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An (almost!) stress-free back-to-school

Trading kickball games and campfires for the classroom isn’t necessarily fun, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Here, three easy steps to make school mornings, afternoons, and bedtimes more manageable for your family.

Mornings

The problem: Your child lingered in bed for ten more minutes, then spent an extra fifteen deciding on her outfit. You hand her a cereal bar while she runs to catch the bus—only to see she left her homework on the dining room table.

Step one: Prep before bed

A successful morning hinges on how your child prepared the night before. Help her avoid the frazzled AM rush by having her organize her backpack and lay out the next day’s clothes before bed.

Step two: Set expectations

Create a morning checklist to let your child know exactly what she needs to do and when, says Vicki Panaccione, Ph.D., a parenting coach and author of What Kids Would Tell You…If You’d Only Ask!. Give him an incentive to get through the list by awarding a gold star for each morning he wakes up on time, makes his bed, and makes it to the kitchen for a sit-down breakfast. A star earned for every day of the week could mean a movie or trip to the batting cages on Saturday.

Step three: Fuel up

Breakfast doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to provide your kid with the energy she needs to get through the morning. Build 15 or 20 minutes for breakfast into the morning checklist, and serve something quick and nutritious: a peanut butter and banana sandwich made with whole grain waffles, a breakfast burrito with eggs, black beans, and salsa, or oatmeal with fruit and nuts (cooked the night before and reheated in the morning) are all excellent, balanced choices.

After school

The problem: A full day of sitting leaves your child bouncing off the wall once he walks through the door.

Step 1: Have a (healthy) snack

If lunch was several hours ago and dinner’s still a long way off, help your child recharge with a small, nutritious bite. The best snacks are usually something that would count as part of a meal, so offer some hummus with whole grain crackers, carrot sticks and peanut butter for dipping, or yogurt with a sprinkle of granola.

Step 2: Play!

Instead of pushing homework right away, give your child time to burn off some energy, suggests Susan Bartell, Ph.D., a psychologist specializing in family-life balance, and author of Top 50 Questions Kids Ask. A half hour of basketball (or Wii Sports, if it’s raining!) will help him focus better once it’s time to hit the books.

Step 3: Get to work

Establish a set amount of time for homework and studying and stop when the time is up (the rule of thumb is 10 minutes for each grade level, so twenty minutes for 2^nd graders and an hour for 6^th graders). If your child still has more to do, she can resume the work after another break.

Bedtime

The problem: After two months of late nights spent catching fireflies and building campfires, your child is resisting lights out at 9 o’clock.

Step 1: Go gradual

Kids need 9 to 10 hours of shuteye to perform at their best, so ease the transition to school year sleep incrementally. “A week before the first day, set bedtime 15 minutes earlier, pushing back a little more each night,” Panaccione says.

Step 2: Build a routine—and stick to it

Set (packed!) knapsacks by the front door, then head off for a bath and a story. The activities themselves don’t matter so much, as long as they’re calm, quiet, and become associated with winding down for the night.

Step 3: Say goodnight

Funny how kids sometimes get incredibly thirsty or chatty right before bed, isn’t it? Recognize when your child is using a tactic to stay up later and hold her accountable, since “giving into these behaviors will guarantee you see them again the next night,” says Panaccione. Remind your child that it’s bedtime—then say goodnight.