August 2018 Busy Mums and Dads who are trying to get their kids ready to go back to school within the next few weeks might appreciate some of these helpful tips from a pro.
You’ve got the challenge of having to pick up new supplies, arrange everything for that first morning school run and still keeping the kids entertained on their last few days of freedom.
Delegate and Outsource
You may be super mum (or dad) but you can’t do everything yourself. Nor should you. Give your kids some age appropriate tasks like packing their own pencil case – that way they will know where everything is each Monday and it gives them a sense of responsibility. As they get older start increasing the difficulty of their tasks. Order your school supplies online. It’ll save you time and a lot of hassle fighting the other panic buying parents. It could also help curb your spending if your children are a bit “see it, want it”.
Don’t over sell yourself
Be realistic about how thinly you can stretch yourself when you start to commit to outside school activities. Don’t go in all guns blazing and sign them up to every after school club under the sun if you already have too much on your plate. Be realistic about how many and which activities you can handle and then be clear with your kids. If you can only take one child to one club each week be strict and make them pick one. You won’t be doing yourself or them any favours by overestimating what’s possible. Remember, if you can’t keep up, neither will your kids.
Label Everything
If you’ve got more than one child you’ll know the difficulty in separating and distinguishing their items. Now imagine a jumble sale style changing room during PE and it’s a miracle your children ever comes home with the same clothes. Labelling their clothes and other items will not only help you and your child to avoid the lost property box at the end of the week but also makes the teacher’s life a lot easier, too. You can use iron on labels for clothes and sticky labels for pencil case items. Or, got all out and treat yourself to a label maker.
Plan plan plan
Buy yourself a pretty weekly planner to add any commitments to each week and display it somewhere you can see easily each morning – like the fridge. If you buy one with several columns each family member can have their own section and thus making it clear who is doing what, when. It’ll save a few “I thought you were picking them up today” moments. You may also like to have a morning checklist for your kids to make sure they don’t use the old “I forgot” excuse when you ask at the gates if they’ve brushed their teeth. Laminate the list so you can wipe it clean every day.