Helping your child deal with back to school blues

After a long sunny six weeks summer holiday returning to school can be a daunting thought. The first day back at school can trigger a whole range of emotions for both children and their parents, so how can we help them deal with their back to school blues? 

St Hilda’s Harpenden, a prep school in Hertfordshire, have put together a helpful list of ideas for us to help make the tricky time a little easier this September. 

Rehearse the routine

It can be easy to slip out of the routine of early mornings and 9 hours sleep a night throughout the summer holidays but make sure you don’t leave it till the last day to re-introduce the bedtime curfew. In the weeks coming up to the first day of school slowly start setting bedtime a little earlier every day to help your child get used to the routine. 

Be positive! 

A positive mentality and attitude towards school will help stop any negative emotions or anxieties forming. Try to get your child to look forward to school by speaking about their favourite experiences, teachers or friends that they may have missed. 

Get organised

Studying throughout the summer holidays and having all of the equipment and uniforms organised in time for September will help to make going back to school a smoother and more pleasant experience. Try not to leave everything to the last minute as this will create unnecessary stress in an already tense few weeks. 

Have things to look forward to

Just because school has started it doesn’t mean you can plan any fun for the evenings and weekends! Having something exciting to look forward to at the end of the week will make the weekday’s flyby, before you know it, it will be the next half term already!