Back to School Worries

So, as the 6 weeks holidays draw to an end (yay we survived!!), it can often bring on a whole new bundle of emotions for both parents and children.
Where some of us (parents and children) may feel excited about the new school year, for many of us it can feel overwhelming and nerve-wracking.
I got in touch with Stef from Relax Kids Lancaster and asked her to share her knowledge on how to squash those back to school nerves…

I love the 6 weeks holiday with my little boy but as we approach August and the weeks are flying by the thought of September starts to fill me with dread.
I always think it’s such a long, long time to have off and it always makes me feel really nervous going back even though I work in a fab school with lovely people.
Having always mostly worked in an educational setting that feeling I had as a child has never really left me so I totally get how children feel when September starts approaching.

What can we do to help us…

When we worry and have a negative thought we can put a positive spin on it. That way it starts training our mind to think more positively about it. Repeating positive affirmations is a great way to do this.
Positive affirmations are things such as ‘You are lovely’, ‘You are kind’, ‘You are strong’.
Giving each other a positive affirmation is lovely but it’s also good to get your child to practice saying a positive affirmation about themselves as it’s often easier to say it to others then saying it about ourselves… ‘I am nice’, ‘I am caring’, ‘I am amazing’, ‘You are brilliant’.
A positive affirmation is a happy feel good word.

Relaxation at some point of the day will really help even if it’s just two minutes. I prefer the end of the day but it’s at a time that suits you and your child the best.
Relaxation could be listening to calming music, massage, breathing or listening to a lovely meditation.

Keep in touch with friends from school so we still have that school link.

Write down or draw all the positives of going back to school so we can see it visually. This helps us visualise and see the positives.

It’s also the organisational side of it that stresses me a little. Getting ready for my little boy’s return to school, making sure the uniform etc has been bought and labelled and that he has everything he needs for when he returns.
I know some of my friends are super organised and have already bought their child/children’s uniform already. I’m not that organised and actually couldn’t afford to buy it out right so what I have done is I have written myself a list and I have been slowly ticking things off and making sure I’ve done something productive each week for the return of school.
Does anyone else write something they’ve already completed on a list just so they can tick it off?! Or is that just me!! Lists are great to keep us on track.

My little boy finds the 6 weeks hard, like me he loves it but he is also out of routine and once that routine is broken it’s always so hard to get back into it- getting used to the lazy mornings and the later than normal nights.
Together we’ve sat down and made a plan that 2 weeks before he’s back at school we are going to slowly introduce elements of our school routine.
This will include on week 1 going to bed at 8:30 and doing 10 minute stretches and breathing exercises or listening to a meditation instead and finishing by giving each other a positive affirmation.
Week 2; repeating week 1 and starting to get up earlier in a morning giving each other a positive affirmation so it’s not a massive shock when we return and will hopefully help us get back into our routine better.

These are just a few small pointers but they can really make a difference.

Head over to my Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/Relax-Kids-Lancaster-and-the-surrounding-areas-452135778262519/?ref=br_rs ) to find our Back to School ebook with lots more handy hints.

Stef, Relax Kids Lancaster