Back to School in Ontario: How Parents Can Support Kids Through the Transition

In this article

The end of summer means going back to school, or starting school for the first time, for many children across Ontario. For parents wondering how to handle this transition, the key is maintaining regular, open communication with your child about how school is going — this helps you recognize problems early, before they get out of control and when it is easier to intervene.

In addition to the usual social and educational stresses of going to school, kids are faced with many other issues, including drug use, violence, suicide and bullies. Regular communication will help you recognize problems early.

How Is School Going? Questions That Get Real Answers

It is also a good idea to regularly talk with your child about how school is going. Asking open-ended questions about what happens during breaks, such as recess, lunch and in between classes, may help you recognize problem behaviours. Breaktime is when children are most likely to be unsupervised and when problems are likely to occur.

What Happens If You Don’t Go to Summer School — and Other Back-to-School Stressors

Working parents with school-age children live each day with three days packed in: a school day, a workday, and a family day. During the school day, you are kept busy with activities from taking children to school and helping them with homework and projects, to volunteering in their classrooms and helping them sell cookies. During the workday, you do what you do for a living. During the family day, you run the household by taking care of laundry, bills, groceries, cooking, cleaning etc., etc. Whether you have hired help and whether you have spouses or partners to share the responsibilities certainly make a difference, but on average, your day is jammed and your stress level is high. It is hard to balance everything. It is especially hard to, on top of everything, still keep in touch with what goes on in your kids’ world and keep a constant communication with them.

Back-to-school time can be stressful and overwhelming for parents financially, emotionally and physically. Parents are expected to meet the demands of a new school year, which includes buying uniforms and supplies, as well as meeting the emotional needs of their children.

Three Areas Parents Need to Focus On

Three areas are key. One, parents need to learn how to manage stress for themselves. Two, parents, together with educators, need to know the areas that school kids are most likely to need help and guidance. Three, parents should be informed with facts about today’s schools.

Practical Ways to Manage the Back-to-School Transition

Think Before You Commit

In your back-to-school enthusiasm, the temptation is great to sign up for every activity or committee you can. After all, you want to be involved and help your kids and the school, right? Before you sign all those volunteer lists, stop and think about the time commitments required for each new responsibility. How will these affect the time you have to spend with your family, at your job, or pursuing your own interests?

Schedule Management

Avoid overscheduling your child. Set a time each day to talk with your children about their school day. This conversation could take place during dinner, in the car, or right before bed. Have reasonable expectations for what the conversation will be like. Asking, “How was school today?” is likely to get a standard response of, “Fine.” Asking more specific questions such as, “What was the most interesting thing you learned today?” may be a better way to start a conversation. But whichever approach you choose, it is important to maintain an open dialogue with your children and be aware of their daily activities and what they are learning.

Time

One way to do this is to make sure you and your child are never crunched for time. Being late just adds to stress, so make sure your child gets out of bed early and starts the school day with plenty of time.

Show your children how to reinterpret a bad day. Help them cultivate a sense of humour. Even better, laugh together. Laughter will raise serotonin levels to help find the solution.

Flexibility

Plan, but don’t be so rigid that you can’t change things if circumstances dictate.

If back-to-school stress is affecting your family, speaking with a regulated health professional can help. Bayridge Counselling Centres offers support for parents and children at multiple locations across Ontario, with Registered Psychotherapists, Registered Social Workers, and Clinical Psychologists available.