Teach Your Children Well
School will start up again before we know it, so this is the perfect opportunity to regain structure in the house and teach children responsibility. Take these few weeks before school begins to get your children’s schedules back on track and establish routines, which will serve them throughout the school year, not to mention the rest of their lives.
Here are a few ideas for getting things in order:
Set the alarm
Teach your children to set an alarm and get up on their own. Make it your children’s responsibility to get out of bed, make the bed and get dressed for school. Start a week or two before school starts and get them to bed early. Reward them with “currency” which may mean extra time on video games or a special treat, but don’t do it right away. Make sure they are in the routine before rewarding them.
Set their school bedtime gradually if necessary. By the way, according to the National Sleep Foundation, kids aged 5-12 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night. Children aged 13-18 need between 8.5 to 9.5 hours per night so set the bedtime accordingly.
Lay out clothes the night before
To make getting up even easier, have your children lay out their clothes the night before. It will give children an opportunity to think about the day, check the weather and be responsible for their own comfort.
Make Lunch
Take the opportunity to teach your child about nutrition by having him or her prepare lunch. Take them to the grocery store with you to learn to make healthy choices and stay within a budget. Make sure lunch is packed the night before so that there are no last minute issues.
Pack backpack
After lunch is done, have your children get their backpacks together and place them by the exit door. This will ensure that your children have checked that all their homework is done and they are ready to go (or it should).
Chore List
It’s hard between sports practices and homework to put together a set schedule but do your best. Set up chores for all of the kids that include sweeping the kitchen, setting the table, loading/unloading the dishwasher, taking out the trash, also learning to do laundry, etc. Even toddlers should have chores. The younger you teach them, the more likely it becomes habit. Also, they are more likely to still listen when you show them the right way to do chores unlike teenagers (sigh).
Set the example
It’s important that children go to school at their happiest and most relaxed state, so set the example and be ready yourself before they get up. If you’re stressed, they’re stressed. If you’re disorganized, they’re disorganized. To help them be their best at school, make sure you set the example.
Mistakes Happen
Finally, let them make mistakes. It’s so hard to watch them go to school in shorts when they should be in pants, but let them figure that out. If they don’t have their lunch ready, don’t bail them out. Charge them for the lunch money with extra work or make them spend their own money. It may sound harsh, but they’ll learn.
