It seems the fashion industry doesn’t realize we still have a good half the summer to go! Everywhere I go there are reminders that another school year is around the corner. Although we’d all rather block this from our brains, it’s actually not such a bad idea to at least get into a quasi-back to school state of mind. Doing so will help you and your kids considerably once that first day of school does arrive.
Since the last school year ended, we’ve been on a diametrically opposite schedule from what we live when school is in the mix in just about every way:
- Sleep: Sleep tends to be more free in the summer with later bed times, wake up times and no set schedule.
- Nutrition: Fruits and veggies may be more abundant but people also indulge on more ice cream and treats at barbeques they don’t often eat at other times of year.
- Exercise: Many kids are either not in camp, in “indoor” camps or in sports camps that focus on just one sport and not overall fitness, so kids are actually less active in the summer than in the past.
- Activities and Hobbies: Most kids put on hold the activities they pursue rigorously over the school year – music, art, even some sports.
- Reading: Many schools have reading expectations for the summer so most kids do read each summer.
- Technology: For most kids, especially tweens and teens, they’ve had much more use of technology over the summer than in the school year and likely without the oversight that you’d normally have over the school year.
Making small tweaks now in all these areas will help ground our kids and give them the energy they need to stay on top of school and the increased demands they’ll feel. To nudge your kids back to tip, top school shape, try these ideas out:
- Sleep: You can change your kids’ biological clocks from summer to school by moving them to an earlier bedtime and having them wake up with an alarm for at least 3-5 days before the first day of school. The more time their bodies have to adjust to the new time, the better they will feel when they have to do it every day – and the easier it will be.
- Nutrition: In addition to needing three meals a day, kids eat healthier when they help make meals. Try that out this month and then continue it in the school year.
- Exercise: Growing kids need daily exercise, even if they play team sports. And, kids who play sports need a break once in a while or they risk overuse injuries. The goal is 30 minutes of moving a day. If you can get that in for your kids, they’ll feel great and their bodies will benefit.
- Activities and Hobbies: The best rule of thumb is to slide into the school year and see what the work load is like before adding too many new activities, especially if activities are already in place from last year. And, to remind your child it isn’t the end of the world to try something new and drop it if they don’t like the activity or it’s too much for their schedule.
- Technology: Whatever your usual technology plan is for the school year, now is the time to regroup on that and revisit expectations that make sense once homework kicks in. I’ll have more on this soon so stay tuned!
If you enjoy today while being realistic about tomorrow, tomorrow can be enjoyed much more, even if it is the first day of school!
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