Nothing brings down the warm weather mood faster than seeing back-to-school ads start to pop up everywhere. For kids, it means summer break –and all its associated freedoms – are drawing to a close. It’s time to start dreading homework loads and catastrophizing about whether or not your friends like you. For parents, ’tis the season of Target runs and meet-the-teachers.
Whether your kid is entering first grade or their senior year of high school, the start of the school year can be daunting. We’ve prepared a short list of psychologically-backed tips to help parents and kids start the academic year on the right foot.
Establish Clear Routines and Expectations in Advance
The first week of school is hectic enough without throwing new responsibilities and roles onto kids. It’s always a good idea for parents and children to sit down and mutually outline their expectations for the school year in advance.
Parents: Do you want your child to start making their own school lunch this year? If so, give them notice and carve out time to teach them about healthy eating and easy meal prep.
Students: Do you want designated “quiet time” to focus on studying? Talk with household members about when you want to be undisturbed, and find out the most convenient way to make this part of your weeknight routine.
School can be draining for all members of a family, but you can reduce friction and stress by clearly establishing expectations and desires long before school starts. Building a system of communication and accountability is a great way to strengthen routines.
Make Shopping Fun
A well-stocked backpack makes for a well-prepared student. While picking out pens might not be your ideal way to spend a sunny day, turning back-to-school shopping into a fun activity with your family can be a great way to get supplies and reduce anxiety surrounding classes. You may consider having a “supply scavenger hunt” with a younger kid, or promising your older teen coffee and a sweet treat after the shopping trip. Additionally, instead of picking the standard yellow sticky notes and wooden ruler, give kids a chance to express their own aesthetic style. A student will feel more motivated to put papers into a folder if they like its design, and they’ll be more excited to do a reading assignment if they’re annotating with their favorite color highlighter. Default can be boring, and grade school doesn’t last forever. Get those graphic notebooks! Get that dinosaur washi tape!
Make a Study Space
Regardless of whether your kid is 5 or 18, they’ll probably be doing some school assignments at home. Setting up a designated space for schoolwork is one of the best ways to stay on-task. Our brain associates places with the tasks we most commonly perform there, and uses these patterns to slip into the appropriate headspace. That’s why you might feel more sleepy when you get into bed, or more focused while at the library. Since we commonly associate home with rest and relaxation, it’s a good idea to carve out a space where you can kick the brain into “work mode.” Snag a bean bag chair and build a young kid a “reading corner” in their room. Help an older teen clear distractions off their desk so they can make it their study zone.
Start a checklist and try to cross these three items off. They’re simple tasks that can be completed before the school year starts, and they’ll put both students and their families in an excellent position to transition out of vacation mode.
