Keys to Stress Free School Mornings

As exciting as this time of year is, for many families it can also be a time of stress. Lost shoes, unrealistic teacher expectations, missing homework, and perpetual nagging to get dressed, is what goes on in many homes before the school day begins. Here are several keys to help make the transition into a new school year as successful as possible.

Develop a routine for your child: Children need structure and one of the easiest ways to take the drama out of the morning is to develop a written morning and nighttime routine that your children can easily and independently follow. This can include bedtimes, having backpacks ready, lunchboxes packed, notes signed, hygiene needs and chores completed. I also include on my children's routine, finding things to be grateful for, consciously creating their day and grounding and centering themselves. Begin practicing these routines a week before school starts to ensure less stressful mornings.

Write a note to your children's teachers: Teachers are wonderful people, but they need the insights and support of you to help your child be as successful as possible. In this note introduce your child and yourself. Tell them your child's strengths and also what areas they may need extra support. Share with them any strategies that have helped your child in the past. Offer to partner with them in helping your child reach their highest potential. Ask them to contact you right away if your child is not turning in homework, struggling socially, academically or emotionally. Make sure you also send this note to the entire teaching team that will be working with your child. Keep open communication with them throughout the school year by sending an occasionally note, e-mail or volunteer to help in the classroom. If your child has special needs it is essential that you set-up a meeting with the entire teaching team before the school year begins.

Pack little positive notes in their lunchboxes: Sometimes school can be overwhelming and daunting for children especially at lunch time. Can you remember a time when you had to sit all alone in the school cafeteria or had a really hard day? You can write your own notes or use a product like Lunchboxes of Love and secretly hide them in your child's lunchbox. How loved your child will feel when they open their lunchbox and find that mom knows just how they were feeling.

Ask God to walk with them: Start every morning, as a family, in prayer and meditation Turn off the TV, play quiet music, and light a candle. Together breathe deeply, envision the highest good unfolding, feel comforted that their needs will be met, and that they learn to believe in themselves. End with a blessing asking for God's favor and protection to be upon them.

By laying the foundation with these simple strategies you and your children can decrease the stress of the school year. May this new school year bring you and your children more laughter than tears, more blessings than challenges, more successes than struggles, more health than illness, more friendship than loneliness and may each of your children always be safe and supported.

Keywords: homework, parenting tips, stress managment, responsible kids

About the Author
Debbie Milam, Weston, FL
debbie@unlimitedinspiration.com
More Details about parenting tips here. Debbie Milam is an occupational therapist, life coach and syndicated columnist for United Press International. Her work has been featured in over 300 in places like the Hallmark Channel, PBS, First for Women, The Miami Herald, Elle, Ladies Home Journal and WebMD. Her latest book is The Art of Overcoming, Your Remedy for Rising Above Stress, Adversity, and Life's Challanges. Through her website www.TheArtOfOvercoming.com she has developed a wealth of resources to help you and your children discover your personal pathway to peace, health and joy.

Related Links:

What is meditation?

Meditation usually refers to a state in which the body is consciously relaxed and the mind is allowed to become calm and focused. Several major religions include ritual meditation; however, meditation itself need not be a religious or spiritual activity. Most of the more popular systems of meditation are of Eastern origin, though there exists also various forms of Christian, Jewish and Muslim meditation.
Meditation as a form of alternative medicine brings about mental calmness and physical relaxation by suspending the stream of thoughts that normally occupy the mind. Generally performed once or twice a day for approximately 20 minutes at a time, meditation is used to reduce stress, alter hormone levels, and elevate one's mood.
A discipline in which the mind is focused on a single point of reference. Employed since ancient times in various forms by all religions, the practice gained greater notice in the post war US as interest in Zen Buddhism rose. Meditation is now used by many nonreligious adherents as a method of stress reduction; known to lower levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress. Enhances recuperation and improves the body’s resistance to disease.
Meditation is an easy and simple way to balance a person's physical, emotional, and mental states. It is easily learned and has been used as an aid in treating stress, anxiety, pain management, and as part of an overall treatment for other conditions including hypertension and heart disease. Research shows that meditation decreases the heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, and even decreases blood pressure.