7 Simple Routines for a Smooth Back-to-School Transition This September
As students head back to their classrooms in September, it’s our second opportunity to reset each year.
Hopefully, your summer was fun and adventurous and you're looking forward to the chance to refresh your goals this fall. The new school year brings with it a much-anticipated routine that will put an end to late nights and unstructured time.
Success at school and work is built on some keystone habits, which are also the pillars of our health and wellness.
To give kids and parents an opportunity to be at their best, it’s important to determine what your family needs to thrive and set up supportive routines.
Here are 7 habits to explore this back-to-school season. Even though September has the new-year-new-you vibes, you can revisit these at any time of year.
#1 Decide what you want this school year to feel like.
To get a sense of what you want and don’t want, reflect on what it was like last year. Was it calm? Chaotic? Balanced? Overscheduled? Learn from what worked and didn’t work in the past. If I want the upcoming school year to feel calm and manageable, then what will I need to put in place to get there? The rest of the items below might be some boundaries you'll put up.
#2 Make sleep a priority.
Kids need 10-13 hours of sleep, women need 7-9 hours, and men need 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Sleep is one of those keystone habits that are essential for determining someone’s ability to do their best work and be their best self. If your child needs 10 hours of sleep and school starts at 8 am, then your bedtime routine should start around 8 pm with a bath, teeth brushing, storytime, and good nights so that lights can go out at 8:45 pm and sleep can begin at 9 pm.
#3 Monitor technology use.
It’s no secret that most kids look at screens too much. Consider your strategy to minimize technology use. If tech limits are new for your household, there may be some resistance. Talk with your kids about all of the things that are important to do in a day and that technology can be distracting. Set a screen limit of 1 hour so that it alerts when an hour has been reached. At the very least, put mobile devices away at mealtime and “to bed” (on the kitchen counter to recharge) an hour before bedtime to ensure that the blue light from the device doesn’t interfere with sleep. Keep tech out of the bedroom — phones, tablets, computers, and gaming devices need to live elsewhere in the house at the end of the day.
#4 Optimal nutrition.
Nutrition makes a huge difference to our brains, and sugar is one of those chemicals with no benefits and many drawbacks. How will your family ensure healthy food is in the fridge and nutritious meals are served? Set a dinner time. Our family gathers for dinner between 5:30 pm and 6 pm most nights. To keep healthy food options in your home, make a plan for grocery shopping. What day of the week works for you? What will you serve? Meal planning and meal prepping are a great way to ensure you have what you need each week, and they help us avoid costly takeout bills.
I like to plan meals, grocery shopping, and then food prep on Sundays. I find that a little bit of planning and chopping up veggies, washing fruits, and cooking some basics that we can eat for a few days really helps make weeknight meals happen with little fuss. I knew families when I was growing up that ate the same things each week for simplicity. For example, a roast for dinner on Sunday, casserole on Monday, tacos on Tuesday, hamburgers on Wednesday, chicken and potatoes on Thursday, pizza on Friday, and soup, salad, and sandwiches on Saturday.
Other meals, like breakfast and lunch, can be prepped and planned ahead of time. For easy breakfasts, sandwiches and muffins can be stored in the freezer, and lunches can be assembled the night before. Don’t forget about balance, with fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and protein.
#5 Exercise is foundational to mental and physical health.
If your child doesn't participate in sports, plan to make time for outdoor activities. A great place to start is to take a walk after dinner. What other fun activities does your family enjoy? Swimming? Basketball? Playing tag? At all ages, we need to move, and physical activities and games can help everyone in the family feel better and stronger.
#6 Extra-curricular activities
Having fun outside of schooling and work is enriching to everyone in the family. Play helps us balance work and life and gives us an outlet for stress and helps us avoid burnout. At the same time, it’s possible to overschedule ourselves and our kids, so reassessing our activity level on a monthly basis can help us make good decisions about what’s not enough and what’s too much. Essentially, these activities should be enjoyable and should not interfere with sleep, dinner, and downtime. Some activities might include music lessons, art class, reading, knitting, building/fixing things, playing, etc.
#7 Cleaning and Organizing
Cleaning a little can be a nightly and weekly endeavour. Empty your backpack or briefcase after school or work, clean up after dinner, and clean the house on Saturday mornings. Everyone can pitch in and help, and it’s a good way to teach kids life skills and shorten the parent’s to-do list. Everyone can help clean up after dinner. I print off a list of house cleaning duties, and everyone gets to pick from the list until it’s divided up evenly. Even little ones can help with washing the floor and wiping the windows. My kids have done their own laundry since they were ten years old.
Not only do routines help ensure that less-than-fun things get done, but they also teach kids habits that they can carry into adulthood.
Habits automate behaviors that we want to have, like brushing our teeth every day, so that it doesn’t have to be a decision we make over and over again. Our routines set us up for success in life, giving us the best possible chance to behave in ways that support our mental and physical health on a regular basis.
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