Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Summer is over and it’s time to get back to school. This time can be stressful for many families as they all try to adjust to new routines. You can lessen this stress and set up some guidelines by sitting down with your children for a family discussion.
Here are some important things you should be discussing with your children, before they head back to school this fall.
1. School Bus Safety – It is important to speak to your child about what kind of behavior you expect from him or her while they are at the bus stop or riding on the school bus.
2. Classroom Behavior – Let your child know what kind of behavior you expect them to exhibit while at school. All teachers expect different things from each child, remind your child to be respectful of others at all times. I think this is a good time to bring up the topic of bullying with your child. Let them know how to report this to their school officials and to you, should they know of any children who are being bullied or those who are doing the bullying.
3. Homework and Grades – If you expect your children to follow a homework routine, now is the time to outline that routine with them. I found it helpful to let our daughter know up front what the consequences would be if she did not complete homework assignments on time, or if she got unacceptable grades.
4. Stranger Danger – Your child will come into contact with many people while involved with school activities or while attending classes. It is important to go over with him or her all of the safety precautions that they need to know to protect themselves from stranger danger.
5. Family Emergency – When our daughter was young, we gave her a new family password every few months. If a family emergency would occur and we would need to send someone to the school to pick her up, they would have to provide the secret family password to her before she would even leave the school office with that particular person. Even if your child knows the person who is picking them up, it is important for that person to provide the secret family password to your child.
Heading back to school doesn’t have to be a stressful time for you and your family. Take the time out of your busy schedule and communicate with your children about what you expect from them this school year. It is important to be flexible and to have an open door policy in regards to communication.
Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly is a mother and grandmother living in South Central Pennsylvania and found that she could reduce back to school stress for her family by being prepared ahead of time. You can visit Shelly online athttp://www.workathomebusinessoptions.com or her recipe blog athttp://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for free recipes.



A Mom's Love