When the kids start going to school it is of course an exciting time for any parent and you will want your kids to be sure that they are at their best each day. As happy a moment as this is for parents, it is a life event which will leave you fraught with worry and concern. Are your kids going to be alright? Will they lose their stuff? How are they going to get on with other kids? All valid concerns, and most of which are outside of your control, once you kiss them goodbye in the morning, you just have to trust that everything is going to be fine. There are some things that you can do however to negate these risks, and here are some tips from someone who has been through this 3 times over.

Line of Communication

One of the most difficult but most important issues which I have found with my kids was making sure that there is a clear line of communication between myself and them, allowing them to tell me anything without judgement. I never wanted my kids to feel that they couldn’t open up to me about issues going on at school, and so I knew this was something important for me to do. I never pressured the kids to telling me things, and I always made sure that I had time to listen to them.

Using Signs

Given that so many kids are wearing the same clothes and using similar coats, I just knew that my lot would eventually end up losing something and so I got them some Sticker You patches which I sewed into the inside of their clothes and their coats, much to their dislike! Something else I found online was some Sticker You allergy stickers which I was able to put on my youngest’s lunch box to ensure that nobody got mixed up and put any dairy in there. Signs are useful for these reasons and I’d recommend using them wherever possible.

Helping Out

I would never raise my kids based on the peer pressure which they go through but sometimes you do have to give kids a hand with ensuring that they get along with the other kids. Children can be pretty ruthless when it comes to what your kid wears, and that is why I always made sure that I would try to give them clothing and shoes which helped avoid this issue. I never went out and blew hundreds on a pair of sneakers, but I also didn’t send them to school in tired shoes and jackets.

Letting Them Deal With It

Sometimes you can’t be overbearing as a parent and something that I have certainly learned is the importance of letting kids deal with things that they are going through. Your line of communication with your kids is about them telling you what is going on, not asking for help. Now of course if your child is being bullied then you can do something about that, but you must resist the temptation to get involved in everything that happens to them, this is not your job and you must let your kids learn from these experiences.

This is a tough time, but you can make it that little bit easier.