Back to School: 4 Tips for Re-Adjusting to the Routine as a Family

Adjusting back to school routines can be difficult after a long period away. It is easy to get into the habit of rolling out of bed with no rush or stress, so reverting to the hectic school mornings can be difficult.

After lockdown, in particular, your kids will not have been at school for potentially the longest time in their lives since starting, so they will be entirely out of the routine.  To help you out, here are four tips for re-adjusting to the routine as a family.

Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Having a good night’s sleep is essential when you follow a strict routine; otherwise, you will not feel rejuvenated and refreshed for the day ahead.

To do this, you need to make sure you have a comfortable bed, which is the main thing that prevents us from having a good night’s sleep.

This way, you will find the transition to early mornings much more manageable, and you will be more motivated to go to sleep early too.

Make a Weekly Timetable

One way to keep on top of all the madness is to make a weekly timetable for your kids so that both you and they have a vague plan for the rest of the week.

This can include any clubs and activities they may do throughout the week, the time assigned for homework and educational activities, and free time.

As important as it is that they do all of their homework, it is also vital that you give your kids some spare time throughout the week, so that they do not get completely burnt out and have some sort of break.

Put Time Aside for the Family

Putting time aside for the family is important to keep up, even when school is back on.

If your timetables coincide, it can be an excellent idea to have breakfast as a family each morning, which is a fun and motivating way to start the day.

This will help ensure you are all awake on time and will get you all downstairs too.

Likewise, in the evenings, it is good to spend some time together, even if this is just for half an hour or so.

Going from a lockdown routine where you most likely spent a lot of time together to going back to school can be a difficult change, so you must ensure that quality time is kept.

Be Prepared

It will be difficult going straight from waking up late and going to sleep late every day to waking up early for a long day of school or work immediately.

To get into the routine, it is useful if you and your family begin to wake up early a week before school starts to get used to this schedule so that it won’t be too much of a shock when you have to do this every day.

Make sure you have everything ready for school the night before: bags packed, school uniforms laid out ready, and school lunches prepared.

Once you have been back in the school routine for around a week or so, it will begin to feel normal again, and you will quickly adjust.

However, the initial few days will inevitably feel strange and unnatural, so following these simple tips will make the transition feel that little bit easier for your family.