While there are grumbles from students and parents who believe they should be allowed to enjoy a longer summer, this year, the semester actually begins one week later than last year The school board voted to allow students to have an extra week and expressed that they would support returning to the old days when students returned back to school after Labor Day in September This could help to handle high temperatures and even save the cost of air conditioning in classrooms.
Encourage a Healthy Diet
A balanced breakfast is the most important step of the day, so make sure your child is up early enough to have breakfast. A balanced breakfast is one that is high in protein and keeps your child’s energy high so they perform well in the classroom. Examples of a balanced breakfast include:
• Oatmeal (not pre-flavored) with fruit and milk
• Eggs with whole grain toast and a piece of fruit
•Whole grain cereal (low sugar content) with milk and fruit
For lunch, pack healthy meals with protein, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Complex carbohydrates usually incorporate whole grains like granola bars, whole grain bread, whole grain crackers and fresh fruit, like apples. Avoid sugary drinks and desserts that might cause a blood sugar crash right after lunch. Blood sugar crashes can make your child sleepy and less able to focus in class. Sugary drinks and desserts can also contribute to tooth decay and may also cause unwanted weight gain that can put your child at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Instead, try to manage their sweet tooth with more “whole” foods, like fresh fruit or fruit leather that has been made without added sugar. It has lots of fiber that will keep your child feeling full longer. For drinks, try water or milk. Water keeps your child hydrated and feeling alert. Milk gives a boost of protein and calcium for energy and strong bones. If your child absolutely must have something flavored to drink, try a zero-calorie liquid flavor enhancer for water, which you can pick up at your local market.
Safety!
Talk to your kids about:
• Not speaking to strangers or “tricky people”.
• Walking safely to and from school or the bus stop.
• Staying away from drugs and alcohol.
Bullying prevention.Introduce School to Little Ones
This applies mostly to kids in kindergarten. the book “The Bernstein Bears Go to School” to help your child prepare for their big day. Hopefully this gives you some ideas to get the school year off to a great start! Be sure you talk to your kids about their school day, every day. Stay involved in their world. The insight they will give you is priceless and that will give you a foundation to have a close relationship with them.
More Back to School Tips for Parents
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles pediatric psychologist Stephanie Marcy, MD, says the start of a new school year doesn’t have to be stressful for kids or for parents – just remember the six Rs:
Rest: Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep. Children should go to bed at an earlier hour so that they feel rested enough when it’s time to wake up and get to school. Parents should start this routine several days before school begins and practice that even if they don’t need to get up early in the morning. That’s so that they can get used to the back-to-school schedule.
Routine: Previewing the routine the child is going to be in once school starts is very important because it helps the child know what to expect so they can start to get into a rhythm. This is good for the child and the parent.
Responsibility: Parents should start helping their children at any age to take responsibility for some of the routine themselves. Parents can help by making a visual checklist or a visual schedule. If children are young and can’t read yet, they can use pictures displayed on a white board that can give the child something to reference so that they can start taking more responsibility for their morning routines and make things run more smoothly.
Reassure: If your child is feeling anxious, you don’t want to negate the anxiety that may happen in knowing that school is starting. They may be saying ‘I hate school ‘or ‘I don’t want to go to school.’ It’s an understandable reaction, as even grownups often feel upset when their vacation time is over. The parent should not try to correct the child by saying ‘No, you love school’ or ‘don’t say that!’ Reassure the child that things will be okay, that they are smart and capable and they will get used to the swing of things. Try to help them manage their anxiety. Have a dress rehearsal with your child. A few days before school starts act as if school is really going to start. Have them go to bed at night, get their clothes laid out, follow their normal school year bedtime routine, get their backpack by the door, wake them at the time they would need to in the morning of a normal school day and drive to school as if it’s the first day of school and then instead of going to school, since it actually hasn’t started yet, maybe go to breakfast or take them to a park. This will give the child some reassurance of what to expect and make them more familiar and less anxious.
Resist: This is important when dealing with bullying. It’s a big issue for schools, so much so that most have a zero tolerance policy with bullying. A lot of kids are afraid to talk about being bullied because they don’t want to be called a snitch. They are afraid the bullying will get worse if they tell someone and as a result, they don’t feel empowered to share the information with someone if it’s happening. Parents need to educate their children on how they can resist bullying – being victimized, witnessing other people being victimized or being the bullies themselves. If the child is being victimized it’s imperative the parent responds to it appropriately, but not to a degree that the child is afraid the parent will make a big scene at school, embarrass them and make it worse. If a parent becomes aware a child is bullying, it’s important they talk with their child about appropriate behavior. Find out why they are engaging in bullying? Often, bullying comes from a child having some sort of anxiety or perhaps being victimized in another way. Give them appropriate channels to exert control that is social and appropriate, not negative.
Role Modeling: Parents need to role model appropriate behavior for their children. Children will learn from parents. They will internalize what they see parents doing. Parents shouldn’t be engaging in bullying-behavior on the soccer field or talking negatively about other people behind closed doors. It’s especially important parents don’t badmouth the child’s teacher(s). It’s very common that parents will side with their child and start badmouthing the teacher. That kind of behavior undermines the teacher’s responsibility. It’s important to role model appropriate conflict resolution done in a mature way and not repeat the behaviors that their children are doing by, for example, storming into the child’s school, calling people names, cursing and making threats.