With school beginning soon, AccuWeather spoke with Grace Bastidas of Parents.com who shares tips on how parents can help their kids adjust from the end of summer to the start of a new school year.
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00:00 have made it to August which means the kids are awfully close to getting back
00:05 to school and parents are starting to smile. You're not speaking from
00:09 experience. No, my son's too old, too young for school. But it's back to school week
00:15 here on AccuWeather. The start of a new school year is always exciting but it
00:20 can bring some nervousness when entering a new grade or school. Here to help
00:25 parents and kids ensure a nice smooth transition into this new school year is
00:30 Grace Bastidas joining us this morning, the editor-in-chief of the website
00:35 Parents. Good morning Grace, thanks for joining us. Good morning, thanks for
00:39 having me. Okay, I have to ask, I love this first question because I feel like the
00:44 adults in the room are very familiar with the Sunday scaries but for the kids
00:48 it's the term summer scaries, those end of summer scaries that can be a concern.
00:53 Can you explain what that means? Well it's very similar to the Sunday scaries,
00:58 it's this sense of dread that sneaks up on you and for some kids the start of
01:03 school can have this effect, it can make them a little anxious. So after all it's
01:09 the unofficial end of summer, the days are getting shorter, the morning's darker
01:13 and we have to get back into our routine. So let me ask you this, what can families
01:20 do that if this is a problem to kind of start the school year on a positive note?
01:27 Sure, for starters you want to schedule an hour or two on Sundays to set
01:33 yourselves up for the week. Parents can meal prep, kids can pack their bags or
01:38 start an assignment maybe to get ahead of their work. It will make Monday much
01:43 less daunting. You also want to establish goals for the school year, have your kid
01:48 think of things they'd like to achieve in the next few months and set realistic
01:52 goals. My eight-year-old wants to learn to multiply. Having goals gives kids a
01:58 sense of purpose and lastly and very important, if schedule some fun
02:03 activities just because summer is coming to an end doesn't mean the fun has to
02:07 stop. Make the most of the rest of the season by planning a beach day, a picnic
02:12 in the park, an amusement park visit or whatever your family enjoys doing.
02:17 Oh I love that so much. There's always time for a little bit of fun at least I
02:20 think so anyway. Alright folks, can families make everyone's school days
02:25 easier? Grace what can families do to make that happen?
02:29 Yes, they can get prepared. The more prepared you are the easier this
02:34 transition will be. So make sure that your kids have the gear and supplies
02:37 they need. Plan those extracurricular activities in advance and write down
02:43 your kids schedule somewhere where everyone can see it. Kids and adults, we
02:47 use a white erase board in my house. A few weeks before school actually starts
02:52 you want to practice getting into that routine so that when school does start
02:57 the change of pace doesn't seem so stressful and tiring. And then give your
03:02 kids some responsibility for their day as you go on. For elementary school kids,
03:07 let them set their own alarms, pack their backpack and pick their outfits. For
03:12 teens, give them a little flexibility to figure out what works for them. Some kids
03:17 may want to tackle homework as soon as they get home from school. Others want to
03:21 wait till after dinner so give them a little freedom to choose. You also want
03:25 to get outside if the weather permits. Let your kid run around, release some
03:31 energy after sitting in a classroom all day and really spending time outdoors
03:36 exercising, playing games or even just simply walking around is really great
03:42 for a family to unwind. And lastly, make sure you're having a nutritious evening
03:48 meal together if possible. It's a great way to reconnect as a family and
03:53 definitely make sure that your kids are practicing good sleep hygiene so that
03:58 they're set up for the next day and feeling re-energized. Awesome. Grace
04:03 Vastidis, editor-in-chief of the website Parents. Thank you so much for those
04:07 awesome tips and thanks for joining us this morning. Thank you so much.