- Your child is probably a combination of excited and nervous. A new school year brings new adventures and opportunities but it also brings back some of the old challenges and struggles your child faces during the school year that have faded to the background during the summer. Ask your child what they are most excited about heading into the new year and what they are most concerned about.
- Friendships change. A new school year often brings the addition of some new friends and the loss of some old ones…and that’s okay and totally natural! Use this as an opportunity to have a conversation with your child about the importance of healthy friendships, how to pick friends wisely and how to be a good friend themselves.
- New school year = busyness. The school year adds multiple layers of busyness and depending on the age and level of involvement of your child things can get hard to manage in a hurry! Look for places you can lighten their load…especially during their busiest seasons of the school year. Some examples could be: A few less chores than normal, a few less mandated family activities, the freedom to sleep in as long as they want on Saturday, etc.
- Every child has a different “window of conversation”. The window of conversation simply refers to the time of day your child is most open to talking and sharing. For some, it’s during the car ride home from school. For others, it’s around the breakfast table and for others, it’s as they are getting ready for bed. Avoid the temptation to force their window open when you want to talk and take advantage of the opportunity when you sense their window is open.
- Grades are overrated. Not really. But Kinda. The younger your child is, and the smaller the project, the less worried you need to be about their grade…and the less pressure they should feel from mom and dad. Just because a 3rd grader fails a spelling test doesn’t mean he/she will never learn how to spell succes.
