The BEST tips for returning to school after Covid19

Victorian kidlets will return to school - phew! While you may enjoy the extra family time, the announcement comes as a relief from home-schooling and 24/7 parenting.

With no previous template for the Covid19 world, you might be wondering how to best support your child to return to school. So we’ve put together our BEST (Bedtime, Emotions, Support, Team) tips to help you out! :)

Bedtime

With flexible home-schooling start times and less opportunity for kids to let off steam, strict bedtimes may have loosened (or disappeared altogether!). Now’s the time to start getting your kids back to ‘school-time bed-time’, especially if they’re returning to school on May 26. Over the next week or two, bring your child’s bedtime an hour earlier each night. Help them get their relaxation on with books, gentle music, breathing exercises and warm snuggles together in bed. 

And don’t forget the importance of adjusting your bedtime for a good night’s sleep before the mad morning rush!

Emotions

Find out how your child is feeling about returning to school. They might tell you or show you they’re worried through more meltdowns, aggression or withdrawing behaviours. You can respond to their emotions with your non-verbals and empathic language (For more details on this you can check out our short video on managing children’s worries about Covid19 here). 

Reassure your child by focusing on what they can control, rather than what they can’t control. You can do this by encouraging your child to use their natural language of play to draw pictures of their fave things at school, like friends, classes and activities. Discuss any changes like drop off/pick up times, parents unable to stay on school grounds etc in advance. This will avoid adding confusion and meltdowns to your child’s first day jitters!

Check in with how you’re feeling about your child returning to school. As part of a secure attachment relationship, your child will look to you to help them decide whether something new is safe or dangerous. If you’re feeling nervous about your child going to school, acknowledge those worries and provide reassurance for your child. This allows you to stay empathic and authentic. For example, you could say, “It's ok to feel a bit worried. But your school and teachers are doing everything they can to make sure you’re safe.”

Support

Your child has LOVED spending more time at home with you. So think about supporting them during the transition to school with extra moments of connection. This might be five minutes of morning snuggles together in bed. Or choosing a small token, like a family photo or special toy, that your child can bring to school and hold when they feel worried or lonely. 

When they get through their first day of school, you can build your child's self-confidence through encouragement. Instead of praising, which can foster dependence on external validation, use language that focuses on your child’s efforts. This helps kids to try hard, persist and believe in themselves. You can think of this as noticing your child’s efforts aloud, such as, “You did it!”, or “You were worried but you got through it!”

Team

In this Covid19 world, your family may have been impacted by traumatic experiences or events. For instance, are there worries about a sick family member, or grief over a loved one who passed away? Did your family experience job loss or significant financial hardship? Was there an increase in mental health issues, family conflict or violence? If so, it may be helpful to speak with your child’s teacher and other local professionals, like counsellors, family violence workers or child therapists. When things get tough, gathering a supportive team around you can provide relief and comfort.

We hope these BEST tips help you move freely towards the light at the end of the home-schooling tunnel :)   

Let’s find those blue skies!

Melissa Villegas,  Owner of BlueSkies Counselling