As the summer schedule resets into new patterns for the school year, it is a great time to confirm that kids are ready and able to take advantage of this new season. Having the right materials, books, etc. is one part of preparation. But there are a few basic fundamentals that undergird daily life and make for better learning and growing experiences.
I often forget one or more of these, and when I realize that one is the main culprit underlying an issue I kick myself. If I had only remembered these basics earlier — how much smoother the last few weeks or months could have been! Check in on these five points for your kids (and then for yourself!) as you transition to a new school year.
Sleeping
Overtiredness causes all sorts of behavior changes and potential problems. Putting my toddler to bed earlier than I had thought I should resolved his out-of-character struggles with excessive grumpiness, and helped my elementary schooler cut back significantly on bouts of whining throughout the day. A new schedule might mean a change in bedtimes and wake up times. As you navigate those changes, make sure you leave room for more sleep, as that might be the one thing that some kids need more of in order to thrive this year.
Eating
A small diet change might make a huge difference for kids' behavior and overall happiness. Offering cheese and apples at snack time rather than crackers helped my boys' moods tremendously. Check in on the ratio of protein to empty calories that your child is consuming. Are there a few small changes you can make to ensure that they eat more filling food or more nutritious food more regularly? Eating well helps with my kids’ overall happiness during the day, and helps them sleep better at night. This is trickier with ages and stages of picky eating, but there are good resources out there that can help.
Hydration
Popular advice recommends four cups of water a day for toddlers, slowly increasing a cup or so every few years. In addition to making sure water is an easily available option, consider making other drinks less available, especially if they have a dehydrating factor like caffeine. Drinking more water can help with all sorts of digestion issues and troubles with dry skin.
Exercise
Do your kids have a time and place to run around and be active during the day? In order for our family’s sanity and everyone’s overall happiness, we found adding in another time to run around outside after dinner was key. This means that schoolwork has to be done before then, and we have arranged our day that way. It also helps to add another built-in time without technology or screens in our day.
Prayer
There’s actually a fifth and final fundamental that underlies and supports all the rest. Ask God for grace nightly for the next school day! If you don’t have a family prayer routine, this is a great time to institute one. If it works better for your family to pray in the morning before school, make that a habit. Whatever you do, teaching your children (and reminding yourself) to stay in contact with God throughout the day is one of the greatest gifts you can give them.
