03/09/2020
The new academic year is around the corner and children are getting ready to return to school and their busy schedules. Many parents often ask how they can make their children’s transition from summer holidays to going back to school easier so, I thought it would be helpful to share some tips below.
✅ Sleep is an extremely important part of children’s (and adults’!) routines and is paramount for a healthy lifestyle. Research shows that children who get adequate sleep have improved memory, brain development, attention, learning and general physical as well as mental health. Therefore, parents should help their children maintain a healthy sleeping schedule whereby:1️⃣ they get at least 8 hours of sleep 2️⃣ they go to bed at an appropriate time at night (not late!) and wake-up early enough in the morning allowing them enough time to get ready and have a healthy breakfast 3️⃣it is also helpful if parents and children familiarise themselves with the concept of Sleep Hygiene, which is also very important. Some examples include keeping a consistent sleep schedule - bed and wakeup times, not eating/exercising two hours before bedtime, making room free of disruptions and comfortable, avoiding screen-time (e.g. computer, phone, tablet, TV) before bedtime, using bed only for sleep (not to watch movies in etc.) and so on. All the above changes should start a couple of weeks before the school start day so that children have enough time to adapt to their new schedule and so that any last-minute difficulties can be avoided
✅It is also crucial for parents to listen to and acknowledge their children’s needs, feelings, thoughts and behaviours. In turn, these should be communicated back to the child as this will help children feel validated. These skills are also very important in conflict resolution and in the case that a child reacts negatively to their transition back to school. For example, if a child starts behaving negatively/reactively (e.g. shouting) on their first day back to school, it is helpful for a parent to respond patiently and say something along the lines of: “I understand that you might feel tired and that it is a difficult day going back to school so to help with this we can ___ (e.g. watch your favourite movie/play your favourite game etc) in the afternoon”. This response acknowledges and validates the child’s emotions and also, offers a reward for making this difficult transition. Therefore, this will help the child calm down and will also make future transitions easier.
✅Children often find it very difficult to adapt to their schedules in September as this oftentimes requires a transition from summer relaxed days (with a lot of free time!) to very hectic schedules, loaded with responsibilities. Free time during the day/week for any creative activities is very important (activities not related to school or any other outside school structured tutorials/lessons that are timed/scheduled or are considered as creative by parents - e.g. ballet, piano lessons, football etc.). Any structured activity that is scheduled every week at a certain time becomes part of the child’s routine (and ours) and will, at some point, be considered as another structured scheduled activity they have to go to. It’s important for children to have free time for unstructured play/activities in which they will be able to unwind and relax but also, develop skills such as critical thinking, the ability to problem solve as well as their creativity and fantasy. Children do not require constant structured activities to develop mentally and emotionally and when they feel satisfied with their day-to-day schedules (and not pressurised) they can adapt easily to their academic routine.
*️⃣ Given COVID-19 and the measures put in place for students’ return to school, I believe it was necessary to also share some thoughts on the matter in order to help parents who might be more worried about this academic year. Indeed, it will be a more challenging year for children and young people as they will have to engage in new behaviours that may be restrictive and/or frustrating most of the times (e.g. wearing those masks in the heat!). However, it is important to remember that children are resilient and more adaptive than us so they may not worry about the same things that we worry about. So, parents should avoid transferring their own fears and worries to their children. Children often pick-up the attitudes their family members hold about different situations so if parents are negative and anxious about a certain situation the chances are that children will be too. Therefore, children should be given the opportunity to independently manage a situation and this will help them with their self-esteem but also, in gaining valuable coping skills 🤩🤩
