As excited as your kids may be to start a new school year, it’s time both of you start preparing for the transition. The days of carefree holiday fun are drawing to an end, so you and your kids should slowly start getting back into your school-days routine.

Now, no matter if you’ve done this numerous times already or if this is your first time, arming yourself with some handy back to school tips will help set you up for success. With these back to school tips for parents you’ll easily learn how to prepare for back to school, including the necessary school supplies as well as getting back into the right routine. 

To make navigating these tips easier, we’ve divided them in a few categories. 

 

Re-Establishing Back-to-School Routines

Arguably one of the toughest parts of going back to school is re-establishing all of the routines you had in place before the summer break. During summer break, established routines do tend to loosen up a bit, which can make getting back to a structured routine feel like a chore. 

That’s why you should start with this process early on and ease your way into it, to avoid making everyone feel overly anxious and stressed out.

Limit screen and play time

Going through the process of limiting screen time is never easy, and especially if you’ve let your kids spend more time in front of screens during their summer break than you normally would. So, make sure you slowly start cutting back on how much screen fun they’re allowed before the school starts. 

However, keep in mind that, nowadays, computers and tables are not just being used for fun but for schoolwork as well. Which is why you’ll need to help your kid create a good balance between schoolwork and fun.

And the same goes for play time as well. Even though your kid will probably want to continue spending their days playing with friends, they simply won’t have as much time for it with all the upcoming schoolwork. But that doesn’t mean they can have some friends over for group study and homework sessions. That way, they’ll still get to hang out with their crew while also taking care of their school responsibilities.

(Re)Create a bedtime routine

Having a consistent bedtime routine is very important for a good night's sleep, which is - again - extremely important for your child’s overall wellbeing. School-aged children, tweens and teens generally require more sleep than adults, as their bodies are going through some big changes.

That’s why you’ll need to (once again) start insisting on going to bed early, so that your juniors get well rested and prepared for the upcoming day. This is another thing that’s good to start with before the summer break ends, so that your kids can get back into the swing of things before school actually starts.

Ease into getting up early

Similar to the previous tip, you will also want to start waking your kids up earlier than you did during their break. It’s funny, really, first you can’t get them to finally go to bed, but once they’re there, it seems like the last thing they want to do is get up in the morning.

So, to avoid the unnecessary struggles, start off by shifting wake-up times earlier in the days leading up to the beginning of the school year. This gradual transition will help your child more easily adapt to the new schedule without the shock of an abrupt change.

(Re)Create a morning routine

Start the day on a positive note with a well-structured morning routine. Once your kids are up, get them to brush their teeth (maybe even have a quick morning shower) and get dressed for school. While they’re enjoying their breakfast, make sure you sneak a peek into their school bags to double-check that they’ve packed all the necessary books and supplies.

Also, try to have dinner a bit earlier in the evening, so that your kids wake up hungry enough to have breakfast before they leave for school. Preparing breakfast together can be a fun way to bond and ensure your child is ready for the day ahead, so try to include this into your morning routine, especially if you have tweens and teenagers.

Get ready the night before

Getting ready for the next day the day (evening) before can actually greatly help reduce morning stress. So, try to encourage your kids to pack their bags, choose their outfits and plan their snacks the day before, so that they can hit the ground running as soon as they wake up. 

This is another thing you can start practicing before the school starts - minus packing the bag, of course.

 

Become More Organized Together

Starting a new school year won’t only bring changes to kids’ routines - you too will need to adjust. So, start working on your own morning routine as well, so that all of you can become better organized together before the school starts. 

Work together on creating a system for managing schoolwork, extracurricular activities and family responsibilities. Also, make sure you define how your kids will get to and from school each day, so that you know how much time you need to (or don’t need to) set aside for that.

To make this part easier, rely on planners, set up a whiteboard with checklists for everyone’s daily tasks/schedules and divide housework and chores evenly among all of your family members.

Once you create a system that works well for everyone, there will be less stress and more time for family fun.

 

Plan for Back-to-School Shopping

Now comes the fun part - it’s time for back-to-school shopping! Although shopping is always fun, it can sometimes easily get out of hand, especially if you let your kids run wild and grab anything and everything that catches their eye. 

Therefore, try to bring a bit more structure to the whole process by planning ahead, making a shopping list and sticking to it as much as possible. And don’t worry, you’ll - of course - end up buying more things than you’ve originally intended, but that’s okay!

Have fun while shopping for the necessary school supplies

Some kids simply go crazy over buying new school supplies while others don’t really see any fun in it. Luckily, you can easily make the entire thing more fun by turning it into a scavenger hunt, for instance.

Create a list of all the necessary school supplies for each kid and let them run wild trying to find all of the things they’ll need. To sweeten the deal even further, promise to buy them a little extra something if they finish the hunt before the time runs out.

This way you won’t spend an eternity shopping for school supplies and dealing with your kids’ indecisiveness. Instead, you’ll make the whole thing way cooler than it actually is, which your kids will greatly appreciate.

Go shopping for new clothes

Ah yes! Every teen’s joy - shopping for new clothes! 

Not only can a new wardrobe be a great motivator for the start of the school year but, if you have daughters, depending on the stages of puberty girls are at, you may need to take them first bra shopping. And even if it’s not their first bra, bra shopping can sometimes get quite overwhelming, so make sure you offer them assistance but try not to be too overbearing.

If you have younger kids, you’ll probably want to choose their clothes yourself, but make sure you involve them in the process and give them some options to choose from, so that they feel included and excited about returning to school and showing all of their friends their new getup.

Of course, don’t forget to plan out the “first day” outfit from head to toes, so that your kid can start off their new school year with absolute confidence.

Choose the right backpack

There’s an infinite struggle when it comes to buying a new backpack for school. You, as a parent, most likely want to go with something practical, ergonomic and - if possible - not overly expensive. On the other hand, your child wants SpongeBob or Elsa, and won’t settle for anything less. 

However, no matter how stubborn and tantrum-y your child gets, it’s important to explain to them that having a good supportive backpack that has plenty of room and is well-made will greatly benefit them in the long run.

What’s more, you can also encourage your child to think outside the box a bit, and explain to them that they can customize any backpack they end up buying. Besides, that’s what all the cool kids are doing anyway. 

But if all else fails, buy them the SpongeBob or Elsa one - the most important thing at the end of the day is that your kid ends up loving their new backpack which will make them more eager to use it.

 

Throw a Back-to-School Party

Is there really a better way to celebrate going back to school than throwing a back-to-school party?

Encourage your kids to invite their friends, put together some cute (but useful) back-to-school party favors and get to some partying!

You can also encourage the kids to make friendship bracelets they’ll get to show off on their first day of the new school year, or even create back-to-school time capsules you’ll get to open next year, at the beginning of that school year.

Your possibilities are endless - just remember to have fun and get all the kids excited about starting school again.

 

School and Community

Another thing you can do before your kid starts school is check out the school environment and community. This is particularly helpful if your kid is changing schools or starting school for the first time, as getting familiar with the surroundings can really help ease anxiety. 

Tour the school

Schedule a school tour and try to learn as much as you can about it. Get familiar with all the facilities and amenities the school offers and see what’s the best route to get to and from school. 

See if the school your child is about to attend has organized school buses for transportation and try to get the schedule ahead of time, so that you know how to plan your mornings once the school year starts.

Also, see if the school requires uniforms or has any special dress codes that you need to be aware of.

Of course, if your kid is going back to the same school they’ve attended the previous year, you can disregard this step.

Meet the new teacher

Again, this part only applies to kids who will get a new teacher at the beginning of the school year. So, if your child is one of them, you can ease the anxiety of the first day of school by scheduling a meeting with the new teacher.

This way, your kid will get a chance to get to know their new teacher in a more relaxed and unofficial setting, which should make them feel more comfortable and confident once the first day of school rolls around. 

Keep in mind that if you have tweens and teens they may not be as excited about this as younger children may be, but they will still appreciate it (even if they don’t tell you so).

Discuss school safety measures

Another very important thing is to discuss school safety measures before your child actually starts the next school year.

As always, the main rule of thumb should be to never speak or interact with unfamiliar adults that are not part of the school staff. Furthermore, discuss going to and from school with your kids and make sure that they always know who will be picking them up. It’s extremely important to explain to them the dangers that could be lurking if they decide to walk home alone or trust strangers.

Of course, since you don’t want to overwhelm your child or downright freak them out, make sure you carefully approach this delicate topic and make the conversation age-appropriate as much as it can be. 

Plan for after-school child care

Finally, unless you’ll be the one picking up your kid from school each day and spending the rest of the day with them, you’ll need to organize some sort of after-school child care.

Be it a nanny, some other kid’s parent or guardian, or your very own parents, you need to determine who will be looking over your kid after school until you get the chance to do so.

All of these options are equally viable, but they can vary in price and the level of commitment. So, make sure you discuss this with both your kids and your partner, and make a solid plan before the actual school starts.

 

Ease Into Back-to-School Activities

Going back to school can sometimes include taking on new responsibilities aside from the ones your child already had. Depending on their age and grade, your kid may suddenly need to take on some extracurricular activities, or they may express the wish to start practicing sports or join the school music band.

And while all of these are completely normal, it’s best to ease into them to avoid your kid becoming overwhelmed.

Encourage independence

The sooner you start encouraging your kids’ independence, the better. No matter how old they are, they can be independently in charge of certain tasks, activities or chores. So, make sure you show them the way instead of standing in it. 

Create good study habits

Creating good study habits is essential for effective learning and retention, which is why you want to ensure that you and your kid start working on it early on.

In order to make this part as seamless as possible, you can create a “study schedule” and try to ensure that your kid keeps up with their school responsibilities consistently. Ideally, the study time should fall more or less more-or-less in the same time frame each day, to help with consistency.