To make adjusting to the new routine easier, start early and ease into it.

• A few weeks before school starts, move bedtime back to an earlier time.
• It’s easy during the lazy days of summer to slip into having meals at irregular hours. As the first day of school approaches, make meal times more regular and aligned with the school year schedule.
• Put a positive spin on going back to school. Talk about the fun things your child will be learning, the old friends he’ll see and the new friends he’ll make.
• If your child is anxious about starting the next grade, reassure her that other children have these feelings too.
• Don’t make plans for big trips right before the start of school.
• Establish school-day schedules for homework, TV, baths and bedtime.
• Arrange play-dates with friends from school to re-establish connections that may have been dropped for the summer, or to create new ones.

Confirm Your After-School Care Arrangements
Most after-school care arrangements must be made months ahead, frequently in the winter or spring before your child starts school. As the school year approaches, however, it’s a good idea to confirm your plans.

• Make sure your child knows where he is going after school.
• Double-check on your care plans and communicate with the provider a few days before school starts.
• If your child will be home alone after school, establish safety rules for locking doors and windows, and for answering the door and the telephone. Make sure she knows to check in with you or another adult when she arrives at home.

Control the TV
It’s tempting, especially during the summer, to let kids watch a lot of television. As you get ready to go back to school, start to put limits on watching television if you haven’t done so during the summer.

• Be firm. Set limits of no more than an hour or two of TV daily.
• Set a good example by not watching a lot of TV yourself. Engage in family activities such as reading or board games.
• Keep TVs out of your child’s bedroom to limit the temptation.
• Videotape programs and watch them later. If you eliminate or fast-forward through commercials you can cut ten minutes off of every hour of TV viewing.
• Make use of ratings systems to know whether or not a program or movie is appropriate for your child.
• Eliminate or monitor closely your child’s viewing of programs with graphic language, violence and sexual content, and movies rated PG-13 and R. These types of programs can have a cumulative negative effect on a child if they're watched over and over again.
• Encourage selective TV viewing. Discourage channel surfing which encourages passive viewing.
• Choose wisely. There are some TV programs that can be a valuable tool for learning and expanding one's awareness of the world.

Updated July 2005