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Dr. Becky's Top Tips for Getting Into the Swing of a New School Year
Put Money on School Lunch Accounts
If your child eats school lunch, don’t forget lunch money! It’s easy to let it slip past us now that we’ve been out of the habit all summer.
Get Required Immunizations & Secure Medical Forms
Many parents forget to get their kids’ forms from the pediatrician to the school prior to the first day — and depending on your school’s rules, it’s possible your child won’t be allowed to attend school until those forms are in. So maybe let’s highlight this one on the list, okay?
Get the Homework Area Ready, Organized & Stocked
Can you get any work done when your workspace is a mess? Neither can your kids. So start their year off right with a clean and uncluttered desk. Dump out the dust and hole-puncher circles from the drawers, sharpen the pencils, and find a place to keep a water bottle handy so they stay hydrated and focused.
Start to Ease Your Children Into Their School Schedule
No one is saying it’s going to be easy to get kids to wake up at the crack of dawn — or go to bed earlier so they can — but hey, it’s going to be a lot easier if you do it little by little instead of waiting until their alarm goes off on the first day.
Visit the School With Your Children if Necessary
If school is something that causes your kid anxiety, help quell that fear with a tour of their school and classroom when the building is devoid of throngs of students. Show them where their class is; walk them through their schedule; check out the bathrooms, their locker and the nurse’s office.
Sort Through Fall Clothing & Donate What Doesn’t Fit
For some reason, it’s always after you’ve bought a complete fall wardrobe that your kid decides to grow 2 inches in one month, totally foiling your plans of going six months without clothes shopping again. So before school starts, make sure everything still fits — and clear out some space in their closet if it doesn’t. As a bonus, no one will have to rummage through stuff that doesn’t fit while searching for a school outfit in the morning.
Follow Your School’s Social Media Accounts & Sign Up for Email & Text Alerts
Chances are, your school has a few social media accounts, which will keep you up to date on the goings-on that take place and also provide alerts for early dismissals, cancellations, or any emergency at the school. If the school has a text or email alert system, sign up for that as well so you’ll be sure to stay in the loop.
Find a Tutor for the Subjects Your Child Has Trouble In
If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford a tutor, find one now. Because if you wait until your child is struggling, they’ll have to play catch-up. If you find a tutor from the get-go, that person can assist your child with their homework and help them study so they won’t fall behind. If a tutor just ain’t gonna happen? There are plenty of alternative learning solutions to help you out.
Label All the Things
Dear parents: You may think you don’t need to label stuff because your child is the only Dakota in the class — or because you’re sure you’ll recognize your child’s belongings. Well, sometimes you won’t. Or it will be the exact same coat, but you won’t notice it’s two sizes too big until you get home. Or you’ll unpack their lunch box only to find remnants of a lunch that wasn’t the lunch you packed that morning. Label. All. The. Things.
Feeling the Need to Be More Involved?
Join the PTA, chair a committee, or be a room parent. It’s a lot of work, but you get to be present — and feel like you’re helping (plus, this way no one will question when they find you pressed up against the classroom door trying to sneak a peek at your kid. “Oh, I’m the room parent … just … checking on the room …”).
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