Wednesday, August 6, 2008

You should do this before school starts

Empowering Parents has these tips for what you need to do before the kids start school this year:

1. Start the daily schedule now(up to one month before school starts). Talk to your kids about when they will be doing their homework, where they will go after school, what the school day will be like, etc.

2. Get the kids up in time for school. Doctors actually recommend setting an alarm clock for older kids at least once a week a month before school starts. I definitely take a lot longer to get the kids out of the house in the summer months. Sometimes we don't even have time to go anywhere before I have to leave for work in the afternoon!

3. Put the kids to bed early. I know my son ends up staying up later during the summer months because we don't have to get him to bed on time. The neighbor's kids seem to be out playing until 8:30p.m. during the summer and 7:00p.m. during the school year. That's a big difference!

We are just doing pre-school again this year, but I still think I will start getting the kids ready sooner in the mornings and get the kids to bed earlier. What are you doing to prepare your kids for school?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear News Anchor Mom: Hey there, I'm the editor of Empowering Parents, and I also happen to love your blog! Glad the article gave you some good tips. I'm using the advice, too. (One of the great perks of working for a parenting magazine:) Since my son is starting kindergarten in the fall, I went out and purchased an alarm clock for him. The article author, James Lehman, said that using them gets kids in the habit of waking up with an alarm from an early age. (He said you can even start when kids are in pre-school.) The only problem is, I purchased a howler monkey alarm clock for my son, and I failed to listen to hte alarm before I bought it. My son loves it, but my husband and I are starting to develop an early morning twitch!

Jennifer said...

My son is a little uncertain in new situations and will be going into high school this year, so we went to the school, got his combination and locker number and he practiced and practiced opening it. We also walked his entire schedule (in the order his classes are in) so he could see where everything is and it will be familiar.
We also started the earlier bedtime routine and have been pushing him to eat breakfast. (He hates to eat breakfast and in the summer I let him skip it, but in the school year its mandatory that he eat something before school._

Jen Christensen said...

That is a great suggestion to have the kid go to the school and go through the routine before classes begin. I know how I feel when I am sent somewhere that's not familiar and I am just guessing where to go. It does make a person anxious.

And Elizabeth that is so funny about the alarm clock. I am not ready for alarm yet with my little one, my husband's alarm is enough of a headache!

Pediatric Surgeon said...

This is a great blog.It gives good tips & tricks in various child health related topics.

 
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