Maryland Pediatrician: These simple tricks help students adjust to the new school year
BALTIMORE -- After months of late nights and days of sleeping in, your children may be giving you trouble over getting up in the morning to get ready for school.
If that's the case, then Dr. Esther Liu says parents may have to change their approach. Liu is the chair of pediatrics for the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center.
"Rule number one is give yourself and give your kid some grace, but then also try to stick to a routine versus a schedule," Liu said.
Schedules can be overwhelming—particularly when the schedule is off by one minute. Developing a routine is more constructive, Liu said.
"Like, at 7 o clock wake up . . . 7:15 get ready in the bathroom. That type of detail doesn't work for everybody," she said.
Routines are easier to remember and you can adjust them for your child who may be either a morning bird or a night owl, according to Liu.
Parents must ease their children toward setting a new alarm time, Liu said.
"Whatever their summer routine has been, back it up half an hour every night versus suddenly going to an 8 or 8:30 bedtime," she said.
Also, parents must encourage a positive mindset. After all, some kids may have anxiety about going back to school and need to hear their parents talk about how exciting it is to make new friends, learn new topics and enjoy activities, Liu said.
"If everything about school is negative, like, 'I have to go to bed early or I have to wake up early', it can make it be something that they don't look forward to and they dread," she said.
All of these simple changes can help parents and their children beat the back-to-school blues.