Coaching your child to a successful school year

Dr. Erik L. Johnson, from Amita Health, says that back to school means back to routine for everyone, and for parents that can be a real challenge for their children after a summer filled with sleeping in, later hours and nonstop fun.Getting children in the mindset for returning to the classroom starts long before the first school bell. Here are a few recommendations to help.

Discuss expectations

Begin the school year with a family meeting to establish a playbook for a successful year.

Everyone needs to understand their “job” in the family.

For your child, the job is going to school and learning. Consider privileges like screen time, weekend sleepovers, or other activities as a reward for your child for following the plan.

Your job is to be their coach to help them navigate the school year and cheer them on when they succeed. Let them come up with strategies, ideas, consequences and rewards.

A big part of a successful school year is everyone getting out of the house on time.

The first page in your playbook should be to avoid running around at the last minute, yelling from the sidelines for everyone to get dressed and hurry-up.

You don’t want to start your day stressed, so coach your kids to be ready to go.

Avoid morning madness

A good morning starts the night before.

To make an effective plan, start backward to determine the time your child needs to sleep and set a bedtime.

Now you know how much time you have left to prepare for the day ahead. Run through your pregame checklist as part of your cool down before bedtime.

• Homework done (before screen time)

• Clothes laid out

• Lunch made

• Permission slips signed

• Grab-and-go nutritious foods if you have a kid that does not like to eat first thing in the morning (yogurt, breakfast bar or PB&J)