Back to School Tips For Parents

Here are some back to school tips for parents preparing their little ones:

1. If you are planning to shop for children, perhaps hit the Internet and look online for deals before you head out to the brick and motar stores. Check out sites like RetailMeNot for coupons, etc. For example you can save 30% off Old Navy and also when shopping online, choose retailers that offer such deals as free shipping, promo codes and discounts. (Note: Your kids do not need 10 outfits, just buy what you need. Figure out what they’ve outgrown, then determine what they need to fill in those gaps.)

2. Look for student discount – Some stores do offer discounts exclusively to students. Get a refurbished product – Bestbuy and Futureshop both sell refurbish laptops, sometimes one could save up to $100+ dollars for refurbished electronics.

3. Organize your home, especially where children spend their time mostly, a chaotic looking house won’t give peace to anybody including your children and their learning process might get affected negatively. Involve them in organizing their rooms, closets, toys, etc.

4. Go through the supplies you have left over from last year, and if there is enough perhaps even wait till first day of school when the supply list arrives and purchase accordingly.

5. If there is an open house at school, take your kids for a tour, get your children familiarized with the school again, to see their teachers and perhaps meet some new students during open house. If this is their first time to school, get them to meet their teacher, learn where their classroom will be and have your children play at the playground.

6. If your child will be taking the school bus, show them where the stop will be, walk with them to the bus stop and teach them the basics of looking for cars before crossing the road.

7. Practice your routine – A week or two before school starts, re-establish the bedtime and mealtime routines, and get into habit of waking up early with the kids. Try to send your children to bed early, they may have gotten out of routine due to the summer holidays. Starting to re-establish the habit/routine before school starts will eliminate some of the anxiety of back to school. Talk with them about how they feel about going back to school. Address any concerns and monitor from the beginning of school year.

8. Help your kids to get their backpack ready, make it a fun activity for them, let them have input on what type of lunch bags and healthy snacks they may like to take to school and what types/colour of stationary to take to school. Telling them to organize their bags when they arrive at home or after dinner will make it habitual for the next day. Planning lunches weekly is a great idea…

9. Designate a good spot for your children to do their homework , a designated spot will help children to be encouraged to study when they come home, having them close by the kitchen would help you monitor, supervise and help them with their homework.

10. Make your lunches a night before, so that you won’t be rushing through the breakfast to make the lunches for your little ones. When one is rushed, this is the time we get lazy and just substitute unhealthy food choices for children. It is best to be organized and even have your children help you to make their lunches for school the night before. Involving children will give them a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.

Have a wonderful school year with lots of good memories and enjoy the last weeks of summer to the last drop!

Author: Nilay Ertemur