Tips To Help Your Child With Back To School Transitions

This year back to school looks very different for many children and parents. 2020 has brought many challenges for us all.

Here are some tips that might help both you and your child return to the classroom stress free.

Mask tips:

1. Practicing at home for short periods; play fun dress up games
2. Let them pick out the mask or the fabric to make the mask
3. Let them decorate the mask
4. Consider which fasteners might work best for your child (loops around the ears or ties at the back of the head) Try different fabric liners to see if there is one that is less irritating to them
5. Be a positive role model for wearing a mask
6. Make masks for their favorite doll or stuffed animal
7. Takes breaks from the mask if they are having to wear it for several hours (go outside or to an isolated area where it is safe to remove it for a brief period of time)
8. Use social stories to help them understand why the mask is needed Rewards or incentives for trying or being successful

Tips for the parent:

1. Children pick up on your cues.  Be sure you talk to yourself first and find the positive perspective about return to school before addressing it with your child.
2. Remember as a parent your success is measured by your ability to raise a happy, confident, well adjusted child that turns into a productive and happy adult.
3. Advancing a grade is the next adventure for your child.  As the parent, you get to watch and coach them through the next part of life’s challenges.  Teach your child that problems are just barriers to be overcome.  It is like winning a game each time you solve the next problem.  Confront those challenges head on!  Break each one down into little challenges to be met.
4. Live by example.  Talk to your child about how excited you are about school starting.  You love that your child gets to meet a new teacher, make new friends and learn more things.
5. Truly get yourself to a place where you are excited about your child going back to school.  Maybe appreciate the structured schedule that school will bring.  Bed times are more consistent allowing adult time later at night.  Perhaps school schedules allow for more family dinners.  Find the positives!

Tips to share with your child:

1. Tour the school and meet the teacher.  Talk about how familiar everything will be now that your child has been to the school.
2. Take a family walk to the bus stop and home.
3. Walk from the classroom to where the buses will be parked and back to the classroom.
4. Try to find 1 or 2 friends that will be in your child’s class.
5. Find out who has lunch with your child so they will know at least 1 other person to eat with.
6. Allowing your child to pick out their own backpack, lunchbox, clothes, makes them excited to use/wear them when school begins.
7. Let your child grocery shop for lunch items so they are excited to get to eat the food.
8. Find a neighbor whose child had the teacher your child will have and let the neighbor child talk to your child.

Above all talk to your child about how you believe in him/her.  You know they have the confidence to meet this next grade head on and thrive.   Remind then of when they were younger and worried about something and how it turned out wonderfully.

Count down to the first day of school like it is an event to look forward to!

Good luck this  school year!

As the year progresses if ABC Pediatric Therapy Network https://www.abcpediatrictherapy.com can help in any way to make the school year a success, let us know!