Working Together…

Parents all know the feeling; they collect their child from school or wait for them to come home and are greeted with a distressed, frustrated, upset, or even angry child instead of the happy one they had hoped to see. You might wonder how to help your child have a good day at school?

A bad day at school – much like a bad day at work – can really set a precedent and turn a good mood into a bad one. 

Therefore, whatever parents can do to ensure their children have a good day at school should be done.

It may sound impossible since this is when your children are out of your sight, and you can’t help them yourself, but if you can do everything you can to set the day up well, you might be able to assist despite not actually being there.

Timing 

You should never underestimate the importance of elementary education; from here, all other education stems, from high school to college, and perhaps even beyond to further studies.

It all begins at elementary school, and getting into good habits at this stage will help your child throughout their life. 

Timing is all-important.

As a parent, your responsibility should be to ensure that your child is up, washed, dressed, had breakfast, and on their way to school at the right time so that they aren’t late.

Having plenty of time to do all of this in the morning means a calmer, happier child arriving at school (on time), and that will set the tone for the day. 

The Bedtime Routine

In order to have plenty of time in the morning, a good bedtime routine should be established.

Make sure that you work backward from the time when they need to get out of bed so that they get enough sleep (depending on their age, this might be as much as 10 or 11 hours).

This will mean they are ready for the day ahead and more able to concentrate at school, and lessons will be learned more easily, making the school day a much better one. 

 Equipment 

If a child goes to school without the equipment they need, they will feel out of place and perhaps even embarrassed. This does not give them the drive they need to do well, or in some cases, to even try. 

Before the semester starts, ensure that you have everything on the list that the school will have given you. This might include:

  • Rucksack
  • Pencils 
  • Pens
  • Pencil case
  • Sports equipment
  • Clothing
  • Water bottles like “Hippo Bottles“
  • Books

Each school will have its own list of equipment. Work through the list item by item and if you can’t buy it all at once, buy it piece by piece over time. 

Homework

Whatever your feelings on homework, if your child has been given some, it will need to be completed.

If they need assistance, try to help them (although don’t do the work for them). If they need a quiet space to work, make a place for them, turn off the TV, give them time to work.  

Homework is something that many children worry about, and it could be this that is causing them problems at school.

If so, speak to their teacher about how they can have extra help and reassure your child that asking for help is okay. 

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels