Preparing for Back-To-School Is More Than Just Stocking Up on Supplies

When it comes time for returning back-to-school, it can be stressful for children to transition into the first day feeling confident and able to manage their feelings of separation anxiety especially after the last year. These challenges are best managed with strategies that are implemented before the first day of school and sustained well beyond the return of a school year.

Gigi Schweikert, CEO of Lightbridge Academy, a 60-unit early education and child care franchise, offered her advice to help parents ensure a seamless back-to-school transition for their children. “It’s important to support both the children and their parents during a challenging transition. It can be a stressful and unnerving time for everybody involved, but it’s important to have a strategy in place,” she said.

Among those strategies, Lightbridge Academy recommends reviewing the changes being made as back-to-school season approaches. Schweikert also highlights preparing for potential anxieties, instilling confidence in new surroundings, reassuring a child when they are worried and creating excitement for their new journey.

Back to school strategies

Schweikert says it is important to discuss the separation and back-to-school process ahead of time. “Talk to your child about going back to child care. Show them pictures or videos from their class. Talk about seeing their friends. Ask them how they feel about it and even encourage them to draw you a picture that portrays their feelings,” she said. “This will help them process their feelings and prevent them from being surprised or caught off guard.”

These strategies are even more important to implement now than they ever have been, as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many young children to be at home for a longer period of time than usual.

Jennifer Romanoff, VP of Education & Training for Lightbridge Academy, said, “It is important to socialize your children at a young age. Teaching them to apply those social skills early on is an invaluable skill, and it can help them far beyond the back-to-school phase.”

Social skills development

“Children are naturally social creatures, and in many ways, ‘play’ is how they learn essential life skills and stimulate synaptic connections in the early stages of development,” Romanoff added. “Due to the isolation and lack of social interaction over the past year, children have not only fallen behind in this area, but may also be hesitant or anxious to return to an in-person classroom as schools and child care centers.”

Schweikert says it is important to help children “process their feelings and prevent them from being surprised or caught off guard” during back-to-school season. The transition back to school is not always easy, but promoting awareness can do wonders for essential life skills in early development.