Remember that back-to-school commercial from a few years back? The one that was set to the holiday tune It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year? I remember laughing out loud the first few times I saw it until I realized that I was being sold the ultimate parent world fantasy: the idea that back-to-school season means a return to routine and sanity on the homefront.
Back-to-school sanity season?
Back-to-school insanity season is more like it.
I find that back-to-school insanity season kicks in the moment the kids arrive home from that first day back at school and start rhyming off all the things they need to bring to school the very next day or else. (That "or else" hangs in the air, hinting of fates too horrible to put into words: kids given year-long detentions, expelled for life or forced to live with the principal.)
And so, in an effort to spare our kids the unfathomable torture of "or else," we parents embark on first-night-of-school treasure hunts, trying to track down the last remaining pair of indoor shoes in town (ones that won't leave black marks in the school hallways, of course), the 17 random bits-and-pieces on the "must haves" list for the fall nature art or science project (pinecones? petri dishes?), and the inevitable wildcard item that varies from year to year and grade to grade.
Your odds of making a seamless transition into a new school year are pretty slim, unless, of course, you've traded your real-world kids for some of those über-perfect children who tend to show up in the last half of How to Be a Perfect Parent parenting videos. In the real world, parents and kids get overtired and edgy once the first-day adrenaline starts to wear off. They may find it difficult to wind down to sleep and even more difficult to get up in the morning.
So how do you get through this first week without experiencing a total family meltdown?
- Pare your to-do list down to the essentials. You want this first week back at school to be fun, not frantic).
- Serve healthy, yet easy to prepare dinners. (One of our faves: grilled cheddar and apple sandwiches with fresh veggies and then yogurt-and-fruit smoothies for dessert.)
- Make sleep a priority so you'll be able to get up on the right side of bed in the morning. A few sleep tips: go easy on the caffeine, particularly after mid-afternoon; get some exercise during the day or early evening; create a sleep-friendly environment — one that's dark, cool and quiet — and take a warm bath or shower one to two hours before you want to drift off to dreamland). This advice applies to parents as well as kids.
The rollercoaster ride of back-to-school season is a lot easier to cope with when you're getting sleep, eating well and taking time for yourself. Remember, the school year is a 10-month-long marathon event that requires endurance. Don't treat it like a sprint or you'll be out of steam by Halloween.
8 Comments
LEAVE YOUR COMMENT
You must sign in to leave a commentcharacter(s) remaining