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Five Tips to Help Your Family Transition Smoothly into the New School Year

Back-to-school means different things to different people. For some, it’s an exciting time of picking out new clothes and school supplies. For others, it can be a time of disappointment because it means the end of summer and the start of a busier schedule with homework, tests, and school activities. No matter your age, this change in routine is always an adjustment. Fortunately, transitioning to the start of a new school year doesn’t have to weigh down the end of summer break. By initiating a few routines slowly and early, your whole family can feel prepared for fall. Here are five tips to help your family feel energized for the new school year.

  1. Prepare for coming and going. The beginning of the school year can bring new weekday routines, with more preparation in the morning and more clean up at the end of the day. Ease your child into being an active part of getting ready for an outing and use this same logic when your family arrives home. When school starts, there will be backpacks, lunch boxes, and other supplies that will need to be prepared in the morning and then put away in the evening. Encourage your child to pack and unpack their things on their own.
  2. Pay attention to bedtime. You want your child’s school year to start out right, and one easy way to do this is to make adjustments to their bedtime routine a few weeks before school begins. If you have three or more weeks until school starts, begin shifting your child’s bedtime up by 15 minutes at a time every few days. If you have less than three weeks, then move up bedtime by 30 minutes at a time. Also give thought to the ways your child falls asleep. Try to limit screen time before bed. Perhaps having story time or sharing the best parts of your day are great ways to wind down. 
  1. Mimic their social setting. As your child nears the start of school, try to reintroduce them to the kind of social setting they’ll experience. Look for activities that include a little more structure or participation to help your child get used to navigating interactions again. Any situation that promotes communication between your child and others will help prepare them for going back to school.
  1. Talk about changes. It can be comforting to name challenges we’re facing and talk about them. Sharing your own experience can help your child feel comfortable about opening up. For example, simply saying “I notice that I get extra tired when things change, and I feel a little nervous.” This allows your child to know that what they’re feeling is okay, and it gives them space to share how they feel. 
  1. Get excited. You may need to play cheerleader. Although your child may be nervous about the start of the new school year, you can remind your child of all the fun to be had. Make a game out of imagining what new friends they will make or what field trips they will take. Talk about the special things they will get to do at school that they can’t do at home.

Transitioning from summer to school is a process for parents too. The best gift you can give your child and yourself is a transition plan that’s easy to incorporate once the school year begins. Introducing habits several weeks before school starts will make the transition smoother. If you find that you or your child is really struggling with the back-to-school transition, St. Luke’s Penn Foundation can help.