a family, and it sure has made us feel great to everyone. But getting back to the routine doesn't have to be bad, and so we must pass it on to our children.
Let us see that they have an academic course full of possibilities ahead of them. A blank notebook to be filled with endless experiences and new learning. And what better way than to start doing it with energy and positivity.
Gather all your friends
If you ask any child what he likes most about school, he will almost certainly answer his friends. The games in the yard, the complicit peer moments, the anecdotes in class ... are part of the memories that are forever recorded in memory.
Therefore, if your child is especially apathetic with the return to school, try to surprise him organizing a snack with your best friends, days before returning. Getting together with your classmates will make you feel great, they will have a fun time, and surely they remember funny experiences and anecdotes from the past year that will help you face the start with the best of smiles.
In Babies and more Back to school: plan to rearrange children's sleep schedules in ten daysDon't stop the plans!
Summer especially likes everyone for the amount of plans we can make and leisure time to enjoy. Therefore, when the return to the routine is identified with the end of those funny moments, anxiety and apathy ensues.
But, as we have commented above, the return to the routine does not have to be synonymous with boredom, and even if you have to accept more or less fixed daily schedules and guidelines, it is important continue to maintain the illusion of family plans.
While the good weather continues, we can take advantage of the weekends to do all those things that we have left pending this summer: excursions, bike routes, cultural outings ... And as autumn falls over, we will give you new ideas to continue enjoying family leisure.
And all this without forgetting to recover our daily routines or traditions, such as the relaxing moment of the bath, reading a bedtime story or fun conversations during dinner.
If we do an empathy exercise with our children, we surely understand their feeling of sadness and reluctance at the idea of starting school again. But we hope that by implementing these tips, the return to the routine will be more bearable and positive.
