It is that time of year again – to wind down from the summer and prepare for Fall, get ready for back to school and work, the setting of alarm clocks, bracing for homework, preparing packed lunches, meetings and activities. This can be a difficult time for both children and parents. There are a few tips that I have learned have helped to ease the transition from season to season.
Give patient guidance to your children, and make some extra time just for them.
Remember that faster is not more, and more is not necessarily better. Hard as it might be, try not to rush the mornings. Overwhelmed children need reassurance from their parents, particularly when they are transitioning into new bedtimes, new routines, and possibly new schools and new friends.
Allow some breathing room into the family schedule.
Strive to maintain balance between “doing” and “being”. Remember that it is not necessary for free time to be filled up. Early in a new school year, most children simply want to feel your presence with them at the end of the day. Try to keep dinner time for relaxing family interaction, as this communication is essential for both children, and us as parents.
Keep routines as much as possible.
In the minds of children, there is freedom within the stability of structure. There is enough surprise at the start of a new school year, that it is nice to have something ‘expected’ to look forward to. Sticking to a solid routine also helps parents to let their children to learn to get things done automatically.
If there was something in particular that you all enjoyed doing as a family over the summer, try to keep that one thing alive.
Continue with it as a family practice, so that the joy of the activity is always there to draw upon, and in so doing a solid family bond will continue to strengthen. Try not to let the joy within summer freedom get lost somewhere within the structure of the new school year.
Make family dinner a ritual.
There was one thing that was held strictly as ‘law’ within our home when I was a child – and that was that we were all to be at home, washed up and ready, to sit down together for family dinner. This is a tradition that has been passed down for a very long time within many households, and one that should be held dear. This is a time when families can take a moment to nourish themselves, discuss their day, and even get to know each other better.
Never underestimate the importance of a good sleep!
Particularly for younger children, in the early months of a new school year, a longer sleep may be needed than they had in the summer. Their little minds will be going and going with the processing of new learning material, new people, new routines, and possibly new homework. A good, restful sleep will have them much more prepared to happily greet each day.
The important thing here is to remember to nourish our lives. Take time to enjoy these precious moments. We all hear it, but there is so much truth to the statement that the time with our children goes by much too quickly!
In what ways do you attempt to ‘slow time down’ to create more quality family time?
Good ideas. Getting back into the fall routine was tough for us, but we do seem to like the structure. Saturday is our day to do fun stuff. It is “no tech” day in our house and we love it.
Thank you Stephanie~* We really struggle with the transition into Fall around here, I suppose that was inspiration for this article. Our do-nothing-day is Sunday, and we all look forward to it so much!