The transition back to school

As families begin to transition back to school a lot of hubbub starts to take over. After the comparatively schedule-free life of summer, there are many things to think about. What supplies to buy, which clothes still fit, which don’t (how did your child grow so fast in such a short time?), and how to adjust your work schedule for drop-off and pick-up times.

What’s top on the minds of the kids? The younger they are, or if they are moving to a new school environment, it’s bound to be anxiety and worry (that includes middle school and high schoolers). They won’t recognize it as such, whereas astute parents will.

Stomach aches, not wanting to leave home for a playdate, tempers flaring for little reason, and lethargy are just a few indications that something is upsetting their psyche. Understanding the origin of these symptoms will help mom and dad (or a caregiver) be understanding and adaptable.

In the Sisters School District, every elementary student and teacher will have the experience of starting the year off in a brand-new building. A visit to the building before the first day of school will do much to ease the tension that is bound to come. On August 28, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., parents and kids are invited to the school where the students will gather in their classrooms to get acquainted with their teacher and view their new “digs.” It is truly a beautiful learning environment.

Those who don’t have elementary students, watch for opportunities to visit the building, hopefully in a tour, and see what your tax dollars have purchased. Notice how classrooms and assembly areas have changed since you were in school and picture the ease of students and teachers learning in those spaces.

Many homes will be adjusting their child’s screen time to a back-to-school schedule. Have you discussed with your kids about their responsibility for planning time to complete homework and assignments? What about extracurricular activities? What will they, and you, take on? All of these require time; like it or not there are only so many hours in a day. And, for kids adjusting to the regimen employed in their classroom, extra sleep will be needed.

Discussions of this kind usually put parents in the position of the autocratic taskmaster, setting and enforcing the schedule. The results are often a lot of push and shove by the kids to extend the time, or to not observe the schedule. How much better when, from the beginning, they are included in the planning and have a part in setting the schedule and taking ownership of their screen time. This does not mean turning over all of the decision-making to them. It is a joint process that is adjusted and maintained with much parental supervision. Even your youngest students will benefit from this democratic way of setting limits for themselves.

After all, not all teaching should be left to their teachers.

The other part of this discussion is how well you model your own screen time. Is the TV on during dinner, interrupting quality, valuable conversation time? Do you stay glued to the tube (or your phone) long after a necessary bedtime? A little monitoring of ourselves is always a good idea as, we all know, examples speak louder than words.

Remember, your kids want you to be in charge. Don’t disappoint them. Even your teens want you to take charge. They just don’t know that they do.

Listen and be thoughtful. Understand your children and teens may be helpless in fighting the draw of the screen without your patience and guidance. However, you may need to make a few, small concessions, always with the understanding that they also need to agree to something — less time watching tomorrow, no TV on the weekend, etc. Our entire world needs to learn the value of negotiating. Perhaps this is not a bad platform to learn how to do that.