7 Steps to making back to school after the pandemic
Going back to school after the Pandemic, or after “Learning-from-home” or “doing-nothing-at -home”, whatever you wish to call it- will be quite a transition for all children and parents. Many children have already started going to school, but the start was staggered. Teachers and parents are being lenient and studies are slow. But, this will not be the case forever. Soon, when the holidays are over and the new school year starts everyone will be in a rush to get things “back to normal”.
This will make back to school a bit overwhelming for everyone involved, but mostly the kids. Well Kids at Femcity continuously give us excellent, ideas and tips to overcome this anxiety and ensure your kids are healthy both physically and mentally during this back-to-school time. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to stay updated!
First things first! The initial step to accommodating easily to a back to school routine, is to acknowledge that some children (and parents) may require more time and effort than others to get back to school in-person.
Despite efforts by teachers and parents, this past school year presented a myriad of challenges to learning for so many students. Learning from home has become their new normal, and they will need empathy and support through the transition back to school. Especially the young ones who have been conditioned to the comfort and security of staying close to their parents.
The older ones have benefitted from the luxury of more lenient exams and tests during the Learning from home period. After all, many times there was no time constraint during exams and almost half the pressure is lifted when students don’t have to face a teacher or be surrounded by competitive other students!
But was this really a benefit. As children learn and play together they are exposed to a whole array of learning styles and possibilities! This vast exposure is what successfully molds children into adults is exactly what they have lost over these Pandemic years.
This is a quick guide to make the back to school transition easier. These 7 steps will overcome your struggle. Following these simple steps will save you a lot of tears and rough mornings!
1. Watch your child and talk to him about going back to school.
Keep an eye for the highest risk of anxiety. Envisage what is bothering them the most and what concerns them the most- if there is any. Remember, not all kids will find this difficult!
2. Establish a bedtime routine.
Good sleep is an essential part of health and growing. Especially when the child may be anxious or walking into something new! Try to get them to sleep early from a week before the start. A special tip: Wake kids up early, no matter how late they’ve slept. When done consecutively for 2 or 3 days, it will help their body clock to accept the early bed-time routine faster.
3. Ensure they have a balanced diet:
During the holidays, parents may be sucked into temptation of preparing fast meals that are often not the healthiest. I know you don’t want to hear this but I promise it gets easier! Cut out summer junk food and get the healthier options back in their diet, including lots of water. Now for the easy back to school prep tip: Try to pre prep healthy meals for kids. This will make it more likely that you can get healthy meals ready on time. Also eat together with them. Chatting and talking along. Maybe you can do step 1 at meal time! That way you ensure you have their tummy’s filled with healthy food, leaving little room for junk!
4. Ensure your child’s vaccinations are up to date.
After the pandemic, ensuring your child stays up-to-date on their vaccinations is more important than ever. Your child should get a flu vaccine as well. You won’t even believe how much trouble this will save you.
5. Get a regular paediatric check-up.
It’s always important for kids to have their growth, development, and well-being tracked by a doctor. This is especially true for younger children or children with low immunity or a history of falling ill. Finding health problems during checkups allows doctors to help preventing them from getting worse. This is an essential part of growing up that many parents often ignore. We think children don’t need regular doctor visits. But just before starting off school again, should be the right time to visit a good Paediatrician. One you trust and who you know will not “over-diagnose” your child!
6. Ensure they have everything they need ready.
It will make the back to school transition easier. They will feel more equipped and prepared for the “new life” or rather the return to old life- the back to school.
7. Watch out for the signs of “back to school after the pandemic” anxiety.
These could be varied depending on the age of the child and how exposed he was to people during the stay home life. Children with siblings may react less stressfully as compared to those who were alone in this struggle.
For younger kids look for back to school anxiety
• Clingy behavior
• Milestone regression (Previously potty-trained children wetting the bed)
• Stubborn behavior
• Somatic complaints such as stomach-aches or headaches
For kids in higher classes, social dynamics are especially important. Look for regression and social anxiety.