Beat the Back-to-School Blues

With the summer season now at its end, that means the beginning of the school year is here for a lot of folks. Developing routines, meeting new teachers, and learning more difficult subjects can be a stressful time for students. Beat the back-to-school blues this September by making this transition into a positive and fun experience for your child.

Begin your school routine early. Create a schedule during the last few weeks of summer to gently ease your child back into the routine of school. Have your child consistently go to bed earlier and eliminate late summer nights, as they would during the fall school year. More sleep will help reduce stress and anxiety. Create healthy lunch and dinner meals for your child to combat sugar-fueled sleeplessness. To settle down before bedtime, try relaxing techniques together, including deep breathing, quiet music, and reading.

Build excitement for returning to school. Before classes start, take the time to tour the school with your child so they can become familiar with where their new classrooms are located on their schedule. Make shopping together for new school supplies a fun yearly activity. Have your child pick out new school notebooks and other supplies to build excitement for going back to school.

Have open conversations. Discuss any unhappiness your child might be feeling about returning to school, and work together to develop a solution to these issues. Feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to perform and excel is a valid concern for students, so to combat these worries, offer age-appropriate guidance. Organize a daily family time, such as during dinner, when everyone can get together to discuss the day’s events.