By: Ashmar Mandou

With the new school year around the corner, your child may be feeling excited and a tiny bit nervous. Ease the transition from summer vacation mode to school mode with the help of these simple tips to implement into your new routine.

Write Out Your Goals for the School Year
Sit down with your children and ask them what they want to do over the next year.  It may be they want to make new friends, play a sport, be in the school play, learn to ride a bike, skateboard or dance.  Help them write out these goals on a board that they can post in their room or in the kitchen, and help them think of ways to achieve these goals during the year.

Make a School Activities Schedule
Review the calendar for the school year and highlight the days that are important for the student.  Identify the days that are deadlines for the goal they identified above, such as Sport registration and sign-up days, test days & school events.  For dates that need preparation, work with your child to establish smaller milestones to lead up to the big day. 

Prepare Their Clothes and School Supplies
The week before school starts, help your child pack their book bag and pick out the clothes they will wear for their first week of school.  Knowing they are prepared, and having an idea on what they will wear can help reduce anxieties about starting school and fitting in.  These are also great activities for helping to get the student up earlier in the morning, and it starts a routine for the student to packing the school bag and picking out their clothes on their own in the morning that you will surely appreciate through-out the school year.

Practice Stress Relief
Share stress reduction techniques your child can use in school before tests and other anxiety-producing events. One of the simplest techniques is to take a deep breath, hold it for a count of five, exhale, and then repeat the process two or three more times. Another easy strategy is to make your limbs stiff like a robot for a count of five, then release and relax them like a rag doll. Finally, you might suggest that your child visualize the most positive relaxing scene she can as a way of easing the school jitter

Eat a Healthy Breakfast
It sounds silly, but eating habits during the summer are much different than during the school year.  Additionally, a young person’s body needs steady and healthy fuel to stay awake and aware during the class day.  They will not be able to rummage through the cupboard at school if they get hungry during class.  Make sure they have a good, healthy breakfast – and make it special so their day starts right.