Back to School basics

It’s September the time of the year where all parents are running all over the place, buying books, school bags, uniforms, complaining and being on the edge.....

On the other side Kids happy to reunite with their friends, yet anxious about the year and the school and the homework ....

All having mixed feelings about what’s coming next, for me personally it means back to routine specially because my son will be 12 by the end of this month, so his summer was quite different than the previous ones.

He is a tween who refused to go to normal summer camps and preferred to do activities at different times, and I got along with it because I want him to feel responsible for his decisions and also to experience how it feels to get bored when no plans are ready because mom is at work.

It was not easy , nevertheless having a support system, my family, helped a lot and the summer passed beautifully we enjoyed every bit of it.... and now looking forward to the beginning of the year in 2 days, back to some routine and discipline for both of us...

As September is here I started thinking and implementing some tips on how to make the school start a smooth one with less stress and confusion for all, a few listed below:

1)Have as many conversations about the school and what’s coming specially about his/her feelings and that it’s perfectly normal for him/her to feel confused and explained that all students feel the same, so let them Acknowledge their feeling and teach them to accept it.

2)re-instated Bed time routine, we all have long summer nights and you can’t just a day before school tell him/het to go to bed earlier, you need to start this process at least a week earlier explaining the rational that he/she needs to get enough sleep for health reasons so and get used to the new routine.

3)Comfort him/her by communicating as much as possible about school in a positive way. Talk about the importance of learning, how school friendships last the most and how people grow and that grades do not matter at the end, what matters is the passion they carry to the world. Let it be a two way Conversation!

4)Direct and guide, be there to listen a lot, do not interrupt and be the guiding voice not the motherly/fatherly one....

5)set Expectations straight and Empower your kids to make their own decisions within certain guidelines that you agree upon earlier, what is expected from them in terms of chores, ipad, studies... what are the consequences....What can be done or not done...

6)Set one Goal for the year, what is one thing they need to change so they can be more of whoever they want to be, ask them questions, challenge them positively and put a plan with them.

all of the above within a context of Fun :)

Be Fun with your kids, have fun, joke and smile as much as possible.

Share some quality time with them, be present when with them fully.

I understand we all are overwhelmed with duties and life and if you set your boundaries straight you will be able to have fun with your kids and have more time for yourself....

You will be able to raise kids who understand the meaning of quality time, who have a positive image of themselves because you raised their self esteem by empowering them and being there thus making them feel important. Referring back to my earlier note on Parenting Dilema on my facebook page, Raising kids who are loved, praised, spoken to in an empathetic way, always smiling at them will make them successful in whatever they want to be!!!!

A closing note that I keep reminding myself: Raise the kids you have not the ones you wish you had!

What do you think? what are some tips that you use that we can all learn from?

Coach Pauline P Sawaya

#parenting #empoweringparents #coaching