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The beginning of the school year is such an exciting time for students and parents. After a summer of fun and rest, students return to school with new school supplies and feelings of excitement, ready to see their friends again and take on another year. For many, the new school year provides a fresh start and a feeling that this year will be different. For others, it might produce some anxieties, worrying, will this year be like last year? Regardless of how your child’s year ended, this year is a new opportunity for growth, learning, and success. This blog post outlines some tips for parents to follow during the first few weeks of the year to help their child start the school year off right.
It’s normal to start the school year in a frenzy, running around trying to gather supplies, reacclimate to a rigid school schedule, and think about all of the things you need to do to start the school year off the right way. However, it’s important to take a step back and remind yourself: it will be fine. When parents are stressed, children are stressed. These feelings are often exacerbated when children have ADHD or other executive functioning challenges that make emotional regulation and stress tolerance difficult. It’s natural to feel like everything important must get done by the first day, and many people feel like failing to get it right on the first day means the year is lost. However, the reality is that the school year is quite long. Give yourself grace, allow yourself to ease into the school year, and approach the first few weeks with as calm of an energy as you can. This attitude will help you feel more in control, and will show your child that you have confidence in them, allowing them to have more confidence in themselves.
The right organizational tools will help eliminate some of the barriers to completing tasks and assignments that your child might face. It will also help your child feel more in control and able to take on the tasks ahead.
For physical organization, having a folder for every class, or a binder with dividers, is essential for keeping physical papers organized. I recommend an “extra” folder as well for miscellaneous papers they are likely to receive like scheduling information, Back to School notices, etc. A “past work” folder or binder for old assignments that have been graded and returned is another great tool to start early, to avoid their folders getting too messy as the year progresses. Check out this blog post for some additional tips on keeping students’ backpacks organized. For the locker, locker shelves can be extremely helpful to keep books organized and avoid crumpled papers at the bottom of the locker.
It is also important to create an organized workspace at home. Establish a space at home that is designated for work, and keep that space as clean clutter-free as possible. A desk or table that is always free and is not also used for hobbies or eating will allow for maximum focus, as sitting at that space will signal to your child’s brain that it is time to work. However, if such a space is not possible in your home, choose a space, such as the kitchen table, that is always the designated workspace. Create a routine around clearing it off before beginning work and support your child on keeping the space as distraction-free as possible when they are working.
Most students have a great deal of assignments and information that they need to track digitally. For this reason, digital organization is just as important as physical organization in having a successful school year. Google Calendar is one of the most valuable tools that students can use to track their schedules, assignments, and tasks. Its task feature creates to do lists for them, and it can integrate with a phone calendar for seamless use across computers, chromebooks, phones, and tablets. If you’re interested in other digital planner systems, check out this blog post. Another great tool to stay organized is the alarm on your child’s phone. Setting alarms and reminders is a great way to ensure that your child is prompted to do a task at a specific time, and can help them build habits around checking homework assignments, completing work, or even remembering to do chores.
Organizational tools are extremely useful in setting a student up for success, but the tools are only as good as the habits we build around them. For this reason, one of the highest impact things you can do to help your child set their year up for success is to build routines as early as possible. Periods of change are the best times to build new habits, so the new school year is the perfect time to establish new routines. If tracking assignments has been a problem in the past, consider an after-school routine that involves your child checking in on their assignments daily. You might also consider an after-school routine that involves completing homework at the same time in the same place each day. If your child has trouble tracking assignments, you might also need to build a routine around using and adding to a planner. When building habits, it’s important to start small and be as consistent as possible. Early on in the school year, these routines might require a lot of support from you as a parent, but with consistency, your child will gradually build the habit and complete the routines independently over time.
Getting to know your child’s teachers is such an important step in starting the school year off on the right foot. Developing a rapport with teachers will encourage them to reach out both if something is wrong or simply to celebrate your child’s success. The earlier you can establish yourself as a partner that the teacher should feel comfortable approaching, the more supported your child will be in the long term. Some of the best ways to build this relationship are to meet them in person if possible, open the line of communication early, and check in periodically to remind them that you are available to help. If your child has ADHD, you might also want to communicate about supports that your child needs. Check out this blog post for some tips on communicating with your child’s new teachers about their ADHD.
When life gets stressful, wellness is usually one of the first things to go. To have a successful school year, it’s important to fight against this mindset and continue to see wellness as a priority. In this case, it is wellness for you and for your child that both matter. When parents are calm and happy, kids are calm and happy, and vice versa. The same is true when parents and children are stressed or overwhelmed. Unfortunately, stress and overwhelm lead to worse outcomes for work quality and typically hinder productivity. For this reason, it’s essential to prioritize wellness to avoid this overwhelm.
Make it a priority to take breaks when necessary, make time for fun, and leave space in your schedule for family time. Allow space for hobbies and passion projects, and also make time for pure rest. Prioritize quality sleep, and help your child develop good sleep routines. Make nutrition a priority, and involve your child in cooking and meal planning to help them see the value in good nutrition and also build their independence. When the school year gets stressful, it can be tempting to pour all of your energy into schoolwork, but it’s essential to continue to prioritize wellness to help your child be as successful as possible.
A new school year is a fresh start, and a great time to think about what additional supports might help your child. Building habits is a long, challenging process, and teenagers, particularly those who struggle with Executive Functioning, often need a lot of support. A caring parent can go a long way, but sometimes it’s necessary to call in a professional. YA Success Coach offers personalized support for teenagers in building habits that will improve their lives. We focus particularly on organization, time management, and goal-setting, developing systems that are uniquely supportive to your child’s specific needs and providing them with the individualized support they need to help them stick to these systems. Contact us today to learn more about how success coaching can help your teen.
Having a conversation is the first step to helping your child realize their full potential and set them up for success!