Destress for Kids_Back to School Season1Depending on their age, and other factors, thoughts of returning to school can be very stressful for your children. This is especially true for middle schoolers and high schoolers.

This month, my weekly articles are all about ending the summer with less stress. August still has summer going strong, but the kids returning to school often raises stress levels for the entire family.

Below are tips to help your children ease into the new school year.

Your stress level will be up as long as your child’s stress level is up. It’s the way we moms are wired!  Next week’s article will provide tips just for moms!

 

Your stress level will be up as long as your child’s stress level is up. Click To Tweet

 

Supplies

Make sure your child has everything he/she needs; everything on the school’s list (including sports or other activities).  There’s nothing worse than the fear of being called out in front of classmates.

 

Boundaries

Make sure you and your spouse are clear on the boundaries for your children. Then, communicate those boundaries, together if at all possible, to your child. They need to see that mom and dad are fully in alignment.

Boundaries include everything from eating a good breakfast, to getting homework done, to after school activities. Do you require your teenager to keep a certain grade point average to be involved in extracurricular activities?

Help your son/daughter establish good personal boundaries and how they will handle violations of their boundaries. For example, if other kids are mean or negative or if your child feels threatened. How should they respond and who should they tell? It’s great time to remind them that bullying is never accepted.

 

Talk

Communicate a lot as the first days of school are drawing close. Let them know that any anxiety they may feel is normal, but it is important for them to talk it out with you.

Share your heart with your child and above all, make sure they know they can share theirs with you; anytime about anything.

 

Proper Rest

Establish a good sleep routine as many days as possible before that first day of school. Proper rest is helpful everyone.

A good night’s sleep will also contribute to reducing high emotions.  Don’t forget children, depending on their age, need more sleep than adults.  Here is a link to an article at WebMD.

 

Routines

Don’t leave them wondering (which always creates anxiety).  Make sure your child knows what the routines will be.  This can include breakfast time window and food choices, aftercare or rides home and any other routines that provide stability.

 

[stextbox id=”custom” bwidth=”3″ color=”FAFEFF” bcolor=”8C6727″ bgcolor=”50C7C3″ bgcolorto=”50C7C3″]Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. ~ Proverbs 22:6 (MSG)[/stextbox]

 

Stress is real and it’s unhealthy. If you your child is overly anxious, you may want to talk with the school counselor.

 

What other tools can you share to help ease the
transition from summer to the new school year? 

 

Please SHARE below in the comments.

 

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Debbie Luxton

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