It won’t be long before our children will be expected to follow the time-honored procedures and routines of school. As parents, what can we do to up the odds that our children will easily transition from the relatively unstructured days of summer to the more demanding experience of school life?
- Avoid over-entertaining your kids during the late summer months. It’s good to have plenty of fun, but your children shouldn’t be so addicted to excitement that they go into shock when they have to sit quietly in a classroom.
- Maintain routines such as set family meal times and chores.
- Limit television, video games, and other highly stimulating electronic entertainment.
- Expect them to spend at least thirty minutes learning each day, by reading, writing stories, creating science projects, etc.
- Expect your older children and teens to do odd jobs around the neighborhood, get appropriate employment, or volunteer to help others in need.
- Establish the same expectations for behavior at home as they will face at school.
These guidelines should help with easing back into the school year. For tips on helping with homework, listen to the audio, Winning the Homework Battle.
Dr. Charles Fay
Love and Logic Institute, Inc.