One of Parenting’s Biggest Challenges: Getting Kids Back to School

There are a lot of things that no one tells you about when you become a parent. You can buy baby bags online that are much sturdier and last a lot longer than the ones from your local Target. Sleepless nights are worth it, but they are also some of the most challenging, frustrating moments of early parenthood. Having two kids under two years of age is not just twice the work…it is another world entirely. Your kids are probably going to refuse to eat their veggies even if you hide them in seemingly delicious dishes (try harder). And, when it comes time to get the kids back to school, you could be in for a world of hurt.

Not only is the lead up to going back to school a financial setback, with all the school supplies needed for the new term, but it is also challenging in other ways as well. Generally speaking, routine tends to tip right out the window when school holidays come around. With no early wake up call for the school bus, the drive to school, or the walk to school, kids tend to end up staying up far later, and thus waking up even later as a result. When the time comes to head back to school, getting the kids to sleep ten minutes earlier as the days go on will ease them into the transition of picking up school life.

Not only do kids often not want to sleep during the holidays, but they quite often end up spending more and more time online playing video games and playing outside well into the later afternoon. Neither of these things is a bad thing, but it can be difficult to bring them back to routine when school term approaches when they have spent so much of their time doing nothing other than what they want to do. During the holidays, fun comes first. And it should. The school term can be a challenging time for your kids, so having down time is more than fine.

During school breaks, however, there is nearly always at least some school work given to complete before the new term begins. This can become a problem because no kids want to do their homework the second their school holidays begin, and they end up putting it off or forgetting entirely about it until there is a week or two until return to school time approaches. Having your kids sit down and complete even five minutes of school work every day will help them to ease back into the routine of life at school.

Your kids are going to have trouble going back to school. In general, kids would rather be hanging out with their friends and siblings, at their favourite spots, doing their favourite things, than sitting in class and learning things that they do not yet understand the value of. Sometimes they need a little bit of encouragement to feel like they are supported in their transition from holiday mode to learning mode.