Well, folks, school is back and you know what that means! There’s going to be a lot of hassle, hustle and bustle to get your kids prepped and ready to march out the door. As always at Swtizer-Carty Transportation, we share valuable tips for you and your family to get through this school season sane, healthy and happy.
6: Prepare Lunch the Night Before
In the chaos of early morning, there are a lot of things that can distract you from getting your children’s meals ready. In order to avoid this, it is far easier to prepare their lunches the night ahead, that way you don’t have to worry about any kind of surprises in the morning.
5: Set a bedtime for yourself
While your kids have to be in bed by a set time, we adults tend to go to sleep whenever we feel like it. However, according to a study by the Harvard Medical School, having a set sleep schedule can help you immensely with your sleep hygiene. This will help you get up early in the morning, ready to tackle the day!
4: Put your kids in charge of one lunch a week
If they’re old enough, you should start teaching them responsibility by putting them in charge of making one lunch a week. This will help them grow more responsible and once they are capable enough, will take one job off of your plate.
3: Wake up with extra time to get to the bus
Getting your kids to the bus on time is extremely important, but if the kids aren’t ready to move out of the house by the time the bus rolls by, they’re in real trouble! The best way to avoid this is to wake up 15 minutes earlier than you normally would, so that the household can adequately prepare to get out the door. Time is one of the more important resources that you have in the morning, and you can never have enough of it. If you are managing your sleep schedule well, then the adjustment shouldn’t be too difficult to implement.
2: Teach the children bus etiquette – and know your bus safety!
Bus safety is of paramount importance. Bus safety is for children, and bus safety is for parents! Review the safety guidelines from your bus company and your school district.
School bus safety includes reviewing acceptable student behaviour. Getting on the bus is one thing, but the long trip to school is an entirely different matter. Spend some time prepping your children to behave on the bus, teach them to always respect the driver, be courteous and listen to their driver’s instructions. Not only will this help reduce the headache of having to deal with a phone call from the principal, but it is also a safety measure too. If your children are conditioned to listening to the bus driver, they will listen in the case of an emergency.
1: Don’t go overboard with extra-curricular activities
There can always be the temptation to go overboard when it comes to putting your kids in extra-curricular activities, but truthfully, more isn’t better for children. Over-programming can be hazardous for a child’s well being, so you should take care to enroll them in only a few after-school programs, making sure that they have plenty of time to rest throughout the week.
Back to School Planning Makes Perfect!
Like most things, planning a little can make going back to school stress free, safe and enjoyable for both children and parents. Now, all you have to do is focus on homework and good grades (Which may be another story!).
